The Walt Disney Co. handily beat Wall Street estimates on earnings and revenue for the first quarter of its fiscal 2022, and its stock jumped about 10% in after-hours trading.

 

The Burbank media and entertainment giant on Feb. 9 reported adjusted net income of $2.7 billion ($1.06 a share) for the quarter ending Jan. 1, more than tripling adjusted net income of $776 million (32 cents a share) in the same period a year earlier. Revenue increased 34% to $21.8 billion. Analysts on average expected earnings of 61 cents on revenue of $18.4 billion, according to Thomson Financial Network.

 

Chief Executive Bob Chapek called the first-quarter earnings a strong start to the fiscal year, with a significant increase in earnings and the addition of 11.8 million Disney Plus streaming service subscribers during the quarter.

“This marks the final year of the Walt Disney Company’s first century, and performance like this coupled with our unmatched collection of assets and platforms, creative capabilities and unique place in the culture give me great confidence we will continue to define entertainment for the next 100 years,” Chapek said in a statement.

A similar scenario played out in El Segundo — Mattel Inc.’s shares were up 11% last week after the toy manufacturer reported a net income of $225.8 million on $1.79 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2021, and $903 million in net income on $5.45 billion in revenue for the full year.

“The company has made significant progress over the last few years on our transformation strategy, and our turnaround is complete,” Chief Executive Ynon Kreiz told analysts during an earnings call on Feb. 9. “We believe we’re well positioned to continue our strong momentum and are excited to be guiding to even higher growth in 2022 and higher goals in 2023.”

Kreiz cited the company’s recently announced multiyear global licensing agreement for the Disney Princess and Frozen franchises “as one of the drivers that gives us the building blocks for the goals we provided for 2023.”

He added that the agreement, which an analyst valued at an estimated $500 million, is a “great win for Mattel,” because it signals the company has become a leader in the dolls category. It’s also “going to be an accretive growth driver both in terms of top line and profitability starting in 2023, and it strengthens our position as a partner of choice as we continue to build our relationships with the major entertainment companies,” Kreiz said.