DIS

Comcast (CMCSA) has lost 19.2% over the past year, while the S&P 500 returned 18.5%, and the reason given is usually broadband: 167,000 subscribers gone in the June quarter. The stock trades at 0.7 times sales, its own ten-year low. The number that argues the other way is not an earnings figure. Free cash flow over the last twelve months ran at about 159% of reported net income. Why Is Comcast Choosing To Earn Less From Broadband? Most of the pressure on broadband revenue per customer is deliberate. Management did not take a broadband rate increase, migrated customers onto simplified pricing with lower everyday price points, and pushed free wireless lines that dilute broadband ARPU on day one. Broadband ARPU fell 3.8% in the June quarter. Spending on the customer experience behind the same shift contributed to a 5.8% decline in Connectivity & Platforms EBITDA. The group adjusted EBITDA fell 5% in the June quarter, on two causes: management names, the go-to-market pivot, and the first year of the NBA rights contract, whose costs land before the revenue does. Management frames both as timing. The same quarter still produced $4.6 billion of free cash flow, of which $2.1 billion went back to shareholders. The repair is coming out of cash. What Is Comcast Getting For The Revenue It Gave Up? Comcast added 448,000 net wireless lines in the June quarter, its second consecutive record, with roughly half of residential postpaid phone connects coming from customers taking a free line. It ended the quarter with 10.2 million lines, 17% penetration of its domestic residential broadband customer base, and only 7% of the total wireless line opportunity in its footprint. Broadband losses still improved by 34,000 year over year. Convergence ARPA, the value of the customer relationship once wireless is added to broadband, is roughly $85, well below what telecom competitors report. Each free line that converts to paid lifts that number from a low base, and management expects more to convert through the second half of 2026, though convergence ARPA fell 1.5% in the June quarter. Can You Trust The Cash While Broadband Keeps Shrinking? The case has edges. Parks softened more than management anticipated, with attendance across the broader Orlando market weakening in June and staying weak into the third quarter of 2026. Peacock turned its first profit in the June quarter, $189 million of EBITDA, though management expects that to swing with the sports calendar. Share repurchases have been paused since July 1 and stay that way until the media separation closes, roughly a year away on management's plan. The cash keeps arriving; less of it comes back through the share count for now. The options market prices the same uncertainty, with implied volatility in the 79th percentile of its own trailing one-year range. Cash conversion is not a forecast that broadband stops shrinking. It says Comcast can fund the repair itself while the argument is being settled, and a price at its ten-year low on sales suggests the market is giving that little credit. Our dip-buying screen puts the same question to other names the market has marked down. How Big Should A High Conviction Position Actually Be? A strong signal is worth acting on, just not with more of your net worth than one surprise could undo. Concentration tends to arrive by accident rather than by decision. What your largest position would do to your net worth is exactly what the Trefis Wealth team computes, with the same rules-based systematic discipline that runs our High Quality Portfolio. Request a free vulnerability audit of your biggest positions.

A month has gone by since the last earnings report for Walt Disney (DIS). Shares have added about 2.4% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500. But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Disney due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at its latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent catalysts for The Walt Disney Company before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late. The Walt Disney Company reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings of $2.06 per share, up 28% year over year, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.88 by 9.6%.Revenues of $25.25 billion rose 7% year over year, missing the consensus mark of $25.48 billion by 0.9%.Strong growth in the Experiences business and a sharp improvement in the Entertainment segment supported earnings growth. Entertainment revenues (44.9% of total revenues) increased 6% year over year to $11.35 billion. Subscription and affiliate fees increased 12% to $7.55 billion, while advertising revenues declined 1% to $1.63 billion. Content sales revenues decreased 6% to $1.6 billion. Entertainment segment operating income surged 64% year over year to $1.68 billion. The improvement reflected higher subscription and affiliate fee revenues, while total costs and expenses remained essentially flat as lower selling, general and administrative expenses offset increases in programming, technology and depreciation costs. Entertainment SVOD revenues increased 11% year over year to $5.53 billion. Subscription revenues rose 15% to $4.72 billion, while advertising revenues increased 3% to $851 million.Entertainment SVOD operating income more than doubled to $712 million from $329 million in the year-ago quarter. Subscription revenue growth was driven by more subscribers, improved pricing and favorable foreign exchange. Disney also highlighted lower Disney+ churn, continued Hulu integration and plans to introduce additional membership features beginning in spring 2027. Sports revenues (17.8% of total revenues) increased 4% year over year to $4.5 billion. Subscription and affiliate fees rose 8% to $3.14 billion, while advertising revenues increased 5% to $1.2 billion. Other revenues declined 41% due to the absence of Ultimate Fighting Championship pay-per-view revenues recorded in the prior-year quarter. Sports segment operating income declined 17% year over year to $858 million. Higher contractual programming costs, new sports rights costs, the timing of NBA rights cost recognition under renewed contracts and increased sales and marketing expenses weighed on profitability. Management also cited early NBA playoff sweeps and a network carriage dispute as additional headwinds during the quarter. Experiences revenues (39.5% of total revenues) increased 10% year over year to $9.97 billion. Segment operating income increased 20% year over year to $3.02 billion, making it the strongest-performing business during the quarter.Domestic parks and experiences benefited from higher guest volumes, stronger per-capita spending and contributions from the expanded Disney Cruise Line fleet. Consumer Products revenues increased 7% year over year, supported by merchandise sales related to Toy Story 5 and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. The company also recorded an approximately $100 million tariff refund, which contributed roughly four percentage points to Experiences operating income growth. As of June 27, 2026, cash and cash equivalents totaled $5.19 billion, down from $5.68 billion as of March 28, 2026. Current borrowings declined sequentially to $8.63 billion from $8.89 billion, while long-term borrowings decreased to $37.41 billion from $38.47 billion.During the third quarter, cash provided by operating activities increased 33% year over year to $4.87 billion, while free cash flow increased 63% year over year to $3.07 billion. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, Disney expects total segment operating income of approximately $4.9 billion, including the benefit of the 53rd week. For fiscal 2026, the company reiterated adjusted earnings growth of approximately 12%, excluding the 53rd week, or approximately 16% including it. Disney also raised its fiscal 2026 share repurchase target to at least $9 billion from at least $8 billion and continues to expect double-digit adjusted earnings growth in fiscal 2027. It turns out, fresh estimates have trended downward during the past month. At this time, Disney has a nice Growth Score of B, however its Momentum Score is doing a bit better with an A. Charting a somewhat similar path, the stock was allocated a score of B on the value side, putting it in the top 40% for value investors. Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of B. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in. Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, Disney has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months. Disney belongs to the Zacks Media Conglomerates industry. Another stock from the same industry, Paramount Skydance (PSKY), has gained 21.9% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended June 2026. Paramount Skydance reported revenues of $6.91 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of -3.9%. EPS of $0.18 for the same period compares with $0.29 a year ago. Paramount Skydance is expected to post earnings of $0.22 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of 0%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed +20.5%. The overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions translate into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for Paramount Skydance. Also, the stock has a VGM Score of C. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Walt Disney Company (DIS) : Free Stock Analysis Report Paramount Skydance Corporation (PSKY) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

