The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) reported growth of its streaming subscriber base in the fourth quarter, along with substantial operating income for the segment.

Here's why the quarterly figures were important for investors, who will get fewer data points moving forward.

Disney's Streaming Segment Shows Strength

The media giant reported 131.6 million Disney+ Core paid subscribers at the end of the fourth quarter, up 12.4 million from the previous quarter. The company highlighted the streaming success during its earnings call.

"Our streaming business had another quarter of profit growth, with operating income up 39% in Q4 for the full year, we hit $1.3 billion in operating income, up $1.2 billion from last year and $300 million ahead of our original guidance," Disney CEO Bob Iger said.

Iger stressed the importance of the operating income growth, reminding investors that the company's DTC business had a $4 billion loss three years ago.

Revenue for the DTC segment was $6.25 billion in the quarter, flat year over year.

Metrics like revenue and operating ...