Disney profit jumps 50%, buoyed by parks

Bucking a streaming slowdown that has recently bedeviled Hollywood, Disney+ added 14.4 million subscribers in the most recent quarter, about 45% more than Wall Street had expected and lifting Disney’s portfolio of streaming services to 221 million subscribers worldwide, on a par with Netflix.

Disney released the figures Wednesday as part of a blockbuster quarterly earnings report. The company also announced price increases for Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, as well as details of a new version of Disney+ that will include advertising.

It was strong demand for theme park vacations that powered an increase in profitability at Disney. Revenue totaled $21.5 billion, a 26% increase from a year earlier. Operating profit surged 50%, to $3.6 billion. Analysts had been expecting revenue of about $21 billion and profit of about $3.2 billion, according to FactSet.

Disney Parks, Experiences and Products reported quarterly revenue of $7.4 billion, up from $4.3 billion a year earlier, and an operating profit of $2.2 billion, up from $356 million.

Streaming continues to lose money as Disney spends aggressively on content, marketing and technology infrastructure. Losses for Disney’s streaming division exceeded $1 billion, compared with a loss of $300 million a year earlier. Streaming revenue climbed 19%, to $5.1 billion.

Starting on Dec. 8, the current ad-free version of Disney+ will cost $11 a month, up from $8. The ad-supported option will cost $8.

Musk sells Tesla stock ahead of Twitter trial

Elon Musk offloaded $6.9 billion worth of stock in Tesla to accumulate cash ahead of a trial that could force the billionaire to follow through on an agreement to acquire Twitter.

Tesla’s chief executive officer sold about 7.92 million shares during the last three days of trading, according to regulatory filings. Musk, who still owns almost 15% of the electric-car maker, tweeted that he was done selling and would buy Tesla shares if the Twitter deal doesn’t close.

“In the (hopefully unlikely) event that Twitter forces this deal to close *and* some equity partners don’t come through, it is important to avoid an emergency sale of Tesla stock,” Musk wrote.

Musk has now dumped about $32 billion worth of Tesla shares since November.

Stocks hit 3-month high as inflation cools

Stocks rallied to three-month highs on Wall Street Wednesday as investors welcomed a government report showing that inflation cooled more than expected last month.

The S&P 500 rose 87.77 points, or 2.1%, to 4,210.24. The gains broke a four-day losing streak and pushed the benchmark index to its highest levels since early May. It is now nearly 15% above its mid-June low.

The Nasdaq composite, jumped 360.88 points, or 2.9%, to 12,854.80. It’s up more than 20% from June.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 535.10 points, or 1.6%, to 33,309.51.

The yield on the two-year Treasury, which tends to track expectations for the Fed, fell to 3.19% from 3.27% late Tuesday.

The 10-year yield initially fell, though stabilized later in trading. It edged higher to 2.79% from 2.78% late Tuesday. It remains below the two-year yield and many investors see such a gap as a fairly reliable signal of a coming recession.

Compiled from New York Times and Associated Press reports.