Disney's Other Businesses Are Holding Back Its Streaming Investments

Disney (NYSE: DIS) has no plans to increase or accelerate its investments in Disney+ or Hulu, despite strong adoption of its streaming services over the last few months. Disney+ had 54.5 million subscribers as of May 4, nearly to the low end of management's expected subscriber range for the end of 2024. Hulu, meanwhile, racked up 32 million subscribers between its SVOD and Live TV products as of the end of March.

But Disney isn't doubling down on streaming. It can't afford it.

Disney faces a cash flow challenge right now due to its massive overhead for its parks business, delayed blockbuster film releases, and continued sports rights payments from ESPN while ad sales plummet. While it's raised debt and ramped up its ability to tap lines of credit, it's also being very conservative with its cash conservation. For example, it won't pay out its semi-annual dividend payment in July. That also means it's not looking to accelerate investments in what's suddenly become the strongest part of its business.

Source Fool.com