Last Updated: 02 Oct 2026
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) is a Burbank, California-based entertainment group founded in 1923 by Walt and Roy O. Disney. It reports three segments: Entertainment (film studios, ABC and other TV networks, and the Disney+ and Hulu streaming services), Sports (ESPN) and Experiences (theme parks, resorts, Disney Cruise Line and consumer products).
FY2025 revenue (52 weeks to 27 Sep 2025) rose 3.4% to $94,425m and adjusted EPS rose 19% to $5.93. In Q3 FY2026 revenue grew 7% to $25,248m and adjusted EPS reached $2.06. Management now plans at least $9bn of buybacks in FY2026. Josh D'Amaro replaced Bob Iger as CEO on 18 Mar 2026. The stock closed at $101.28 on 01 Oct 2026, giving a market value of about $175bn.
This refresh draws on Disney earnings releases (SEC 8-K exhibits), the FY2025 Form 10-K, the Q3 FY2026 Form 10-Q, SEC XBRL company facts and Form 4 filings, all retrieved on 02 Oct 2026. Follow the price on ChartsView Live Charts.
1. Company Snapshot
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Full name | The Walt Disney Company |
| Ticker | DIS (NYSE) |
| Sector | Communication Services |
| Industry | Entertainment: streaming, TV networks, film studios, sports media, theme parks and cruises |
| Headquarters | 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California |
| Founded | 1923 |
| CEO / Leadership | Josh D'Amaro (CEO since 18 Mar 2026); Hugh Johnston (Senior EVP and CFO); Dana Walden (President and Chief Creative Officer); James Gorman (Chair) |
| Market cap | ~$174.9bn (1,726.7m shares × $101.28 at the 01 Oct 2026 close) |
| Revenue (FY2025) | $94,425m (+3.4% YoY) |
| Net income (FY2025) | Diluted EPS $6.85 GAAP (lifted by a $3.3bn non-cash Hulu tax benefit); adjusted EPS $5.93 |
| Employees | About 231,000 at FY2025 year-end (about 172,000 in the US), per the FY2025 10-K |
| Dividend | $1.50 per share for FY2026, paid as two $0.75 instalments (15 Jan 2026 and 22 Jul 2026) |
| Fiscal year end | Saturday closest to 30 Sep; FY2026 is a 53-week year |
2. Bull Case vs Bear Case
Distilled from the full report below. Factual only, no ratings.
Bull Case
- Experiences profit engine: Experiences earned $9,995m of segment operating income in FY2025, 57% of the group total. In Q3 FY2026 its operating income rose 20% to $3,017m, with Domestic Parks & Experiences up 27%. About $100m of that came from tariff refunds.
- Streaming is now profitable: Subscription video (SVOD) operating income was $712m in Q3 FY2026, a 12.9% margin. Management expects a double-digit SVOD margin for FY2026, and Entertainment operating income rose 64% in the quarter.
- Larger capital returns: The FY2026 buyback target has risen from $7bn to at least $9bn, and $7,245m was spent in the first nine months. The dividend went up 50% to $1.50 a share, and treasury shares rose from 79m to 148m between Sep 2025 and Jun 2026.
- Adjusted earnings growth guided to continue: Nine-month adjusted EPS rose 9% to $5.25. FY2026 guidance is about 12% adjusted EPS growth excluding the 53rd week (about 16% including it), and management expects double-digit growth again in FY2027.
Bear Case
- Sports profits under pressure: Sports operating income fell 17% to $858m in Q3 FY2026. The causes were NBA rights-cost timing, short early-round playoff series and a carriage dispute. UFC rights ended in Dec 2025.
- GAAP earnings well below adjusted: Trailing-twelve-month GAAP EPS is $4.85, against about $6.36 adjusted. Restructuring and impairment charges were $1,139m in the first nine months of FY2026, including $959m year-to-date on the A+E stake.
- Weaker free cash flow and heavy capex: Nine-month free cash flow fell 24% to $5,735m. Capex is running at about $9bn a year under a roughly $60bn ten-year parks and cruise plan. Total borrowings were $46.0bn at 27 Jun 2026, with $8.6bn due within a year.
- Restructuring and leadership change: There have been three rounds of job cuts in 2026, the latest about 300 HR and IT roles on 30 Sep, and on 01 Oct the WSJ reported a TV reorganisation. The CEO changed in March, and Bob Iger leaves the board on 31 Dec 2026.
