Disney (DIS) earnings Q1 2026
Walt Disney Co. on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, USA, on Monday, September 29, 2025. sign.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Disney It reported on Monday that its quarterly revenue and earnings beat analyst expectations, driven by its theme parks, resorts and cruise segment.
The experiences unit reported more than $10 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time. CFO Hugh Johnston he told CNBC.
Disney’s domestic theme parks recorded revenue of $6.91 billion, while its international parks reported revenue of $1.75 billion, up 7% from the previous year. While Disney is seeing increased attendance at its domestic theme parks in particular, “international visitation is softer,” Johnston said.
Here’s how Disney carried out in it first quarter of the fiscal year, It ended Dec. 27 compared to Wall Street expectations, according to LSEG:
- Earnings per share: Adjusted $1.63, expected $1.57
- Revenues: $25.98 billion, expected $25.74 billion
Net income for the quarter was $2.48 billion, or $1.34 per share, compared to $2.64 billion, or $1.40 per share, in the same period a year ago. Adjusting for one-time items, including tax charges related to a deal with Fubo, Disney reported earnings of $1.63 per share.
Total revenue for Disney’s fiscal first quarter was approximately $26 billion, up 5% year over year.
In Disney’s fiscal 2026 outlook, the company said it is on track to repurchase $7 billion in stock. Double-digit growth is also expected in adjusted earnings per share and $19 billion in cash provided by operations.
Disney said it expects its streaming unit, which consists of Disney+ and Hulu, to generate about $500 million in operating income in the second quarter of its fiscal year, or about $200 million more than the same period last year.
However, the experience unit is expected to see “modest” growth in operating income due to international visitor surges at domestic parks, as well as pre-launch costs of a new Disney Cruise line and pre-opening costs of “World of Frozen” at Disneyland Paris.
Successor marks
The question of who will do this is in the background of Disney’s earnings report on Monday. CEO Bob Iger’s successor will be chosen.
Disney is choosing a replacement for Iger for the second time after appointing Bob Chapek as CEO in 2020 and then quickly firing him in 2022, putting Iger back in the top spot. At this point, Disney’s stock had fallen as the company and Iger faced improving Disney’s position in the theatrical landscape as well as revitalizing the parks.
““Getting parks up to speed, moving broadcasts to profitability and double-digit margins, and growing the theater business bodes well for a new CEO,” Johnston said.
Johnston declined to comment on speculation about who would replace Iger.
Disney’s board of directors will meet this week and is expected to vote on Iger’s successor, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. The company had previously said it would announce a successor in the first quarter of this year.
Two of Iger’s aides — Josh D’Amaro, president of Disney Experiences; and Disney Entertainment co-chairman Dana Walden are frontrunners in the succession race.
But D’Amaro manages the company’s profit making machine.
In the first quarter of Disney’s fiscal year, the experiences division reported three times the entertainment division’s operating income. Experiences made a profit of $3.31 billion, an increase of 6% compared to the same period of the previous year.
By contrast, the entertainment division has long highlighted declining business for Disney’s traditional TV networks, posting operating income of $1.1 billion, down 35% from the previous year.
Broadcast power, sports edition
The entertainment segment also includes broadcast and theatrical releases. The unit’s total revenue increased by 7% annually during this period, reaching $11.61 billion.
The company attributed the unit’s revenue growth to higher subscription and partnership fees, as well as the inclusion of the Fubo transaction in Disney’s earnings. Disney acquired 70% shares of internet TV package provider closed deal In October.
Disney has also seen a boost in its theatrical unit, especially after dominating the box office in 2025. In addition to “Zootopia 2”, the company also recorded new productions in the “Avatar” and “Predator” series this quarter.
This marked the first quarter in which Disney stopped reporting some details for its entertainment segment, such as a breakdown of revenue and operating income for its linear TV networks, streaming and theatrical businesses. Disney also stopped reporting streaming subscriber numbers this quarter, following Netflix’s lead last year.
Disney said revenue at its streaming business rose 11% to $5.35 billion in the fiscal first quarter.
Disney has made several changes on the streaming front lately. Last year, ESPN launched its direct-to-consumer streaming platform and Disney began integrating Hulu into Disney+. Investors will be curious about updates on ESPN’s streaming service and the impact of price increases and changes to Disney+ when executives hold a meeting. earnings will be announced at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Disney is now separating ESPN into its sports segment, separate from its other linear TV networks, movie business, Disney+ and Hulu.
While the sports segment’s revenue increased 1% to $4.91 billion, operating income decreased 23% to $191 million.
The sports segment remained under pressure due to the increase in programming and production costs of new sports rights deals, as well as the decline in subscription and affiliate fees due to the loss of traditional package subscribers. However, advertising revenues increased due to higher rates.
The unit was also impacted by the temporary shutdown of Disney’s YouTube TV networks in the fall, resulting in an impact of approximately $110 million in operating income.