The Walt Disney Company recently reported stronger-than-expected fiscal third-quarter 2026 results, highlighting record Experiences segment revenue and more than doubled combined streaming operating income, alongside raised share repurchase targets and positive guidance. These results suggest that improving profitability in streaming and robust theme-park demand are becoming increasingly important levers in how Disney allocates capital and frames its long-term business mix. Next, we’ll examine how Disney’s stronger-than-expected quarter, especially its improved streaming profitability, may influence the existing investment narrative. Explore 24 top quantum computing companies leading the revolution in next-gen technology and shaping the future with breakthroughs in quantum algorithms, superconducting qubits, and cutting-edge research. To own Disney today, you need to believe it can balance its legacy Experiences business with a more profitable streaming operation while managing higher content and park investment. The stronger-than-expected fiscal Q3 2026 results, including improved streaming profitability and record Experiences revenue, support that near term, while regulatory scrutiny around ABC’s licenses looks like the most immediate risk rather than a change to the core business thesis. The recent announcement that Disney+ and Hulu will carry Formula E races and video podcast content with iHeartMedia ties directly into the streaming catalyst, adding more reasons for subscribers to stay engaged and for advertisers to spend. How effectively Disney turns this type of content into lower churn and higher ad revenue could influence how central streaming becomes in its long term mix alongside parks and cruises. Yet, even as streaming margins improve, investors should be aware that heavier spending on premium sports rights and Experiences expansion could still... Read the full narrative on Walt Disney (it's free!) Walt Disney's narrative projects $112.8 billion revenue and $13.1 billion earnings by 2029. This requires 5.1% yearly revenue growth and a $1.9 billion earnings increase from $11.2 billion today. Uncover how Walt Disney's forecasts yield a $126.74 fair value, a 17% upside to its current price. Six members of the Simply Wall St Community currently place Disney’s fair value between US$109.20 and US$134.63, reflecting a wide spread of views. Against that backdrop, the recent jump in streaming operating income and record Experiences revenue gives you a concrete catalyst to weigh alongside concerns about rising content and park investment. Explore 6 other fair value estimates on Walt Disney - why the stock might be worth as much as 25% more than the current price! Disagree with existing narratives? Extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd, so go with your instincts. A great starting point for your Walt Disney research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision. Our free Walt Disney research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Walt Disney's overall financial health at a glance. Early movers are already taking notice. See the stocks they're targeting before they've flown the coop: Invest in the nuclear renaissance through our list of 92 elite nuclear energy infrastructure plays powering the global AI revolution. Uncover the next big thing with 22 elite penny stocks that balance risk and reward. Capitalize on the AI infrastructure supercycle with our selection of the 56 best 'picks and shovels' of the AI gold rush converting record-breaking demand into massive cash flow. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include DIS. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

Disney (DIS) shows concrete turnaround results, including 7% revenue growth and a $1.50 dividend, while Boeing (BA) still posts core losses with no payout. Boeing's workers rejected its final contract offer, adding a potential October strike to already-unresolved 737 and 777X certification timelines. Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Disney didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today. Retirement-focused investors weighing Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) against Boeing (NYSE:BA) are really answering one question: which multi-year turnaround has actually produced results, and which is still promising them? Both are iconic American businesses. Both are roughly flat to modestly negative over the past year. Disney is down 5.8% and Boeing down 9.8% over the trailing year as of August 26, 2026. The verdict below focuses on suitability for a reader drawing down a portfolio rather than forecasting relative price performance. Disney's evidence is concrete. Fiscal Q3 revenue rose 7% and segment operating income was up 21% versus prior-year results. Streaming reached a 13% SVOD operating margin, and Experiences posted record fiscal Q3 revenue and segment OI. CEO Josh D'Amaro told analysts the company is "operating from a real position of strength" and reaffirmed double-digit adjusted EPS growth for fiscal 26 and fiscal 27. Boeing's evidence is mixed and got harder. Q2 2026 core loss per share of $0.76, missing the $0.34 loss estimate, even as deliveries reached 171 airplanes, the highest quarterly total since 2018, and free cash flow turned positive at $631 million. CEO Kelly Ortberg acknowledged, "We know there's more work to do and remain clear-eyed about managing the risks in front of us." FAA certification of the 737-7, 737-10, and 777X models remains an active schedule risk. Winner: Disney. Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Disney didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today. Disney has a trailing P/E of 23 and pays an annualized dividend of $1.50 in two semi-annual installments of $0.75. Boeing's trailing P/E of 76 is distorted by a one-time $9.67 billion divestiture gain, and the last common dividend had an ex-date of February 13, 2020. Practically, a Disney holder collects something while the turnaround plays out and has an earnings base to anchor valuation against. A Boeing holder is rewarded only if the share price rises. Disney's yield is modest; the point is that it exists at all. Winner: Disney. Boeing's near-term risk is on the calendar. According to reporting from Reuters and Seattle-area outlets, Boeing's engineers and technical workers voted on August 21 and 22, 2026, to reject the company's "best and final" offer and authorized a strike. Separate reporting indicates a potential work stoppage in early October 2026, while talks are reported to be resuming. Ortberg himself flagged that Boeing was "looking very hard at what we would do should we have a work stoppage." A whistleblower documentary has added reputational pressure, according to outside reporting. Importantly, demand remains strong: the company holds a record $715 billion order backlog and a commercial pipeline of more than 6,200 airplanes. The challenge is converting that backlog into delivered aircraft on schedule. Disney's risks are structural: linear network decline, ESPN sports-rights costs, and consumer sensitivity in Experiences, where park and cruise spending is discretionary. Josh D'Amaro noted "continued international attendance softness" at Shanghai and Hong Kong. These are known, priced-in pressures that the market has already absorbed. Winner: Disney, on risk profile suitable for a retiree. Disney wins clearly for the reader at or near retirement. The turnaround is already visible in reported results, there is an earnings base to value against, and shareholders collect a check while they wait. Boeing may well reward a growth-oriented investor with a long horizon and tolerance for headline risk, but asking a retiree to accept no income, no trailing profitability to anchor valuation, and an unresolved labor confrontation with a date attached is the wrong trade. Note: Disney is down 37.4% over five years while Boeing is roughly flat at −2.1%, so this verdict addresses suitability rather than relative future performance. Two checkpoints to monitor. For Boeing: the outcome of the labor vote, and whether the production rate ramp to 47 737s per month and the 777X first delivery in 2027 remain on track. For Disney: whether the 13% SVOD operating margin holds and whether Experiences demand remains resilient into fiscal 2027. Act now: the analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 just named his top 10 AI stocks — and Disney didn't make the cut. Grab the names FREE today. Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS) "experiences" segment -- led by its theme parks -- reported $3 billion in operating income on nearly $10 billion in revenue in the company's most recent fiscal quarter. Yet the stock still trades at a modest forward earnings multiple, suggesting that investors don't expect much growth ahead. That gap between results and valuation reflects a more mixed picture across Disney's business, but it could also create an opening for long-term investors. Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue » In Disney's fiscal 2026 third quarter, which ended June 27, the experiences segment grew revenue 10% year over year, while its operating income jumped 20%. Those results reflect healthy consumer demand at the heart of Disney's entertainment empire. Theme park admissions rose 9% year over year, lifting spending on merchandise, food, and beverages. That matters because experiences is Disney's profit engine: It generated 54% of the company's total operating income for the quarter. The company also continues to see strength in its cruise business with the launch of two new ships -- Disney Destiny and Disney Adventure -- during the past year. These results show the Disney flywheel at work. People watch movies and Disney+ content, which shows up later in spending on park visits, cruise bookings, and merchandise sales. Even after a strong quarter for the key experiences segment, Disney shares trade at around 16 times this fiscal year's consensus earnings estimate and about 15 times fiscal 2027's estimate. Historically, its forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) has been closer to 20. The current discount reflects uneven performance elsewhere across the entertainment empire. Disney is still dealing with the impact that long-term declines in cable subscribership are having on its TV networks. Moreover, content costs continue to weigh on the company's streaming operating margin, which was 13% in the quarter, compared with Netflix's 33%. Box office performance for the live-action remake of Moana came in below the company's expectations. Even so, the entertainment segment's operating income jumped 64% year over year. Disney is also early in its leadership transition: New CEO Josh D'Amaro took over the role in March. Investors may be waiting to see more proof of his ability to set a fruitful strategy and execute on it before they decide if they're willing to put a higher earnings multiple on the stock. Overall, there may be more to like here than not. The core growth in the experiences segment shows that Disney remains one of the world's top consumer brands. During the fiscal Q3 earnings call, management noted that guests, users, and audiences all increased year over year for experiences, Disney+, and ESPN. If that growth continues, accompanied by a gradual improvement in streaming margins, the stock could drift back toward its historical P/E range over time -- making today's discount look more like an opportunity than a warning sign. Before you buy stock in Walt Disney, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Walt Disney wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut are built for long-term growth and could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $431,488!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,279,584!* That performance is why people listen. With a track record of beating the S&P 500 by nearly 5x, Stock Advisor offers a distinct advantage. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built for the long haul. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 26, 2026. John Ballard has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Netflix and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Disney's Experiences Generated $3 Billion in One Quarter. Here's Why the Market Is Still Pricing It as a Value Stock. was originally published by The Motley Fool