- Rivals getting bigger: Paramount Skydance's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to close around 06 Oct 2026, and Netflix is worth about $283bn, well above Disney's ~$175bn.
3. What Does This Company Actually Do?
Disney makes films and TV series, distributes them through its own streaming services, TV networks and cinemas, and earns further revenue from them through theme parks, cruises and merchandise. ESPN, its sports business, is now 72% owned by Disney: the NFL owns 10% and Hearst 18%, following the NFL Network deal that closed on 31 Jan 2026.
| Segment | % of revenue | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Entertainment | 45.0% ($42,466m) | Film studios (Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 20th Century), ABC and other linear networks, and the Disney+ and Hulu streaming services. FY2025 segment operating income was $4,674m. |
| Experiences | 38.3% ($36,156m) | Domestic and international parks and resorts, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club and consumer products. FY2025 segment operating income was $9,995m. |
| Sports | 18.7% ($17,672m) | ESPN domestic and international networks and ESPN direct-to-consumer (DTC). FY2025 segment operating income was $2,882m. |
| Eliminations | -2.0% (-$1,869m) | Intersegment revenue, for example Entertainment content licensed to Sports |
Shares of FY2025 revenue of $94,425m, per the Q4 FY2025 earnings release. In Q3 FY2026 (to 27 Jun 2026), revenue was split as follows: Entertainment $11,345m (+6%), Sports $4,500m (+4%), Experiences $9,968m (+10%). From Q1 FY2027 most of consumer products moves from Experiences to Entertainment.
4. The Business Model
How it makes money. Disney has four main sources of revenue:
- subscription and affiliate fees from streaming and pay-TV distributors;
- advertising on ABC, ESPN, Disney+ and Hulu;
- theatrical and content licensing;
- spending at its parks, hotels and cruise ships, plus merchandise royalties.
Experiences is the main profit source, producing 57% of FY2025 segment operating income. Entertainment and Sports supply the characters and live events that bring visitors to the parks and subscribers to the streaming services.
Where the moat sits. The moat has three parts:
- Intellectual property: the Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars franchises can be used across films, streaming, parks and merchandise.
- Physical assets: the parks and cruise fleet are very hard to copy. Disney says it has more than 1,000 acres available to expand on.
- ESPN: the strongest sports brand in US media, now carrying NFL Network and RedZone distribution.
What changed in 2025–2026. Disney+ and Hulu now make a profit, with a 12.9% SVOD margin in Q3 FY2026. Hulu Live TV was combined with Fubo, which Disney 70% owns and has consolidated since 29 Oct 2025. ESPN launched its stand-alone DTC service (ESPN Unlimited, $29.99 a month) in Aug 2025 and swapped a 10% stake for NFL media assets. The planned $1bn equity investment in OpenAI and the Sora licensing deal announced in Dec 2025 were cancelled in Mar 2026, after OpenAI shut down Sora.
5. Financial Health
Sources: Disney quarterly and annual earnings releases (SEC 8-K exhibits), the FY2025 Form 10-K, the Q3 FY2026 Form 10-Q, and SEC XBRL company facts (data.sec.gov) for borrowings, cash flow, D&A and EPS. The fiscal year ends on the Saturday closest to 30 Sep.
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($m) | YoY % | GAAP EPS | Adjusted EPS | Dividend/share | Long-term debt (YE) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | $67,418m | +3.1% | $1.11 | $2.29 | $0.00 | $48,540m |
| FY2022 | $82,722m | +22.7% | $1.75 | $3.53 | $0.00 | $45,299m |
| FY2023 | $88,898m | +7.5% | $1.29 | $3.76 | $0.00 | $42,101m |
| FY2024 | $91,361m | +2.8% | $2.72 | $4.97 | $0.75 | $38,970m |
| FY2025 | $94,425m | +3.4% | $6.85 | $5.93 | $1.00 | $35,315m |
Notes on the annual table:
- GAAP EPS is diluted EPS from continuing operations attributable to Disney. Adjusted EPS is Disney's "diluted EPS excluding certain items".
- FY2020 revenue was $65,388m, the base for the FY2021 YoY figure.
- FY2025 GAAP EPS includes a $3.3bn non-cash tax benefit from the Hulu transaction and a $1.0bn prior-year tax resolution.
- Dividend/share is cash dividends paid in the fiscal year. The dividend was suspended in 2020; a $0.30 payment declared in Nov 2023 was paid in Jan 2024.
