LOS ANGELES, May 7, 2026, 08:08 PDT
Walt Disney shares climbed early Thursday, gaining about 1.7% to $109.92 right after the New York market opened. The move followed a quarterly beat, with newly installed CEO Josh D’Amaro, in his first earnings call, laying out a growth strategy tightly focused on streaming, ESPN, and the core theme parks business.
The clock is ticking for D’Amaro, who took over from Bob Iger in mid-March. He’s under pressure to convince investors that Disney’s streaming operation can start delivering real, lasting profits, even as the company’s legacy TV division contracts and its theme parks deal with weaker international visitor numbers and new rivals in Orlando.
Disney posted a 7% jump in revenue for its fiscal second quarter ended March 28, bringing in $25.168 billion. Adjusted earnings per share climbed to $1.57, up from $1.45 a year earlier and ahead of the $1.49 average forecast from analysts. Revenue also cleared expectations, beating the $24.78 billion consensus from LSEG analysts, according to Reuters.
Streaming led the way. Disney’s entertainment subscription video-on-demand segment—which covers Disney+ and Hulu—reported operating income at $582 million, an 88% jump from last year, on $5.486 billion in revenue. The company highlighted its first double-digit operating margin for the business.
“Our focus remains consistent — improve the consumer experience, deepen engagement, and continue building a healthy and more durable growth business,” D’Amaro said. In the shareholder letter, Disney laid out its approach along three main lines: put more into intellectual property and creative projects, expand the audience, and harness technology to drive profitability from its franchises. Reuters
Signs of that strategy are popping up on Disney+. In March, Disney rolled out Verts, a short-form video tool aimed at boosting both discovery and daily user engagement. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the company is looking to double down on original IP and snackable content. D’Amaro, for his part, told analysts he envisions Disney+ as the “digital centerpiece” that connects entertainment, sports, parks, games, and merchandise into one cohesive fan ecosystem. SEC
The parks and experiences unit kept busy. Revenue grew 7% to $9.487 billion, and operating income reached $2.615 billion—a pair of new fiscal second-quarter highs. Disney reported a 1% decline in domestic park attendance, citing softer international travel as one factor. Yet global guests, which fold in both park attendance and cruise passenger days, edged up 2%.
Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston pointed to a dip in international visitors and stiffer competition from Comcast’s Universal Epic Universe in Orlando as factors weighing on domestic parks. Disney still saw spending per guest at U.S. parks climb 5%, and the company anticipates a pickup in domestic attendance in the fiscal third quarter.
Results at ESPN were messier. Disney’s sports revenue ticked up 2% to $4.609 billion, yet operating income slid 5% to $652 million, squeezed by higher programming and production outlays. Looking ahead, the company projects sports operating income will drop roughly 14% in the fiscal third quarter, citing a double-digit jump in programming costs.
Disney rejected calls to divest its linear TV networks, with Johnston telling analysts such a step would be “highly complex” and probably wouldn’t deliver shareholder value. ESPN, he said, still matters strategically; live sports help limit subscriber churn for the streaming business. Investing
There’s a chance multiple headwinds could land at once. Higher sports-rights fees could pinch ESPN, while streaming is still jammed with competition, and Disney’s parks face ongoing sensitivity to fuel costs, overseas tourism, and other vacation options. Johnston pointed out Disney hasn’t noticed much consumer pushback from pricier gasoline yet, but acknowledged they wouldn’t be shielded if fuel costs climbed far enough to force families to pull back.
Disney stuck with its forecast for roughly 12% adjusted earnings growth in fiscal 2026, not counting the extra 53rd week, and confirmed a plan for at least $8 billion in share buybacks. D’Amaro’s priorities for investors were clear: streaming needs to deliver fatter margins, ESPN has to prove its worth, and the parks business should keep expanding even if attendance stutters.
