Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) shares ticked higher in premarket trading Wednesday after the entertainment giant reported fiscal third-quarter results that beat Wall Street's earnings expectations. The growth came from its streaming, parks, and entertainment businesses, showing that the magic isn't just in the movies anymore.
Disney's Magic Returns: Streaming and Parks Power a Beat
MarketDash
Disney stock climbs as Q3 earnings top estimates, with streaming and theme parks driving growth. The company also boosts its buyback plan.
Get Walt Disney Co (The) Alerts
Weekly insights + SMS alerts
Disney's Q3 Numbers
Adjusted earnings came in at $2.06 per share, topping the analyst consensus of $1.86. Revenue rose 7% year over year to $25.25 billion, though that was just shy of the $25.40 billion analysts had penciled in.
This was Disney's second earnings report under CEO Josh D'Amaro, who has been focused on squeezing more value out of the company's intellectual property across both its entertainment and theme park divisions.
Streaming, ESPN, and Parks All Deliver
Disney's entertainment segment brought in $11.35 billion in revenue, up 6% from a year ago. Direct-to-consumer streaming revenue jumped 11% to $5.53 billion, helped by more subscribers, higher prices, and stronger ad revenue. The box office also got a boost from Toy Story 5, which has crossed $1 billion in global ticket sales.
The sports segment, led by ESPN, reported revenue of $4.50 billion, up 4% year over year, thanks to higher subscription, affiliate, and advertising revenue. CFO Hugh Johnston told CNBC that the NBA and NHL Finals delivered exceptionally strong ratings, with viewership more than doubling compared to prior years. He said Disney hadn't seen audience levels like that in roughly 25 to 30 years.
The experiences segment, which includes theme parks, resorts, and consumer products, posted revenue of $9.97 billion, up 10% from a year earlier. Johnston noted that U.S. park attendance rose 3%, and per-capita guest spending was up 4%. He also highlighted strong attendance at Walt Disney World in Orlando, saying Disney outperformed trends reported by competitors and Orlando International Airport traffic data.
That's a notable contrast to Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), whose NBCUniversal said last month that attendance at its Orlando theme parks declined during the quarter, citing weaker consumer sentiment and higher travel costs.
Profit, Cash Flow, and Capital Returns
Total segment operating income increased 21% to $5.56 billion. The experiences segment generated operating income of $3.02 billion, up 20% year over year. Entertainment operating income jumped 64% to $1.68 billion, while sports operating income declined 17% to $858 million.
Operating cash flow rose 33% to $4.87 billion, and free cash flow totaled $3.07 billion during the quarter. Domestic parks and experiences revenue increased 11% to $7.12 billion, while international parks revenue rose 6% to $1.79 billion.
Disney also said it received about $100 million in tariff refunds and raised its fiscal 2026 share repurchase target to at least $9 billion, up from $8 billion. The increase follows the sale of its 50% stake in A+E Global Media to Hearst, which is expected to generate about $1.2 billion in cash.
In a structural shift, Disney said it will transfer much of its consumer products business from the experiences segment to the entertainment division starting in fiscal 2027, aiming to better align merchandise with its film and television franchises. Separately, the company announced a global partnership with TikTok to bring curated Disney-themed fan content to the platform, a move to engage younger audiences.
What's Next for Disney
Disney reiterated its fiscal 2026 outlook for adjusted EPS growth of about 12%, excluding the impact of the 53rd week. Including that extra week, the company now expects adjusted EPS growth of about 16%, resulting in adjusted EPS of about $6.64. That updated outlook remains below the analyst consensus of $6.81.
For the fourth quarter, Disney expects total segment operating income to reach approximately $4.9 billion. Looking further out, the company reiterated its fiscal 2027 outlook for double-digit adjusted EPS growth, excluding the 53rd week impact.
DIS Price Action: Walt Disney shares were up 2.97% at $101.10 during premarket trading on Wednesday, according to market data.
More News
Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Dow Futures Rise as Bessent Hints at Iran Deal—AMD, SpaceX, SanDisk in Focus
Get a Stake in OpenAI and Anthropic — Today
Hormuz Deal Near? CENTCOM Says Southern Shipping Route Remains 'Free and Open' as Trump Touts 'Very Good' Discussions
How Intel's Earnings Turned AMD's Beat Into A Sell-Off
Arista Networks Hits New High After AI-Driven Q2 Blowout
Trump's Secret Retirement Fund
Micron's Pre-Market Dip: Profit-Taking or Something More?
Scaramucci Blasts 'Banking Lobby' for 'Last Minute Effort to Stall' Crypto Bill: 'Expose the Ciphers'
Get Walt Disney Co (The) Alerts
Real-time alerts on price moves, news, and trading opportunities.
Join 20,000+ investors. No spam, ever.
Featured Articles
View all newsStock Market Today: S&P 500, Dow Futures Rise as Bessent Hints at Iran Deal—AMD, SpaceX, SanDisk in Focus
By MarketDash
August 5, 2026
Trump and Elon Are Back (Ad)
By Stansberry Research
Hormuz Deal Near? CENTCOM Says Southern Shipping Route Remains 'Free and Open' as Trump Touts 'Very Good' Discussions
By MarketDash
August 5, 2026
How Intel's Earnings Turned AMD's Beat Into A Sell-Off
By MarketDash
August 5, 2026
Arista Networks Hits New High After AI-Driven Q2 Blowout
By MarketDash
August 5, 2026
Elon “xPhone” Exposed (Ad)
By Timothy Sykes
Micron's Pre-Market Dip: Profit-Taking or Something More?
By MarketDash
August 5, 2026
Scaramucci Blasts 'Banking Lobby' for 'Last Minute Effort to Stall' Crypto Bill: 'Expose the Ciphers'
By MarketDash
August 5, 2026