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Disney shares rose more than 10% during morning trading on Thursday (Feb. 8), as investors welcomed the media conglomerate’s announcements about new partnerships with Taylor Swift and Fortnite maker Epic Games. The announcements followed a strong first-quarter earnings report from the company.
Disney CEO Bob Iger announced on a Wednesday (Feb. 7) call with investors that Disney+ will be the exclusive streaming home of the Taylor Swift concert film. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. The film will debut on the platform on March, 15th and will include additional songs that do not appear in its theatrical release.
This isn’t the first time Swift’s concert film helped move a company’s stock: In October, AMC stock rose more than 10% after advance sale of movie tickets.
Iger also announced a new partnership with Epic Games, in which Disney is investing 1.5 billion dollars for a shareholding in the video game company. The two companies will collaborate on new games and an entertainment universe featuring Disney intellectual properties such as Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars. Epic Games produces the mega-popular online game Fortnite, which has more than 350 million accounts.
For sports fans, Disney announced a new set live sports streaming company with Fox and Warner Bros. Discoveryand there is also a separate ESPN streaming service Its launch is scheduled for 2025.
Disney’s first quarter in numbers
Disney’s net income rose 32% to $1.9 billion in the three months ended Dec. 30, compared with $1.3 billion in the same period a year earlier. The company’s revenue in the fiscal first quarter was flat year-over-year at more than $23.5 billion. Its earnings per share came to $1.22, beating Wall Street expectations of $0.99, according to a consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Factset.