- Long-term debt is noncurrent borrowings at year-end (SEC XBRL tag LongTermDebtNoncurrent). The current portion was $6,711m at FY2025 year-end.
Quarterly results (most recent first)
| Quarter / Half | Revenue | Adjusted EPS | GAAP EPS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q3 FY2026 (to 27 Jun 2026) | $25,248m | $2.06 | $1.51 |
| Q2 FY2026 (to 28 Mar 2026) | $25,168m | $1.57 | $1.27 |
| Q1 FY2026 (to 27 Dec 2025) | $25,981m | $1.63 | $1.34 |
| Q4 FY2025 (to 27 Sep 2025) | $22,464m | $1.11 | $0.73 |
| FY2025 total | $94,425m | $5.93 | $6.85 |
Release dates:
- Q3 FY2026: 05 Aug 2026
- Q2 FY2026: 06 May 2026
- Q1 FY2026: 02 Feb 2026
- Q4 FY2025: 13 Nov 2025
For the first nine months of FY2026, revenue was $76,397m (+6%), adjusted EPS $5.25 (+9%) and GAAP EPS $4.12. The Q3 FY2026 GAAP EPS of $1.51 compares with $2.92 a year earlier, which was lifted by the Hulu tax benefit.
Cash flow and balance sheet.
- Cash flow (FY2025).
- Operating cash flow was $18,101m and capex (investments in parks, resorts and other property) was $8,024m, giving free cash flow of $10,077m.
- D&A was $5,326m and income before income taxes was $12,003m.
- Cash flow (9M FY2026).
- Operating cash flow fell 8% to $12,515m, mainly because deferred FY2025 taxes were paid under California wildfire relief.
- Capex was $6,780m and free cash flow $5,735m.
- Trailing-twelve-month operating cash flow was about $16,989m and capex about $8,696m.
- Balance sheet at 27 Jun 2026. Cash and cash equivalents were $5,185m. Borrowings totalled $46,041m: $8,627m current and $37,414m noncurrent. Total equity was $116,842m, including $6,810m of noncontrolling interests.
- FY2026 guidance (reiterated 05 Aug 2026):
- adjusted EPS growth of about 12% excluding the 53rd week, or about 16% including it;
- operating cash flow of at least $19bn;
- capex of about $9bn;
- buybacks of at least $9bn;
- Q4 total segment operating income of about $4.9bn, including about $600m from the extra week.
6. Valuation & Market Data
Raw metrics, October 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Market cap | ~$174.9bn (1,726.7m shares × $101.28 at the 01 Oct 2026 close) |
| Enterprise value | ~$215.7bn = market cap ~$174.9bn + total debt ~$46.0bn (current $8.6bn + noncurrent $37.4bn) − cash ~$5.2bn, per the 27 Jun 2026 balance sheet. Excludes $6.8bn of noncontrolling interests. |
| Trailing P/E (GAAP) | ~20.9x ($101.28 / TTM GAAP diluted EPS of $4.85, Q4 FY2025 to Q3 FY2026). On TTM adjusted EPS of about $6.36 the multiple is ~15.9x. |
| P/E (forward) | ~15.3x ($101.28 / about $6.64, which is FY2025 adjusted EPS of $5.93 grown by the guided ~12% excluding the 53rd week). Including the 53rd week (about $6.88) the multiple is ~14.7x. |
| P/S (TTM) | ~1.77x (market cap / TTM revenue of $98,861m, Q4 FY2025 to Q3 FY2026) |
| EV/EBITDA (TTM) | ~11.1x (EV ~$215.7bn / TTM EBITDA ~$19.4bn). EBITDA = TTM EBIT of $13,831m (income before income taxes $12,750m + net interest expense $1,081m) + TTM D&A of $5,529m (the cash-flow add-back). EBIT is after $1,521m of TTM restructuring and impairment charges, mostly the A+E write-down; excluding them, EV/EBITDA is ~10.3x. |
| P/FCF | ~21.1x (market cap ~$174.9bn / TTM FCF ~$8.3bn). FCF = operating cash flow $16,989m − capex $8,696m (FY2025 less 9M FY2025 plus 9M FY2026). On FY2025 FCF of $10,077m the multiple is ~17.4x. |
| 52-week high | $117.09 (MarketBeat) |
| 52-week low | $92.18 (MarketBeat) |
| Short interest (% of float) | 1.14% (latest MarketBeat update). At the 31 Aug 2026 settlement it was 1.20%, or 20.6m shares. |
| Days to cover | 2.71 (latest MarketBeat update; 2.59 at the 31 Aug 2026 settlement) |
| Dividend yield | ~1.48% ($1.50 FY2026 dividend / $101.28) |
Share-price-based metrics use the 01 Oct 2026 close, when the stock fell 3.45% on the day. For live prices see ChartsView Live Charts.
