Disney's theme parks revenue holds steady, despite national economic concerns

Walt Disney Co.’s taxable parks and cruise enactment concern is holding dependable contempt nationalist concerns astir discretionary user spending and higher state prices.

The Burbank media and amusement giant’s experiences part reported $9.5 cardinal successful gross successful its fiscal 2nd quarter, up 7% compared with the aforesaid play a twelvemonth ago.

The summation was owed to higher impermanent spending astatine Disney’s home parks and experiences, which reported a 6% bump successful gross to $6.9 billion, and much capableness connected the company’s cruise enactment with the instauration of 2 caller ships. The conception saw a 5% summation successful operating income to $2.6 cardinal for the three-month play that ended March 28.

Disney’s taxable parks conception was nether adjacent scrutiny fixed the nationalist speech astir rising user costs and state prices owed to the U.S.-Iran war. Analysts had wondered whether consumers would tighten their belts and forgo vacations fixed the higher question costs.

Disney did spot a 1% diminution successful attendance astatine its U.S.-based parks compared with the anterior year, which the institution attributed to “continued softness” successful planetary visitors, but said it was starting to determination past those issues. Company executives person antecedently said Disney pivoted selling and promotional efforts to pull section visitors.

Last quarter, executives indicated that results successful the company’s 2nd fiscal 4th could beryllium affected, successful part, by “international visitation headwinds,” a motion to the little fig of overseas visitors present traveling to the U.S.

Though the heightened economical uncertainty astir the satellite could person a “potential impact” connected the business, Disney Chief Executive Josh D’Amaro and Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston said successful a shareholder missive Wednesday that the institution was “encouraged by existent demand.” The institution expected that fiscal third-quarter home attendance numbers would improve, they wrote.

The company’s wide net were powered by its amusement business, which posted gross of $11.7 billion, up 10% compared with the anterior year’s quarter.

That maturation was driven by large gains for Disney’s streaming services — Disney+ and Hulu — which raked successful astir $5.5 cardinal successful revenue, an summation of 13% compared with 2025, acknowledgment to higher subscription fees from idiosyncratic maturation and much advertizing revenue. Operating income for the streaming concern jumped 88% to $582 million.

Disney’s amusement conception besides had a stronger 4th astatine the theatrical container office, with standout performances from 20th Century Studios’ “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” the animated sequel “Zootopia 2” and Pixar’s “Hoppers.”

Overall, the institution reported $25.2 cardinal successful revenue, a 7% bump from the anterior year. Income earlier income taxes totaled $3.4 billion, an summation of 9% compared with the aforesaid play successful 2025, portion operating income roseate 4% to $4.6 billion. Earnings per share, excluding definite items, was $1.57, compared with $1.45 a twelvemonth earlier.

Disney’s sports segment, which includes ESPN, reported gross of $4.6 billion, a 2% summation from the aforesaid play successful 2025. It brought successful operating income of $652 million, a 5% descent that the institution attributed to higher sports rights costs and the lack of UFC pay-per-view gross compared with past year.

Disney besides alluded to the company’s presumption of artificial quality arsenic a “meaningful semipermanent opportunity,” saying it could play a relation successful contented instauration and production, monetization, workforce productivity, user and impermanent experiences and endeavor operations.

“At the aforesaid time, we are committed to implementing AI successful a mode that keeps quality creativity astatine the halfway of everything we bash and respects creators and the worth of our intelligence property,” D’Amaro and Johnston said successful the shareholder letter.

After noting OpenAI’s closure of the text-to-video AI instrumentality Sora, which Disney had planned to put in, D’Amaro and Johnston said the institution volition “continue to explore” commercialized opportunities with OpenAI and different companies.