As the Q2 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the consumer discretionary - media industry, including Disney (NYSE:DIS) and its peers. The Consumer Discretionary sector, by definition, is made up of companies selling non-essential goods and services. When economic conditions deteriorate or tastes shift, consumers can easily cut back or eliminate these purchases. For long-term investors with five-year holding periods, this creates a structural challenge: the sector is inherently hit-driven, with low switching costs and fickle customers. As a result, only a handful of companies can reliably grow demand and compound earnings over long periods, which is why our bar is high and High Quality ratings are rare. Media companies create, aggregate, and distribute content—including news, entertainment, and advertising—across television, print, digital, and out-of-home channels. Tailwinds include growing digital advertising budgets, content licensing opportunities, and global audience expansion through streaming and social platforms. Headwinds are substantial: traditional advertising revenue from print and linear TV continues its structural decline as audiences migrate to digital alternatives. Content creation costs are escalating amid intense competition for talent and intellectual property. Media fragmentation makes it difficult to build sustainable audience scale, while AI-generated content threatens to commoditize production and disrupt established business models. The 7 consumer discretionary - media stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q2. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 0.8%. In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady. On average, they are relatively unchanged since the latest earnings results. Founded by brothers Walt and Roy, Disney (NYSE:DIS) is a multinational entertainment conglomerate, renowned for its theme parks, movies, television networks, and merchandise. Disney reported revenues of $25.25 billion, up 6.8% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 0.6%, but it was still a satisfactory quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates. Interestingly, the stock is up 8.8% since reporting and currently trades at $106.81. Is now the time to buy Disney? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free. Established in 2013 after a restructuring, News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) is a multinational conglomerate known for its news publishing, broadcasting, digital media, and book publishing. News Corp reported revenues of $2.34 billion, up 10.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 4.1%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS and EBITDA estimates. News Corp scored the biggest analyst estimate beat of the whole group. However, the results were likely priced into the stock as it’s traded sideways since reporting. Shares currently sit at $29.17. Is now the time to buy News Corp? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free. Creator of the legendary Scholastic Book Fair, Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) is an international company specializing in children's publishing, education, and media services. Scholastic reported revenues of $476.1 million, down 6.3% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 7.9%. It was a softer quarter as it posted full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly. Scholastic delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 10.8% since the results and currently trades at $41.42. Read our full analysis of Scholastic’s results here. Launching the careers of legendary artists like Frank Sinatra, Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) is a music company managing a diverse portfolio of artists, recordings, and music publishing services worldwide. Warner Music Group reported revenues of $1.86 billion, up 10.4% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 3.8%. It was a very strong quarter as it also recorded a beat of analysts’ EPS and EBITDA estimates. The stock is down 1.4% since reporting and currently trades at $25.64. Read our full, actionable report on Warner Music Group here, it’s free. Founded in 1851, The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) is an American media organization known for its influential newspaper and expansive digital journalism platforms. The New York Times reported revenues of $762.5 million, up 11.2% year on year. This result beat analysts’ expectations by 1.4%. It was a satisfactory quarter as it also produced a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates. The stock is down 13.9% since reporting and currently trades at $65.13. Read our full, actionable report on The New York Times here, it’s free. Over the past year, investors have been forced to repeatedly answer the same question: what is the market’s biggest risk? The answer has changed several times, and each shift has reshaped market leadership. Late in 2025 and early 2026, artificial intelligence became the market’s primary uncertainty. Investors questioned whether AI would erode software pricing power and weaken competitive moats as AI made it easier to replicate once-differentiated products. By the spring, technology took a back seat to geopolitics. The U.S. conflict with Iran briefly became the market’s dominant narrative, raising concerns about oil prices, inflation, and global growth. But as energy markets remained orderly and fears of a prolonged supply disruption faded, investors quickly turned their focus back to fundamentals. Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Hidden Gem Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

Netflix's revenue growth is cooling, and the line that actually compounds for shareholders has been running far ahead of it. Netflix (NFLX) has lost about 35% of its value over the past year while the S&P 500 gained 21%, and revenue growth has cooled to 13.4% in the second quarter of 2026, the slowest of the last four quarters. The sales line, though, is not the main thing driving Netflix's per-share earnings. Earnings Per Share Compounded About 50% A Year Over Three Years Over the past three years per-share earnings compounded at about 50% a year, against 14.6% for revenue. Two levers opened that gap, and neither is the top line: an operating margin that traveled from 17.5% three years ago to 23.8% two years ago and 29.7% over the last twelve months, on $48.4 billion of revenue, and a shrinking share count. So the number a shareholder owns can keep compounding while the top line decelerates. Content Spending Is Growing More Slowly Than Revenue On Purpose That margin is a policy, not a windfall. For 2026, management forecasts content expense up about 10% against full-year guided revenue growth of 13% to 14%, or roughly 12% excluding currency, and says outright that it grows content spend slower than revenue. That 10% is above the 8% averaged over the past five years, and the gap doing the work here is only a few points wide. The mix inside the budget is where the trade-offs show. Live programming is set to take about 5% of the 2026 content budget and produce about 1% of viewing hours, and management's case for it is sign-ups rather than hours, since six of the ten biggest new-member sign-up days over the past five years came from live events. Cloud games and video podcasts are expanded gradually where management believes it can add more value for members, with the games investment still very small relative to overall content spend. Margin that comes from cost discipline is the sort of profitability trend the Trefis High Quality Portfolio looks for in its holdings. A $4.7 Billion Buyback Quarter, The Largest In Netflix's History Netflix repurchased $4.7 billion of stock in the second quarter of 2026, with about $27 billion of authorization still open. Over three years the share count is down about 5.6%, and buybacks have run ahead of stock-based compensation, so the reduction is real rather than a plug for dilution. Fewer shares against a faster-growing profit pool add a further, smaller push on top of the margin gains. At 24 Times Earnings, What Would Have To Go Wrong The case is not that growth is about to re-accelerate. That margin, 29.7% over the last twelve months, is up from only 29.5% a year earlier, so the compounding from here leans more on holding content growth below revenue and on the buyback than on fresh margin, and a content bill that outran revenue would end it. At 24 times earnings, toward the low end of a ten-year range running from 15.3 to 285, the price appears to give that profit line little credit, and sorting names that have fallen this far on what they still earn is what a dip-buying screen is built to do. Even A Compounding Engine Can Re-Rate Downward Netflix's three-year per-share compounding did not stop the stock from giving up about a third of its value over the past year, which is what a single position can do even when the business behind it is working. The Trefis High Quality Portfolio takes the other route, spreading that risk across a rules-based basket of quality names. That portfolio has a track record of outpacing the three major indices - the S&P 500, S&P Mid-cap, and Russell 2000.