7. What Are They Building
A ten-year parks and cruise expansion. Disney plans to spend about $60bn on Experiences over ten years, nearly double the previous decade. At the D23 Expo (14–16 Aug 2026) it announced 22 park projects, including:
- Walt Disney World: Monstropolis (2027), Tropical Americas, a Cars area and Villains Land;
- Disneyland Resort: a re-imagined Tomorrowland, a Coco attraction and an Avengers Campus expansion;
- international parks: a Lion King area in Paris, Marvel additions in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and a new Space Mountain in Tokyo.
Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be built and run by Miral, with Disney providing creative and operational oversight. No opening date has been announced.
A bigger cruise fleet. Disney Destiny (Nov 2025) and Disney Adventure (Mar 2026) raised stateroom capacity by about 50% year on year in Q3 FY2026. The ninth ship, Disney Believe, is due in Q4 2027; its features will be revealed on 07 Oct 2026.
One streaming app. Hulu is now fully integrated into the Disney+ app, and live TV and add-ons follow by the end of 2026. A "membership ecosystem" starts in spring 2027. Disney also plans to roughly triple local international originals over three years, and signed a creator-content deal with TikTok on 05 Aug 2026. The CFO said Disney is considering a free, ad-supported tier.
ESPN as a sports marketplace. ESPN Unlimited now carries NFL Network and RedZone distribution, with distribution tie-ups with MLB, FOX One and The CW. Formula E rights start on Disney+ and ESPN from the 2026/27 season. On 14 Aug 2026 D'Amaro told CNBC he has no interest in spinning off ESPN.
8. Competitive Landscape
| Peer | Market cap (Oct 2026) | Key 2025 metric |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix (NFLX) | ~$282.5bn | FY2025 revenue $45.2bn, +16%; operating margin 29.5%; more than 325m paid memberships (Netflix Q4 2025 letter on SEC) |
| Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) | ~$77.6bn | FY2025 revenue $37.3bn, −5%; 131.6m streaming subscribers (WBD Q4 2025 release on SEC) |
| Comcast (CMCSA) | ~$77.0bn | FY2025 revenue $123.7bn, roughly flat; Theme Parks revenue +19% after Epic Universe opened; Peacock 44m paid subscribers (Comcast Q4 2025 release) |
| Paramount Skydance (PSKY) | ~$11.6bn | FY2025 revenue about $29bn; Paramount+ about 79m subscribers (Paramount FY2025 release) |
Market caps are from companiesmarketcap.com, 29 Sep to 01 Oct 2026; the Paramount Skydance figure may exclude some share classes. Paramount Skydance agreed to buy WBD for $31.00 a share in cash, an enterprise value of about $110bn. After a settlement with California and 11 other states on 21 Sep 2026, reports say the deal is expected to close around 06 Oct 2026.
9. Leadership and Ownership
Josh D'Amaro, formerly Chairman of Disney Experiences, was named CEO on 03 Feb 2026 and took over on 18 Mar 2026. Bob Iger stays on the board as senior adviser until he retires on 31 Dec 2026. Hugh Johnston is CFO and James Gorman is Chair. No open-market trades by the CEO or CFO were found in 2026. The only open-market purchase this year was a small one by director Amy Chang. Chair James Gorman bought 18,000 shares at $111.89 on 12 Dec 2025.
| Name | Date | Type | Shares | Price | Value | Plan Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brent Woodford (EVP Control, Financial Planning and Tax) | 01 Sep 2026 | Option exercise and sale | 3,618 | $107.13 | ~$387,596 | 10b5-1 (adopted 24 Feb 2026) |
| Paul M. Roeder (Senior EVP, Chief Communications Officer) | 19 Aug 2026 | Sale | 3,596 | $106.32 | ~$382,327 | No 10b5-1 footnote on the filing |
| Brent Woodford (EVP Control, Financial Planning and Tax) | 14 Aug 2026 | Option exercise and sale | 7,238 | $105.31 | ~$762,234 | 10b5-1 (adopted 24 Feb 2026) |
| Amy Chang (Director) | 12 Feb 2026 | Purchase | 916 | $107.85 | ~$98,791 | Open market |
| Sonia L. Coleman (Senior EVP, Chief People Officer) | 22 Jan 2026 | Sale | 2,473 | $114.00 | ~$281,922 | 10b5-1 (adopted 23 May 2025) |
Sources: SEC Form 4 filings on EDGAR, cross-checked against OpenInsider. Grants and tax-withholding transactions are not shown.
