The global media and entertainment giant Disney (MT5: WALT DISNEY CO) released its results for the second fiscal quarter of the 2023 fiscal year ending April 1 after the U.S. stock market closed on Wednesday. The core data are as follows:

Earnings per share (EPS): $0.93 vs consensus $0.95

· Total revenue: $21.815 billion vs. consensus $21.8 billion

Earnings per share missed expectations slightly, having alternated above and below expectations over the past eight quarters. Total revenue was largely in line with expectations, but fell 7.18% from $23.51 billion in the previous quarter.

By business, the operating loss of the streaming service fell to $659 million in the second quarter, buoyed by higher subscription prices and cuts in marketing expenses.

In other words, compared with the loss of US$1.1 billion in the previous quarter, the loss in the second fiscal quarter has narrowed significantly.

The theme park business continued to recover, and the operating income growth of Shanghai, Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland drove the operating profit of the park, experience and product business to increase by 23% year-on-year to US$2.2 billion.

As mentioned earlier, the loss of the streaming media business narrowed by more than US$400 million from the previous month, but the number of flagship Disney+ subscribers decreased by 4 million to 157.8 million.

Specifically, Disney+ Hotstar lost the most customers in India after losing the broadcasting rights of the Indian Premier League. In the U.S. and Canada, Disney+ lost 300,000 subscribers due to a December price increase.

Disney management is satisfied with the performance of the Q2 financial report and emphasized that the performance of the streaming media business has improved, reflecting the initial results of the company-wide strategic changes.

In terms of guidance, the company expects earnings per share of $1.29 in the third fiscal quarter, and earnings per share of $4 for the full year this year, with revenue expected to reach $22.34 billion in the third quarter.

Disney stock trades sideways

From a technical point of view, Disney's stock price has continued to decline since March 2021, and finally rebounded gradually after gaining support at 84 and 91.5, but the stock continued to be suppressed by the 200-day moving average in the short term. In addition, the 50-day moving average crosses below the 200-day moving average to form a "dead cross", which also creates resistance for the stock price to rise.

If the stock fails to break above the 200-day moving average, it may retest the 96.65 support level and then trade sideways in the 96.65-103 range. Another situation is that the stock price stands above the 200-day moving average and challenges the resistance level of 103. If it can successfully break through, the upward target will look at 109.2.