Disney’s Q2 results were marked by a positive market reaction, despite missing Wall Street’s revenue and profit expectations. Management attributed the quarter’s momentum to strong performance from the Disney Experiences segment, which saw record revenue and operating income growth driven by increased attendance and higher per capita spending at domestic parks and cruise lines. CEO Josh D’Amaro emphasized that the company’s strategy of integrating creative content, technology, and fan engagement was translating into meaningful financial returns. The successful release of Toy Story 5, ongoing strength in sports broadcasting, and healthy forward bookings across parks and cruises were highlighted as key contributors. Is now the time to buy DIS? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $25.25 billion vs analyst estimates of $25.41 billion (6.8% year-on-year growth, 0.6% miss) Adjusted EPS: $2.06 vs analyst estimates of $1.85 (11.1% beat) Operating Margin: 19.3%, up from 15.7% in the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $178.8 billion While we enjoy listening to the management’s commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls is the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. Robert Fishman (MoffettNathanson) asked about balancing parks capacity investments with pricing strategy. CEO Josh D’Amaro explained that targeted promotions are used to optimize attendance, not to address demand weakness, and that future growth will come from both volume and yield. Laura Martin (Needham) questioned whether returns on early parks investments would outpace later projects. CFO Hugh Johnston replied that returns remain strong across the investment cycle, with project timing driven by operational needs rather than diminishing opportunities. Rich Greenfield (LightShed Partners) inquired if new park discounts signaled attendance concerns. D’Amaro clarified that such promotions are standard practice and not indicative of underlying demand issues, citing solid growth in both domestic tourists and local residents. Steven Cahall (Wells Fargo) asked about the scalability of direct-to-consumer streaming margins. D’Amaro asserted that streaming can be highly profitable and that Disney’s direct fan relationships and first-party data are central to its strategy. Michael Ng (Goldman Sachs) sought Disney’s view on launching free ad-supported streaming channels. D’Amaro said the company is exploring a free product to expand reach and drive top-of-funnel subscriber growth, but no launch has been confirmed. Looking forward, the StockStory team will be monitoring (1) progress on Disney+ and Hulu integration and the rollout of new ecosystem features, (2) the impact of expanded park capacity and new cruise ships on attendance and per capita spending, and (3) the effectiveness of technology investments, including AI, in driving efficiency and fan engagement. Continued execution on these initiatives will be key to sustaining growth across Disney’s diverse platforms. Disney currently trades at $103.50, up from $98.18 just before the earnings. At this price, is it a buy or sell? See for yourself in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members). ONE MORE THING: Top 6 Stocks for This Week. This market is separating quality stocks from expensive ones fast. AI is taking down whole sectors with no warning. In a rotation this fast, you need more than a list of good companies. Our AI system flagged Palantir before it ran 1,662% between October 2022 and February 2026. AppLovin before it ran 753% between February 2024 and February 2026. Nvidia before it ran 1,178% between January 2023 and February 2026. Each week it produces 6 new names that pass the same tests. Get Our Top 6 Stocks for Free HERE. Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Comfort Systems (+1,154% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

Image source: The Motley Fool. Aug. 5, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. ET Executive Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Strategy - Benjamin Daniel Swinburne Chief Executive Officer - Josh D'Amaro Chief Financial Officer - Hugh Johnston Operator: Our earnings release and Form 10-Q were issued earlier this morning and are available on our IR website. Our IR website includes a cautionary statement regarding forward-looking statements. Today's webcast may include forward-looking statements that we make pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements, including regarding the company's future business plans, prospects and financial performance are not historical in nature and are based on management's assumptions regarding the future and are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, among other factors, economic, geopolitical, operating and industry conditions, legal and regulatory developments and the company's decisions. Refer to our IR website, the earnings release and 10-Q issued today and the risks and uncertainties described in our Form 10-K and subsequent filings with the SEC for more information on risks that could cause results to differ. A reconciliation of certain non-GAAP measures referred to on this webcast to the most comparable GAAP measures is on our IR website. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Walt Disney's Fiscal Third Quarter Earnings Call. Thank you for joining us. I'm Ben Swinburne, Executive Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Strategy. With me today are Josh D'Amaro, our Chief Executive Officer; and Hugh Johnston, our Chief Financial Officer. We will begin today's call with prepared remarks from Josh. After Josh's remarks, we will take analyst questions. And with that, let me turn it over to Josh. Josh D’Amaro: Thanks, Ben, and good morning, everyone. This was an excellent quarter for us, and our Q3 results and reiterated full year outlook show we're operating from a real position of strength. Total segment operating income came in ahead of our prior guidance, up 21% with total company revenue growth of 7%, and Disney Experiences delivered record fiscal Q3 revenue and segment OI. Our core platforms, Disney Experiences, Disney+ and ESPN grew guests, users and audiences, respectively, versus the prior year quarter. We are executing well across our businesses and delivering on the back half acceleration commitments we made to investors. And despite the continued macroeconomic uncertainty, we're on track to finish the year strong. During my first 5 months as CEO, I've been focused on ensuring that we execute as one company around a unified strategy. And what we're seeing this quarter is proof that coordinating our franchises, sharing data and technology and building seamless fan experiences works. Disney's fundamental advantage is the depth of our fan relationships, and that translates directly to durable financial returns. Today, we find ourselves in an environment where consumers have more options than ever for their time. And yet our results show they keep choosing to spend their time with Disney. This success reflects our continued execution across our 3 strategic priorities: first, investing in creative excellence and world-class IP; second, leveraging technology to accelerate growth and drive returns; and third, deepening our direct relationships with fans by creating a more connected Disney experience. Anchoring these strategic priorities is our One Disney operating model, which will allow us to fully capture the value of our portfolio for both fans and shareholders. I'd like to highlight a few examples from the quarter that demonstrate how the strength of our consumer connections and the power of our IP are expanding our reach and our relevance. First, we grew our global guests 4% year-over-year with particular strength at Walt Disney World, while also benefiting from additional capacity at Disney Cruise Line. Forward bookings at Walt Disney World and Disney Cruise Line remain healthy. Second, the strength of our franchise IP was evident in the financial and cultural impact of Toy Story 5, which recently surpassed $1 billion at the global box office. And third, the unique passion of sports fandom drove over 100% growth in NBA finals and NHL post-season viewership across ESPN and ABC versus the prior season, making this the most viewed fiscal Q3 across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN on ABC since 2016. Let's dive deeper into our Q3 performance and our full year outlook. Starting with Disney Experiences. We're proud of the growth that we've had this year, and we're investing to sustain that growth and over the lifetime of these projects, deliver double-digit returns. As always, we're being disciplined in our capital allocation with a focus on expanding our capacity around the world and driving incremental demand. The pipeline includes major attractions at every site, including Villains Land in Orlando and the Avengers Campus expansion in Anaheim, amongst others in the U.S. and our previously announced cruise ship expansion. At our studios, the blockbuster success of the latest Toy Story installment shows exactly why Disney is different from the competition and how our stories translate into recurring earnings power. The 5 Toy Story films have delivered over $4 billion in global box office and over 2 billion hours streamed on Disney+. Across all retailers, Toy Story generates more than $1 billion in annual global retail sales and reaches fans across every Disney park and cruise ship, including 4 immersive lands, 19 attractions and 2 hotels. Now that's the Disney flywheel in action, one powerful and enduring story told across theaters, streaming, retail, and physical experiences. That integration creates a structure no one else has been able to replicate. Even when our franchise films don't meet our box office expectations as with The Mandalorian and Grogu and the live-action Moana, our investments in these core properties fuel other parts of our company. The Mandalorian and Grogu drove healthy growth in retail sales for the Star Wars franchise and drew guests to the updated Millennium Falcon attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World and led to significant engagement in gaming as well. And the live-action Moana is expected to be a strong title on Disney+, building on the success of the original film, which is one of the most streamed movies of all time. Our ability to outperform our prior consolidated fiscal Q3 guidance and reiterate our full year outlook despite the mixed box office performance demonstrates the strength of our diversified entertainment model. Of course, I'd be remiss not to acknowledge and congratulate everyone on this past weekend's record-breaking opening for Spider-Man. Congratulations to Sony, Kevin Feige and the Marvel Studios team. It's an unbelievable result, and it's one more example that audiences will turn out in force for great theatrical experiences. 