10. Risks and Challenges
- Sports rights costs (Operational): Sports operating income fell 17% in Q3 FY2026 because of NBA rights-cost timing and short playoff series. Large fixed rights contracts make ESPN's profits volatile from quarter to quarter.
- Linear TV decline and advertising (Macro): Pay-TV subscriber losses continue to shrink affiliate fees. Management also flagged a soft domestic SVOD advertising market, as more ad inventory pushes prices down.
- Box-office dependence (Operational): Mandalorian & Grogu and the live-action Moana underperformed, and Moana weighs on Q4 FY2026 Entertainment results. Film results depend on a small number of tentpole releases.
- International parks and travel (Macro): Shanghai and Hong Kong are soft, and management expects that to continue into Q4. Lower international visitation to US parks is also a headwind for Experiences.
- Execution and leadership transition (Operational): A new CEO, three rounds of job cuts in 2026 and a TV reorganisation reported on 01 Oct 2026 all raise the risk of disruption to content output and to staff.
- Capital intensity and leverage (Financial): The roughly $60bn parks plan, about $9bn of annual capex and at least $9bn of buybacks are all funded alongside $46.0bn of borrowings. Nine-month FCF fell 24%.
- Political and regulatory exposure (Regulatory): ABC's programming has drawn political scrutiny, including the Kimmel controversy. The A+E sale needs regulatory approval, and tariffs have affected consumer products costs.
11. Recent Developments
- 01 Oct 2026 — TV reorganisation reported. The WSJ reported a reorganisation of Disney's TV businesses, with hundreds of job cuts. It is led by Debra O'Connell under Dana Walden and brings ABC Entertainment, 20th Television, Hulu Originals, Freeform and Nat Geo content together. The shares fell 3.45% to $101.28.
- 30 Sep 2026 — Third round of layoffs. Disney cut more than 300 jobs, mostly in HR and IT. It is the third round of cuts in 2026, after about 1,000 roles in April.
- 23 Sep 2026 — Streaming price rises. Disney+ Premium (no ads) rises from $18.99 to $21.49 a month, and the ad-supported tiers rise from $11.99 to $12.49. ESPN bundles also go up. Existing subscribers pay the new prices from 21 Oct 2026.
- 14 Aug 2026 — D23 Expo opens. Disney announced 22 park projects across six resorts and gave a first look at the cruise ship Disney Believe. The same week, D'Amaro told CNBC he will not spin off ESPN.
- 11 Aug 2026 — Formula E rights. Disney signed a multi-year deal to show Formula E on Disney+ and ESPN from the 2026/27 season.
- 05 Aug 2026 — Q3 FY2026 results. Revenue was $25,248m (+7%) and adjusted EPS $2.06, up from $1.61. Segment operating income rose 21% to $5,555m. The buyback target went up to at least $9bn, and a TikTok content deal was announced. Disney took an $812m impairment on its A+E stake.
- 05 Aug 2026 — A+E stake sale disclosed. Disney agreed to sell its 50% stake in A+E Global Media to a Hearst affiliate for about $1.2bn in cash, with the proceeds going to buybacks. Closing was expected by the end of FY2026, subject to regulatory approvals.
12. Key Dates Coming Up
- 07 Oct 2026 — Disney Cruise Line reveals the features of its ninth ship, Disney Believe, in a livestream; the ship is due in Q4 2027.
- 16 Oct 2026 — "Whalefall" (20th Century Studios) opens in cinemas.
- 21 Oct 2026 — Higher Disney+, Hulu and ESPN prices take effect for existing subscribers.
- Expected 12 Nov 2026 — Q4 and full-year FY2026 results, a 53-week year. Market calendars give this date; Disney had not confirmed it at the time of writing.
- Expected Nov 2026 — FY2027 dividend declaration. The FY2026 dividend was declared with Q4 results on 13 Nov 2025.
- 25 Nov 2026 — Disney Animation's "Hexed" opens for Thanksgiving.
- 18 Dec 2026 — Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Doomsday" opens.
- 31 Dec 2026 — Bob Iger retires from the board.
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