Disney’s Josh D’Amaro stepped out with solid numbers and some news in his first full quarter as CEO. Toy Story 5 drove studio revenue, theme parks saw an uptick in attendance, and streaming profits more than doubled for the three months ended in June.
Total operating income for Disney’s fiscal third quarter jumped 21% $5.6 billion, beating Wall Street forecasts, as did adjusted EPS (of $2.06 a share, up from $1.61).
Revenue of $25.2 billion rose 7% from the year earlier.
The fiscal Q3 numbers follow confirmation of Disney’s planned sale of its 50% interest in A+E Global Media to an affiliate of co-owner Hearst for $1.2 billion in cash. The media giant is moving its consumer products business under Studios from the lucrative division’s longtime home in Experiences. And it unveiled a global, short form content sharing partnership with TikTok this morning.
The quarterly numbers and full-year outlook “reinforce our confidence that we are uniquely well positioned,” said D’Amaro, who took the reins from Bob Iger in March. “Decades of IP investment have built deep fan connections that translate into strong financial results. Our accelerating global guests growth at Experiences, Toy Story 5‘s theatrical and consumer products success, and strong ESPN viewership gains all helped expand our consumer reach this quarter.”
He’ll be hosting a call with analysts at 8:30 am ET.
Disney’s three sprawling divisions are led by Entertainment, which posted profit of $1.7 billion, up 64%, on revenue of $11.3 billion. The company cited the June 19 theatrical release of Toy Story 5, which has surpassed $1 billion in global box office, as well as The Devil Wears Prada 2.
Disney acknowledged that Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu and live action Moana (in fiscal 4Q) underperformed at the box office but noted their other contributions to the flywheel like a new Mandalorian-themed Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and retail sales.
“We expect the live-action Moana to be a strong title on Disney+, building on the success of the original film … and extending the reach of the franchise, which now includes three films, a themed area at EPCOT, and a robust global merchandise business.”
Disney doesn’t furnish streaming subscriber numbers anymore but said SVOD operating income more than doubled to $712 million from $329 million on revenue of $5.5 billion, up 11%. Subscriptions fees rose 15% (9% from more subscribers, 3% from higher rates and 1% from a favorable foreign exchange impact). Advertising nosed up 3% (impressions were higher, rates lower).
Disney also sounded a bit like Netflix as it talked up an emerging international programming slate with Rivals Season 2 on Disney+ in the U.K. and Ireland, The Perfect Crown in Korea and Dear Killer Nannies in Latin America. The company plans to triple the number of Disney+ local original series over the next three years.
“Our ambition is for Disney+ to become the digital centerpiece of the Walt Disney Company,” D’Amaro’s letter said.
“We aim to evolve Disney+ into a comprehensive membership ecosystem. By integrating high-value, always-on benefits with our storytelling, we can reach more fans, deepen engagement, and increase subscriber retention. These product enhancements will also allow us to further segment the market, increasing our addressable opportunity over time. We expect to begin introducing elements of this vision in Spring 2027.”
Disney+ Q3 churn declined worldwide and Disney said it passed an important milestone in “app unification” allowing Hulu standalone and bundle subscribers to link profiles, watch history, and manage subscriptions on Disney+.
At Experiences, profit rose 20% to over $3 billion on almost $10 billion in revenue. Global guests grew 4% and attendance at domestic parks rose 3%. WDW saw healthy core attendance increases from domestic tourists and annual passholders.Forward bookings remain robust.
That should reassure investors who were spooked by softer attendance at Universal’s domestic parks when Comcast reported earnings last month.
Theme parks average per capita ticket revenue rose 5%. Disney noted continued, but moderating, headwinds from international attendance at domestic parks. It cited strong attendance growth at Disneyland Paris following the opening of World of Frozen. Overall, it anticipates a quarter of global guest growth in the current fiscal Q4 despite consumer softness in Asia.
Q3 was the first full quarter with Disney’s two newest cruise ships, the Disney Destiny and Disney Adventure.
Disney said it recorded approximately $100 million in a tariff refund for the quarter, reversing out tariff payments earlier in the fiscal year. Apple last week reported a $2.19 billion tariff refund for the June quarter.
Sports, led by juggernaut ESPN, saw profit of $853 million, down 17% on higher programming and production costs, on $4.5 billion in revenue. Disney cited contractual rate increases, costs for new sports rights and an impact from the timing of rights costs recognition as a result of the NBA contract renewal. Contributing to the lower-than-expected operating income were four-game sweeps in early rounds of the NBA playoffs and the impact of a network carriage dispute. Disney was likely referring here to the resolution terms of a fight with YouTube TV in late 2025.
After unlocking a selection of ESPN content on Disney+ domestically in 2024 and expanding it globally since then, the letter said, the company plans to deliver a more robust subset of games for Disney+ subscribers beginning this fall anchored by additional college football simulcasts. The service will also continue simulcasting college football pregame show College GameDay.