65 years after his debut, Spider-Man remains one of the most popular characters through consumer products, parks and streaming. And this weekend, it's a great reminder of just how much strength this franchise still has. And it goes without saying that the success of Spider-Man bodes well for our upcoming and highly anticipated Avengers: Doomsday film. The appeal of our IP across multiple consumer touch points is central to our strategy, and Disney+ is the digital centerpiece for that. We're the only entertainment company with global scale in both the physical and digital worlds. During the quarter, we passed an important milestone in app unification, allowing Hulu stand-alone and bundled subscribers to link profiles and manage subscriptions on Disney+. We delivered a 13% SVOD operating margin in fiscal Q3, and we remain on track for double-digit margins in fiscal '26, excluding the 53rd week impact. Now we still have work to do scaling Disney+ outside the U.S., and we're focused on driving growth and returns over the long term in undermonetized markets. Our strategy is clear: leverage regional relationships and bring local content onto Disney+ at scale, and that's how we'll grow internationally. Disney's long-term streaming strategy rests on 2 pillars: make the core streaming experience the best in the marketplace and connect our businesses into a single digital ecosystem. Beyond our films and series, Disney+ will continue to evolve, bringing together games, merchandise and other experiences while offering increased personalization, exclusivity, and benefits for subscribers. All of this is designed to deepen engagement, improve the value proposition, lower churn, and most importantly, increase lifetime fan value. We expect to introduce elements of this expanded ecosystem beginning in spring of 2027. Disney+ provides the global reach to develop new fans and the consumer data to drive personalization, which are both core to our long-term strategy. That same strategy also extends to sports, where ESPN gives us another powerful way to deepen our relationship with fans. We've all witnessed the unparalleled power of live sports over the past few months. The NBA finals between the Champion New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs were the highest-rated NBA finals in 28 years. And ESPN generated its most watched first half of the calendar year since 2012. As we evolve Disney+, we'll continue to bring select premium sports events to the platform to both strengthen the service and drive upsell to the Trio Bundle, our highest LTV product. At the same time, ESPN remains the primary destination for daily sports content. Live sports aren't just a viewership play, they're a fan engagement and ecosystem play. When a sports fan engages with ESPN, Disney+, or our parks, their lifetime value increases. Underpinning all of this work is our deep commitment to embracing emerging technology. Our company was founded on the convergence of creativity and breakthrough technology and continuing that tradition is a priority for me and this leadership team. That's why we're leveraging AI to bring the most innovative tools to our storytellers. As I've said before, AI isn't simply about efficiency. It's about enhancing a creative process that will always be human-centered, artist-driven, and creator-led. AI lets us work faster and smarter, particularly in areas of pre and post production. Our teams can personalize content and experiences for fans around the world at scale. And we're doing all this while keeping human creativity at the center. AI amplifies what our storytellers can do. It doesn't replace them. This efficiency matters financially too. When our teams work smarter, we can serve more people across our parks and digital platforms and do it more cost effectively. That frees up capital to reinvest aggressively in what drives long-term value, new content, and next-generation guest experiences as well as technology infrastructure that keeps Disney at the forefront of entertainment. To sum it all up, there is clarity of purpose inside this company right now. We know what Disney is, a storyteller with an unmatched ability to reach fans across every format and every geography. We know how technology amplifies that power. And we know that when we operate in an integrated fashion with speed, discipline and efficiency, we can create long-term shareholder value. With that in mind, let me turn the call back to Ben for analyst Q&A. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: We're going to start our analyst questions on the Experiences segment. This is a question from Robert Fishman from MoffettNathanson. Now a few years into the $60 billion 10-year parks CapEx investment cycle, can you provide an update on future revenue growth and long-term margin upside from expanding parks capacity plus the growing cruise ship fleet? How do you balance pricing versus volume growth for parks looking out over the next couple of years? Probably makes sense for you to take this, Josh. Josh D’Amaro: Yes, I'll take that. Okay. Well, thanks, Robert. These are great questions, particularly in light of the results that we just reported today and the solid returns that we're seeing in our business. And it probably makes sense just to start right there with Q3, a pretty clear demonstration of our ability to drive growth. And we did this through investment in new initiatives. And of course, it's on the heels of our base business, which remains really strong. It was another record revenue quarter for the Experiences segment. Revenue was $10 billion. It's 10% above where we were in Q3 last year. And I know there was a fair amount of speculation about the strength of our domestic parks. Well, clearly, they were strong. Outside the parks, we also saw expansion at Disney Cruise Line. We had the Disney Destiny and the Disney Adventure performing quite well. In Paris, over at Disneyland Paris, we expanded with the opening of World of Frozen, and that's been really well received by our guests. And then Consumer Products business, it also benefited from our theatrical slate. And then just from an OI and a margin perspective, the Experiences segment, again, delivered Q3 records, which was -- it was fueled by the strong revenue growth. And then on top of this, and this is really important, we delivered 4% global guest growth, and we had 3% attendance growth at our domestic parks. And on top of that, spending was up. We saw 4% growth in per cap spending at our domestic parks. It's important, I think, to highlight that we're performing significantly better than our competition. And in doing that, delivering strong volume and per cap spending results. And to remind everyone, we're achieving this even during a period where there's a fair amount of macro uncertainty. So I guess when you think about it, the takeaway here, it's pretty clear. The consistent investments that we've made over time, combined with the fact that the experience Disney provides to its fans, it's truly differentiated and highly valued. And I think that should give you and the broader investment community confidence that we can -- will continue to grow over the years to come, especially as we continue to invest in our global capacity. Now in terms of future returns, having previously led the segment, I can also say that our capital investments, all of them, they go through very, very rigorous evaluations and are supported by clear and well-defined return expectations. So looking forward, while we haven't provided a longer-term revenue or margin outlook for the segment, we did just this morning, guide to the high end of our prior high-single-digit OI growth for fiscal year '26, and that excludes the 53rd week. And this performance will be driven by the overall strength of our portfolio. So Robert, back to your specific question, we expect to balance both volume and yield, particularly as we're expanding through our capital plan so that ultimately, we can serve more fans and make the experience, whether that's on land or on sea, even more desirable. So I hope that's helpful. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Great. Another question on our capital plan and returns from Laura Martin at Needham. Hugh, I think probably for you. When we think of return on invested capital on the parks' capital investment, are the ROICs on the early years CapEx higher than the later years? That is, are there declining returns as Disney spends more money? The idea is the earliest spending is low-hanging fruit. Hugh Johnston: Got it. Thanks for the question, Laura. Yes, as Josh said, we greenlight projects that really are driven by 2 things: number one, attractive returns on the projects; and number two, they bring value to the guest experience. Our return on invested capital in Experiences has increased meaningfully over time, and we do expect strong returns into the future. You're right in observing that we are seeing the impact of those projects quickly with the Q3 global guest increasing at 4%, segment margin increasing for the quarter. So we certainly are seeing a positive impact, but you shouldn't expect to see the returns on projects deteriorate over time. In fact, what drives the timing of those projects is much more around the operational needs that we have and the capacity of shipyards and things like that more than it is just jamming all of the attractive return projects upfront. So we did try to help you all in the shareholder letter and the link we provided to give you a little bit more sense of the sequencing of the projects that are out there on the horizon, but we feel good about the returns of these projects well into the future. