The Walt Disney Company sign on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Monday, September 29, 2025 in New York, USA.
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disney reported quarterly sales and profits Monday that beat analysts’ expectations, boosted by its theme parks, resorts and cruises division.
CFO Hugh Johnston told CNBC that the Experiences division reported quarterly revenue of more than $10 billion for the first time.
Disney’s domestic theme parks recorded revenue of $6.91 billion, while its international parks reported revenue of $1.75 billion, each up 7% year over year. At Disney in particular, attendance at its domestic theme parks increased, but “international attendance was sluggish,” Johnston said.
Here’s how Disney’s financial results for the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 27 compared to Wall Street expectations, according to LSEG.
Earnings per share: $1.63 adjusted vs. $1.57 expected Revenue: $25.98 billion vs. $25.74 billion expected
Net income for the quarter was $2.48 billion, or $1.34 per share, down from $2.64 billion, or $1.40 per share, in the year-ago period. Adjusting for one-time items such as taxes related to the Fubo deal, Disney reported earnings of $1.63 per share.
Disney’s overall revenue for the fiscal first quarter was approximately $26 billion, up 5% year over year.
Disney said in its fiscal year 2026 outlook that it plans to buy back $7 billion worth of stock. The company also expects adjusted earnings per share to grow by double digits and cash provided by operating activities to be $19 billion.
For its fiscal second quarter, Disney said it expects operating income from its streaming division, which includes Disney+ and Hulu, to be approximately $500 million, an increase of approximately $200 million from the same period last year.
However, the company’s Experiences division is expected to see “moderate” operating profit growth due to headwinds from international visitors at its domestic parks, as well as pre-launch costs for the new Disney Cruise Line and pre-opening costs for “Frozen World” at Disneyland Paris.
successor sign
Behind Disney’s earnings report on Monday is the question of who will be named to replace CEO Bob Iger.
This is the second time Disney has chosen a replacement for Iger, after appointing Bob Chapek as CEO in 2020 and swiftly firing him in 2022, returning Iger to the top job. By that point, Disney’s stock had fallen, and the company and Iger faced the challenge of not only elevating the parks, but also improving Disney’s standing in the theatrical world.
“Reinvigorating the parks, delivering streaming profitability and double-digit profits, and improving the theatrical business bodes well for the new CEO,” Johnston said.
Mr. Johnston declined to comment on speculation about who would replace Mr. Iger.
Disney’s board of directors plans to meet this week to vote on Iger’s replacement, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. The company had previously announced that it would announce a successor model in the first quarter of this year.
Two of Mr. Iger’s representatives are Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experience; and Disney Entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden are seen as the front-runners in the race to succeed him.
But D’Amaro is driving the company’s profits.
Employees celebrate Disneyland Resort’s 70th anniversary.
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During Disney’s fiscal first quarter, the Experiences division reported three times the operating income of the Entertainment division. Experience segment profit was $3.31 billion, up 6% year-over-year.
By contrast, the entertainment division has long highlighted the deteriorating performance of Disney’s traditional television network, with operating income down 35% from a year ago to $1.1 billion.
The power of streaming, the pressure of sports
The Entertainment segment also includes streaming and theatrical releases. The segment’s total revenue for the period was $11.61 billion, an increase of 7% year over year.
The company attributed the segment’s revenue increase to higher subscription and affiliate fees, as well as the inclusion of the Fubo transaction in Disney’s revenue. Disney acquired a 70% stake in the Internet TV bundle provider in a deal completed in October.
Disney also saw an increase in its theatrical division, especially after dominating the box office in 2025. The company focused on “Zootopia 2” as well as new releases in the “Avatar” and “Predator” series during the quarter.
This is the first quarter that Disney has stopped reporting details about its entertainment division, including a breakdown of revenue and operating income for its linear television networks, streaming and theater businesses. Disney also stopped reporting streaming subscriber numbers starting this quarter, following Netflix last year.
Disney announced that its streaming revenue rose 11% to $5.35 billion in the first quarter.
Disney has recently made a number of changes on the streaming front. Last year, ESPN launched its direct-to-consumer streaming platform and Disney began integrating Hulu into Disney+. Investors will be tuning in for updates on ESPN’s streaming service and the impact of price hikes and changes to Disney+ when executives hold their earnings call at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Disney is now moving ESPN into the sports space separately from its other terrestrial TV networks, its movie business, Disney+ and Hulu.
Sales in the sports division rose 1% to $4.91 billion, but operating income fell 23% to $191 million.
The sports division was weighed down by an increase in program production costs associated with new sports rights contracts, as well as a decrease in subscription fees and affiliate fees due to a decrease in the number of existing bundle subscribers. However, advertising revenue increased due to price increases.
The division was also impacted by a temporary outage to Disney’s YouTube TV network in the fall, which impacted operating income by approximately $110 million.
