LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Walt Disney largely beat expectations for its fourth-quarter results on Thursday, driven by the success of the Marvel film “Deadpool & Wolverine”, while the entertainment giant delivered optimistic forecasts for the year to come.

The group’s stock jumped 7.4% in pre-market trading.

Disney reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.14 (1.08 euros) for the fourth quarter, above the expectations of analysts polled by LSEG who expected $1.10 per share.

Revenue reached $22.6 billion, slightly above the $22.45 billion Wall Street expected. Operating profit increased 23% from the previous year to nearly $3.7 billion.

Operating profit of the Entertainment division, which includes film, television and streaming, more than doubled to $1.1 billion, driven by “Only Murders in the Building” and blockbuster films of the summer, including “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Alien: Romulus”. The film “Deadpool” grossed $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office.

Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ posted operating income of $321 million in the period, marking their second consecutive quarter of profitability.

These recent successes offset lower operating results in the Experiences (-6%), which includes parks and consumer products, and Sports (-5%) divisions.

Disney expects high-single-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2025, despite capital expenditures of about $8 billion.

The group also announced a share buyback program worth $3 billion, and said it expects double-digit growth in adjusted profit for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

(Reporting Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine, with contributions from Harshita Varghese, Elena Smirnova, editing by Augustin Turpin)

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