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Thank you. A question from Rich Greenfield at LightShed Partners. You rolled out several new discount programs at U.S. parks recently. There's an after 2:00 p.m. pricing at Walt Disney World, Anaheim Resident pricing at Disneyland, and a new evening access option. Are these designed to offset continued weakness in international visitation? Do they signal any increased concerns about attendance trends? I'll give that one to you, Josh. Josh D’Amaro: Okay. Thanks, Rich. Well, it actually seems like this is a pretty timely question given our performance in Q3. And hopefully, the results and the answer that I'll give here can provide some comfort or at least some context that when you see promotions in the market, it's really -- it's not something to be concerned about or it shouldn't be a measure or a gauge of the health of our business. We've been deploying promotional offers regularly. And what they're really about is going after a targeted market segment to drive incremental value and ultimately make sure that we're making the best use of our assets and all the capacity that we have available to us. Now each of these programs, it's -- they're designed to reach a specific guest, and that could be a value consumer, maybe we're going after a local resident. It might be a guest who's looking for some flexibility in how and when they visit. And this is really consistent with how our commercial strategy has evolved and been refined over time, basically to deliver more curated and targeted offerings. Just a minute ago, I mentioned that Q3 global guests increased 4% above Q3 '25 and that our domestic parks attendance was up 3% in Q3. And the strength was supported in large part by our sophisticated commercial tools. And inside of those tools are targeted discounts. And I think it's pretty clear that with 4% per cap growth, we're certainly not discounting our way to volume growth. Now Rich, you asked about our domestic parks specifically, and we did see strong domestic tourists and local resident growth, and that growth helped offset continued international attendance softness, although we've seen some moderation in that regard. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Okay. Our last question on the Experiences side from Barton Crockett at Rosenblatt Securities. Hugh, maybe you take this one. How is the variability in fuel costs and the volatility of conflict in the Middle East impacting Disney? Is there any impact on parks attendance, margin, the new Abu Dhabi park development? Hugh Johnston: Okay. Great. Thanks, Barton. I guess that's about a 4-part question. So let me try to break it down a little bit for you. Look, first of all, like this time, you've seen in the numbers, demand is strong across domestic parks and cruises. Consumer products also had a terrific quarter, benefiting from the IP strength we have. Looking forward, the forward bookings at Walt Disney World are up nicely, and the cruise line bookings also look very healthy as we look out to our book of business. That said, we're certainly not immune to the macros. And in particular, fuel obviously touches the entire economy. As an example, we have seen a weaker consumer in Asia in our parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong in Q3. and that's continuing in Q4. The good news is we do have a global portfolio. And as you saw in the announcement and heard from Josh, we now expect the Experiences segment to deliver OI growth at the high end of the previously provided high-single-digit growth guidance for the fiscal year, excluding the 53rd week. As it relates to Abu Dhabi, look, that new park is being designed with a long-term view. These are multiyear projects to put in place. And obviously, once we put them in place, they last decades and decades. We continue to believe in the strategic rationale behind the project, and we are fully committed to seeing that project through. On the topic of fuel, specifically through the hedging program and the fuel efficiency initiatives that we have at the cruise line, we're really seeing very little impact from the fluctuations in the price of oil during the current year. And then last but not least, while we're on these types of topics, tariffs. We had about $100 million of tariff refunds in the quarter at Disney Experiences, which hit segment OI with no impact on revenue. There'll be a smaller benefit, if one at all in Q4. And the full year impact will really be immaterial because the costs associated with those tariffs were actually in the first half of '26. So really nets to some -- basically nothing for the year. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Okay. Great. Now we're going to turn to questions on M&A, strategic priorities, and capital allocation. I'll start with a question from Mike Morris at Guggenheim. Fiscal '26 plans include at least $8 billion of share repurchases and approximately $24 billion of content spend. How do you weigh the pace of the buyback against continued investment in content and Experiences' capacity expansion? At what free cash flow or leverage threshold does the buyback pace step up? And should investors expect the current authorization to be fully deployed within fiscal '26? Obviously, we had an update on the buyback front in the letter this morning. So Hugh, why don't you take that one? Hugh Johnston: Great. Thanks for the question, Mike. As you well know, our company generates a lot of free cash flow, and we do have a very strong balance sheet. And we're not really looking to build cash, and we're not looking to delever the balance sheet meaningfully from here. We like where we sit in terms of leverage right now. So the goal as a company is to both drive growth and to drive capital return to shareholders. And we actually have the capacity to do both. As we think about our capital allocation priorities, number one is always going to be investing back in the business to drive growth. And we're doing that. We're turbocharging the Experiences growth with our $9 billion of fiscal '26 CapEx. And you can see the results on that in terms of the accelerated growth we're seeing in that business. We also plan to grow content spending from the current levels over time. We've talked about international, in particular, as being an opportunity where we think we can make a difference. On content, we're on track to spend $24 billion across the company this year. That's up modestly year-over-year. And then as we think about shareholder returns in that aspect of capital allocation, I'd certainly highlight 2 things: number one is the semiannual dividend, which we've obviously been increasing; and number two, in terms of the share repurchase program, recall, we originally guided to about $7 billion in fiscal '26, and now we're up to at least $9 billion. And the reason we're doing that is largely to utilize the cash that had been set aside previously for the OpenAI deal and now from the expected proceeds from the A&E transaction, which was announced overnight. One thing I'll add, Mike, as Josh said, we're highly focused on operating with speed and agility and improving productivity and efficiency across the company so we can invest in accelerating growth. I will tell you that this work is ongoing as we look at meaningful reductions to cost, including labor and SG&A, and we'll update you on progress as we move forward. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Okay. Great. Josh, another question from Robert Fishman. I'll ask this to you. So with more strategic corporate actions taking place following Fox's Roku acquisition and Comcast announcing an NBCU spin-out, can you share updated thoughts on how Disney's portfolio of assets is positioned to compete against this changing media landscape? And do these moves by your peers impact your bundling strategies with FOX One and ESPN Unlimited or even potentially Peacock? Josh D’Amaro: Okay. All right. Great. Well, thanks, Robert. There's a lot going on in this space. I figure this question that might come up. I guess I'll start with the fact that each of the situations in your specific question is actually specific to the companies involved. And for us at Disney, I feel good about the fact that we're running our own playbook here, and it's working for us. And in order for us to compete successfully in a media landscape that's changing so fast, we're clear on what we need to do, and that's invest in our core competitive advantages. And you're seeing that in our investments in content and in streaming and in experiences. Our approach, and I've said this before, is to leverage our owned IP and own that direct-to-consumer relationship through all of our platforms, whether that's Disney+ or Hulu, ESPN and even the parks for that matter. And I think that approach positions us to best monetize across Disney across the entire ecosystem. We just fundamentally believe that owning that relationship, it gives us the data, it gives us the consumer insight, the pricing control to keep improving the value proposition over time. But Robert, what your question highlights is that the streaming industry, it's consolidating through M&A and through a growing number of partnerships. And there's no individual deal that's really deterministic. I don't think of the industry outcome. And we don't see Comcast restructuring or Fox's acquisition of Roku as moves that will change our own strategic path. In fact, the way that I see it is there's actually opportunity in these developments. A more consolidated industry is really a better investment backdrop, and we have a long history of partnering and streaming, and we believe that we can just keep building on that. Now of course, we're going to look at every distribution opportunity on its merits, and we'll always assess whether it's consistent with our strategy of owning the consumer relationship. Where we're unique and where I'd point you, if you want the real differentiator, it's our ability to segment the marketplace through bundling in a way that I don't think our competitors can really do, at least domestically. When we look at customers who have been with us for a similar length of time, retention improves the further up that ladder they go from a single product up to a dual bundle to the Trio bundle. And I think we're in a good position. We have a good hand to play, and I like where we sit. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Question from Kannan Venkateshwar from Barclays. You reaffirmed double-digit adjusted EPS growth from -- for fiscal '26 and fiscal '27 and the flywheel narrative is that content feeds both parks and streaming. With a couple of high-profile titles underperforming, how much of that reaffirmed earnings growth is dependent on content-driven downstream value versus the more capacity-driven pieces, things like Experiences, building out Cruise, and the direct-to-consumer margin ramp. Hugh, do you want to take that one? Hugh Johnston: Sure. And thanks for the question, Kannan. Look, theatrical performance is important to us, of course. And we certainly aspire to deliver consistent financial results for our films. But the nature of the film industry is such that it is more of a portfolio game. The good news for us is our diversified business helps us basically cover the volatility that comes out of the film business. The results today, I think, in a lot of ways, illustrate that the growth drivers for the company right now are Experiences and Streaming. Underpinning those growth drivers are clearly the IP. But the theatrical window in a lot of ways is it's just one data point. And the real value of that IP is the cumulative benefit of decades-long storytelling and our ability to take that IP and play it into the entirety of the Disney flywheel. