Disney Beats Earnings Forecasts as Streaming and Parks Lift Revenue

Disney opened Josh D’Amaro’s tenure with a quarter that beat Wall Street on both profit and sales, but the numbers also made clear where the company’s growth is still coming from: theme parks and streaming, not a broad rebound across every part of the entertainment empire.

The Walt Disney Company said adjusted earnings rose to $1.57 a share on revenue of $25.17 billion in the fiscal second quarter, which ended March 28. Analysts had expected $1.49 a share on $24.78 billion in sales. Investors responded quickly, sending Disney shares up about 5% in premarket trading, an early vote of confidence in a turnaround story that now falls to D’Amaro after Bob Iger stepped down on March 18.

The strongest evidence of momentum came from streaming. Disney+ and Hulu revenue climbed 13% to $5.49 billion, while operating income jumped 88% to $582 million. The streaming unit posted a 10.6% operating margin, its first double-digit quarter, helped by the newly launched ESPN direct-to-consumer app and a shift in the economics of digital distribution. That matters because streaming has been one of Disney’s biggest drains for years; now it is starting to contribute meaningful profit instead of just scale.

Parks remained the company’s most reliable engine. Disney’s experiences segment generated nearly $9.5 billion in revenue, up 7% from a year earlier. Global guest attendance rose 2%, though domestic park visitation fell 1%, showing that the business is still growing even as U.S. demand softens at the margin. Disney said bookings for the second half of the year were strong and that guest spending increased during the quarter, despite macroeconomic pressure including higher fuel prices tied to the Middle East conflict.

D’Amaro and Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said growth should accelerate in the second half of fiscal 2026, and Disney reiterated that it expects adjusted earnings per share to rise about 12% for the year, excluding the impact of the 53rd week. The company also lifted its share-repurchase target to at least $8 billion in fiscal 2026, up from $7 billion. D’Amaro has paired that financial guidance with a broader promise to keep investing in content, park experiences and technology, a signal that he intends to push Disney’s franchises harder across streaming, ESPN and live experiences rather than retreat into any single business.

That is the real test now. Disney closed fiscal 2025 with $94.4 billion in revenue, $17.6 billion in total segment operating income and adjusted earnings of $5.93 a share, up 19% from fiscal 2024. The latest quarter showed the company can still convert its brands into cash, but D’Amaro’s job is to prove that Disney can do more than lean on its parks while streaming stabilizes and the rest of the media business searches for its next growth phase.