Disney stock price erupts to record highs as Disney+ excels

Shares of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) erupted 13.6% on Friday after the company announced impressive results for the recent period, as well as numerous new features and pricing.  

Fundamental analysis: Impressive results

Disney said that its recently-launched Disney+ streaming platform now has 86.8 million subscribers, representing a gain of over 13 million new subscribers in less than two months. Across all platforms, Disney has 137 million subscribers. 

These numbers are expected to continue growing as Disney+ plans to expand its services to Eastern Europe, South Korea, Hong Kong and other markets. By 2024, the firm forecasts to have 230 million to 260 million Disney+ subscribers. 

“The tremendous success we’ve achieved across our unique portfolio of streaming services, with more than 137 million subscriptions worldwide, has bolstered our confidence in our acceleration toward a DTC-first business model,” said Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer, in a statement.

The aggressive campaign will see  programming expenses rise to $16 billion in 2024, Disney projects. In order to increase revenue, Disney is raising the subscription price of Disney+ by $1 in the U.S. to $7.99 per month to 8.99 euros for the European market, up from prior 6.99.

“It is clear our strategy has already positioned us as a leading global streaming service provider, and that is within just one year of launching Disney+,” said Christine McCarthy, CFO at Disney.

The entertainment giant also announced a wide range of new shows and series, including those from Marvel and Star Wars franchises, new live-action movies “Pinocchio” and “Peter Pan & Wendy”, and more.

Technical analysis: Shares soar to record highs

Disney share price surged 13.6% on Friday to reach fresh all-time highs at $179.45, meaning that Disney’s market capitalization more than doubled since the pandemic-driven selloff in March. 

Disney daily chart (TradingView)

The price action is now trading in an uncharted territory. Given the scale and pace of the recent bullish move, we are likely to see a pullback in the price action on profit-taking activities. Technically-speaking, the previous all-time high at $157.50 represents an initial support line. 

Summary

Disney stock price reached a new all-time high after Disney reported an impressive surge in the number of Disney+ subscribers, as well as a flurry of new content to its streaming options.

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