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: I'm now going to move to questions on our direct-to-consumer strategy. First from David Karnovsky at JPMorgan. Josh, I'll ask this one to you. Can you update on where things stand with the Disney+ and Hulu integration and what consumer-facing or back-end enhancements are outstanding? And David's follow-up is Hulu through add-ons like HBO Max and Starz, serves as a platform for other entertainment services, do you foresee a similar role for Disney+? Josh D’Amaro: Great. Okay. Thanks, David. It's actually a timely question given the key milestones that we reached between Disney+ and Hulu in the quarter -- in this most recent quarter. So now Hulu subscribers can link their profiles and watch history on Disney+ while also getting a much more personalized and unified experience. There's still work to be done on unifying the tech stacks between the legacy stand-alone services as well as on integrating what have historically been disparate datasets. And by the end of this calendar year, subscribers, they'll be able to see live TV and add-ons in addition to new features rolling out. I think you've maybe seen this one of our more recent features is Verts. It will be strengthened by the new deal that we have with TikTok, which will bring more curated feeds and fan-created content right onto Disney+. So I'm pretty excited about that. And David, yes, you're right that Hulu is an efficient platform for other entertainment services, some that have been part of the Hulu value proposition to partners and consumers for years now. And we do think that Disney+ can be an aggregator of third-party services and that we can do this both through bundles and add-ons. And with Disney+, this is an opportunity on a global basis as well. I mean, given, number one, our history and current Hulu add-on offerings; and number two, our DTC scale, we're one of a very short list that's well positioned for aggregation. I'd flag in particular the Disney+, Hulu HBO Max bundle. This is a very popular bundle, and it works well for both us and Warner Bros. Discovery, and it's very sticky. The churn on the bundle is significantly lower than our Hulu or Disney+ stand-alone products when we look at similar tenure cohorts. So I feel good about where we are from an integration standpoint and feel like these opportunities for bundling will be out there for us and will certainly help us from a churn and engagement perspective. So thanks for the question, David. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Okay. From Peter Supino at Wolfe. Maybe Hugh, you want to take this one. You've called ESPN a strategic asset. When will ESPN direct-to-consumer have enough subscribers to materially boost traffic to Disney+? Hugh Johnston: Yes. Thanks for the question, Peter. First and foremost, it's worth highlighting that the Sports segment today is growing when you look at the guidance that we have for the year, which excludes the 53rd week. Now when we think about ESPN, we tend to think about 2 things. Number one is we want to be the place where the consumer comes for sports. We talk about ESPN meeting the sports fan anytime, anywhere. And in doing so, what we do is we focus on ESPN's contribution to the overall business and healthy consolidated earnings growth that we expect to deliver to shareholders. Now how material will sports be to viewership on Disney+, you really have to think about it from a consumer segmentation perspective, okay? The Trio bundle, including ESPN Unlimited or the traditional MVPD subscription are the best options for big sports fans like me and Josh and Ben. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Go Red Sox. Hugh Johnston: I'd say go Mets. So our strategy on Disney+ is to bring additional sports content to Disney+ users and to drive additional upsell into Disney+, Hulu, and the ESPN Unlimited bundle. Now you can expect us to lean in, in all of these areas. We have the most trusted brand in sports with the most comprehensive rights portfolio, and we are operating from an absolute position of strength with ESPN. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Hugh, there's always next season, always next year. All right. Question from Steven Cahall from Wells Fargo. I think Josh should take this one. Disney has achieved scale in direct-to-consumer revenues, but scaling margins has been harder, plus growing engagement is a challenge against competitors that have far more content volume. What do you need to see at direct-to-consumer to reinforce that streaming is the best strategy? Alternatively, how do you think about going back to a content licensing model so Disney can be more streamlined to focus on creativity and experiences? Josh D’Amaro: Okay. Okay. Thanks, Steven. By the way, we appreciated your thoughtful note on the subject a few weeks back. Let me try to address the streaming versus licensing question. I'll do that head on, and then I'll talk about what we're looking for to validate our view. First, there shouldn't be much of a debate about whether streaming can be a highly attractive business with fairly recurring and predictable revenue growth as well as the high incremental margins that we're looking for. Netflix has shown that, that's possible. Now we've been at it globally for just about 6 years now. And if you were to compare where we are today at our revenue scale compared to where Netflix was at a similar revenue scale, we actually -- we look quite similar in terms of margins. But your question isn't really about streaming as a business, but more whether Disney can continue scaling. And listen, I believe the answer is absolutely yes. Beyond our confidence in the financial model, we strongly believe that a large global user base is strategic to ensuring that we're able to drive longer-term growth, especially as new technology cycles emerge like AI. And the consumer touch points that our streaming platforms provide, they give us a global user base to communicate with and importantly, a critical first-party dataset that will enable personalization and continued product innovation and it establishes a foundation that we can build new revenue streams on top of over time. And this is only possible through a direct-to-consumer relationship inside a wholly controlled and branded environment. As we look to make Disney+ the -- I've said this before, the digital centerpiece of our relationships with fans, we're just playing a different game. It's an opportunity that's unique to us. A shift to a purely licensing model, it can sacrifice all of that strategic value. Content licensing is by nature, it's a lumpy business. It's subject to supply and demand dynamics in the marketplace at a given time. I mean it's not to say that there isn't a role for content licensing. We do license some content to third parties today, but exiting direct-to-consumer for licensing exclusively would likely lead to both inferior strategic and financial positions for our company and our shareholders. The last part of your question what do we need to see to validate that our strategy is working. The nature of technology, as we spoke about last quarter is that many small and incremental improvements, they're going to compound over time, and we're focused on that approach. It requires some patience, which we acknowledge it can be challenging. But here are 3 observations that hopefully will give you a sense of what we're tracking and why we feel encouraged. Internationally, those subscribers that watch our international originals, they churn far less than those that don't. Our Trio Bundle, including Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN Unlimited in the U.S., it's the lowest churn base that we have when we look at similar tenure cohorts. And finally, we're seeing broader engagement benefits when we can tie directly back to product improvements over the past year. So there's a lot of good going on there. I know this is a long answer, but hopefully, it helps address your question. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Okay. Great. Hugh, you have anything to add to that? Josh D’Amaro: I said enough. Hugh Johnston: Yes. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Last question on the streaming front. The industry is investing -- sorry, this is from Michael Ng at Goldman Sachs. The industry is investing against free streaming products at an accelerated pace, again, calling out Fox and Roku announced transaction. Would you talk about the merits of FAST channels and whether Disney would consider doing more of that as a top-of-funnel for Disney+ paid or as a stand-alone product? Josh, do you want to take that one? Josh D’Amaro: Yes, I got it. So thanks, Michael. Yes, we're exploring a free product for consumers, one that will allow us to accomplish several goals and hopefully do that efficiently. First, we see it as a way to expand our reach to a customer segment that's more price sensitive and expanding our reach is, as we've talked about before, one of our strategic priorities. Second, unlike a lot of our AVOD competitors, we're fairly well sold, meaning more inventory would actually help us accelerate our ad revenue growth. And then finally, as you mentioned in your question, a free offering could help us drive top-of-funnel Disney+ subscriber growth. So nothing specific to announce today, but definitely something that we're considering. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Okay. It's a good actually segue to an advertising question next from Jessica Reif Ehrlich at BofA. Hugh, do you want to take this? You have what appears to be an extremely strong hand in advertising for the coming year given your sports portfolio, the Super Bowl, political, et cetera, across your platforms. Can you provide color on tone, trends, the upfront, et cetera? Hugh Johnston: Yes, absolutely. Thanks for the advertising question, Jessica. Look, overall, we're pleased with the upfront results, really driven by the unmatched live events calendar that we have, including the Super Bowl, the College Football National Championship, the Grammys, the Oscars. We really have a tremendous calendar coming up. In terms of a couple of numbers, total volume commitments were up double digits versus last year. Sports volumes were up low teens, and we are very, very pleased to announce that we have sold out the Super Bowl inventory. Now overall, the current tone I would have is to characterize the market as healthy in sports, which obviously plays to our strength heading into the fall. But at the same time, competitive in streaming, especially given the growth of supply in the marketplace. That supply, of course, is creating some pricing pressure for us and for others, which you saw in our SVOD ad sales growth rate this quarter. Across international, especially in EMEA, we're seeing real demand for Disney+ as we expand our ad tier and we optimize the sell-through in our growth markets. From a categories perspective, as is typically the case, it's a bit of a mix. We're seeing good momentum in health care and financial services and in the political categories, while telecom and restaurants and CPG are displaying some softness, as you would expect with the consumer environment these days. