Walt Disney Co. shares rose in early trading on Monday after the media giant reported fiscal first-quarter results that exceeded Wall Street expectations, supported by strong performance in streaming and continued momentum at its theme parks, resorts, and cruise businesses.
The company posted adjusted earnings of $1.63 a share for the quarter ended Dec. 27, down from $1.76 a year earlier, while revenue rose 5% to about $26 billion.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of $1.57 a share on revenue of roughly $25.7 billion.
Disney shares were up 3.2% in premarket trading.
Net income for the quarter came in at $2.48 billion, or $1.34 per share, compared with $2.64 billion, or $1.40 per share, a year earlier.
After adjusting for one-time items, including tax charges related to a deal with Fubo, the company reported adjusted earnings of $1.63 per share.
“We are pleased with the start to our fiscal year, and our achievements reflect the tremendous progress we’ve made,” said Robert Iger, chief executive officer of Walt Disney Co., in a statement. “We delivered strong box office performance in calendar year 2025 with billion-dollar hits like Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash, franchises that generate value across many of our businesses.”
Streaming unit delivers sharp profit growth
Operating income from Disney’s streaming operations, which include Disney+ and Hulu, rose 72% from a year earlier to $450 million, beating analyst estimates and company guidance.
Revenue in the streaming business increased 11% to $5.35 billion.
For the fiscal second quarter, Disney said it expects its streaming unit to generate about $500 million in operating income, roughly $200 million more than the same period last year.
The company has recently rolled out several changes to its streaming strategy, including the launch of ESPN’s direct-to-consumer platform and the integration of Hulu into Disney+.
Disney stopped reporting streaming subscriber numbers this quarter and no longer breaks out revenue and operating income for its linear TV, streaming, and theatrical businesses separately, following a similar move by Netflix last year.
Parks and experiences drive revenue growth
Disney’s experiences division, which includes theme parks, resorts, and cruises, continued to anchor the company’s earnings.
The unit generated more than $10 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time, according to Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston, and posted operating income of $3.31 billion, up 6% from a year earlier.
Domestic theme parks recorded $6.91 billion in revenue, while international parks brought in $1.75 billion, both up 7% year over year.
Johnston said attendance rose at domestic parks, while “international visitation was softer.”
Looking ahead, Disney said operating income growth in the experiences unit is expected to be “modest” in the fiscal second quarter due to softer international visitation, pre-launch costs for a new Disney Cruise Line ship, and pre-opening costs for the “World of Frozen” attraction at Disneyland Paris.
Sports pressure and CEO succession in focus
Disney’s sports segment, which now reports ESPN separately, saw revenue rise 1% to $4.91 billion, while operating income fell 23% to $191 million.
The decline reflected higher programming and production costs tied to new sports rights deals, lower subscription and affiliate fees from cord-cutting, and a temporary blackout of Disney networks on YouTube TV that weighed on results by about $110 million.
Alongside earnings, attention remains on Disney’s leadership transition.
The company’s board is meeting this week and is expected to vote on a successor to Iger.
Two internal executives, Josh D’Amaro and Dana Walden, are widely seen as frontrunners.
Johnston declined to comment on succession speculation, saying only that strengthening parks, streaming, and theatrical businesses “bodes well for a new CEO.”
Disney reaffirmed its outlook for fiscal 2026, including plans to repurchase $7 billion of stock, target double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share, and generate $19 billion in cash from operations.
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