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: All right. Our next topic is on AI and technology. This is from Sean Diffley at Morgan Stanley. How is AI being used in filmmaking at Disney today? How can we think about cost savings across different film types? Or is it more of a velocity accelerator and creativity unleash? Josh, I'll give that one to you. Josh D’Amaro: Yes, I'll take that one. So thanks, Sean. Yes, I mean, you're spot on. We're using AI strategically across not only our studios, but across the whole enterprise. And we're doing that to gain efficiency, to be faster, to accelerate velocity, and unleash creativity inside of Disney. And we look at our studios as technology leaders in content production, and this goes back -- this goes back to Walt over a century ago. We've always pushed the cutting edge of innovation in our storytelling. We've done this at ILM, Industrial Light & Magic, at Pixar, Disney Research Studios, Walt Disney Imagineering. And basically, we're building upon years of machine learning by now innovating with AI tools. And with AI, it's, of course, not just about efficiency. We use it, first and foremost, to enhance the creative process. That creative process, by the way, will always be human-centered. It will always be artist-driven and creator-led. We've cultivated the world's richest portfolio of IP and production experience across now a century of filmmaking. And this gives us a huge advantage over our peers that I don't think there's any other entrant that can come in and quickly replicate. So I'll call out a few important examples across our business, start with our studio. We're leveraging AI across core technical processes throughout our production pipeline to increase our ability to get films to market in a speedier fashion. It's letting us expand the number of titles that we can offer in 3D, basically making more of our films available in premium formats, which as we know, are highly demanded, letting us bring visual effects to more shots where it would have been previously difficult or maybe even not economically viable. And it lets us accelerate processes like rendering and things like denoising, which is reducing the time it takes to complete shots. At our streaming business, AI is helping us improve personalization on Disney+, and it allows us to further enhance our recommendation engine. And this is really important. Our technology, advertising, and marketing teams, they're also exploring Gen AI-powered creative and they've implemented ad delivery in this format. ESPN, I think, is doing a really nice job. They've done a lot in this space, and they have 3 goals that map to their AI workflows. First, fan engagement, including the recently launched SportsCenter for you. If you haven't tried that, you should. It's fantastic. They're looking at revenue growth, including brand-new ad formats and obviously, productivity as well across initiatives like live captioning and highlight clipping, which they're doing a great job of. And then on the experiences side, we clearly understand how much a Disney vacation means to our fans, and we're using AI to reduce some of the complexities that come along with planning and booking a trip to one of our parks while making that whole experience specifically tailored to what our guests want. So there's a lot going on in this space, and our teams are going to continue to push across the company. It's a pretty exciting time for us. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Okay. Next question is from Bryan Kraft at Deutsche Bank. Again, I think, Josh, probably for you. You've discussed making Disney a more agile and technology-enabled organization and have been investing in technology. Where have you seen success thus far? And where do you see the most upside from further investment in tech? Josh D’Amaro: Okay. Thanks, Bryan. It's actually a pretty good follow-up to the prior question on AI because we do think more broadly about the overall impact technology and innovation can have across all of our workflows and across all of our earnings base. One area that's an enterprise-wide priority for me and our whole team is data unification. Large companies with multiple businesses, especially ones that have been built over time through a series of acquisitions, they often end up with disparate datasets that sometimes don't talk to each other, and we're putting real resources behind fixing that. So essentially, we're unifying our consumer data across the entire company so that we can serve our fans better and then drive lifetime value. There are very few companies in the world with the breadth and richness of data that Disney has across parks and streaming and studios and consumer products, almost nobody else can connect the fans experience the way that we can and unifying that data, it actually lets us use it. We're also investing pretty aggressively in technology that creates better experiences for our guests in our parks and our cruise ships. Our research and development labs are developing next-generation robotics that can interact with guests in personal and emotional ways, not just in functional ways. And in Imagineering, our teams are using AI tools to let our Imagineers design more ambitious, more exciting experiences for fans around the world, and they're doing it a lot faster than they could do it before. That same discipline, it's showing up, as I've talked about in our studios. We're using technology to drive efficiency throughout the production process so that we can direct more of our resources to what actually matters, and that's the quality of our storytelling. So I guess if you put it simply, we're focused on becoming a more effective, a more agile, more innovative company in everything that we do at Disney and technology is the connective tissue that makes all of that possible. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: All right. We're going to take some questions from some of the news this morning on our TikTok announcement. A couple of questions, one from Jessica Reif Ehrlich, one from Sean Diffley. I think the punchline is essentially how do we define success? How does this agreement sort of fit into our strategy overall at Disney+? Josh D’Amaro: Yes. Well, this is a big announcement for us this morning and an important one as well. TikTok is a is a platform where millions and millions of creators are coming to discover new IP to create new content. And we know specifically with Disney, we have -- some of our biggest fans are creating their own stories. They're discovering new content. They're sharing their love of the brand. And it's important for us as the Disney Company to be out there with the fans, making sure that they're seeing us, they're engaging with us. And at the same time, we're now going to have the ability to port some of the best content from TikTok over into Disney+. You've heard us talk about Verts in the past, and this is going to be an opportunity now to have that native TikTok content come over to Disney+. And so our biggest fans on Disney+ will now be able to engage regularly. And essentially, what that does is it creates a more complete experience on Disney+, and it's a stickier app. People stay around for longer. And obviously, that benefits our whole ecosystem than people discovering more of our content and participating more with the Disney Company. So this is -- it's a pretty big deal for us and very much in line with our long-term strategies on streaming. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Great. And then a couple on the Parks results. Sean Diffley from Morgan Stanley thanks us for the additional disclosure on cruise launches. You're welcome, Sean. How much visibility and confidence do you have in those timelines? Maybe I'll throw that one to you, Hugh. Hugh Johnston: Yes. Sean, thanks for the question. We are actually highly, highly confident in those timelines. The ships that will be coming in from here forward are ships that are very consistent with the way we have traditionally built ships sort of from scratch ourselves. We have the slot. The manufacturer or the shipbuilder is highly reliable in terms of building them out. So from that perspective, we certainly feel extremely confident that we will hit the time lines. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Great. And then a question from Robert Fishman at MoffettNathanson also on parks. Can you frame how much of Walt Disney World growth is from your organic investments versus a snapback from the initial attendance headwinds from Epic opening last year? Looking ahead with all your new experiences coming in the portfolio, how can that continue to -- can that continue to deliver double-digit returns? We talked about returns already, but maybe you guys could just talk about the sort of underlying drivers in the business that we're seeing versus kind of easy comps. Hugh Johnston: Yes. No, happy to talk about that. And Robert, you may recall last year when there was a lot of concern about this, we were not terribly concerned about it, and we had put out some forecasts. And frankly, our forecasts were extremely accurate on that front in terms of the impact of the Epic Park. So credit to the Parks team for doing that so effectively. The consequence of that, of course, is right now, it's almost entirely driven by our own organic actions, the investments that we're making in the business, the marketing executions, all of what we're doing to drive attendance growth, in particular, in the domestic market. So we certainly feel very, very good about that. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: We have a question from Batya Levi at UBS. Experiences OI now expected to come in at the high end of our high-single-digit growth guidance for the year, excluding the 53rd week. Batya is asking, is this just the tariff refunds in terms of the higher guidance or core outperformance? Hugh, do you want to take that? Hugh Johnston: Yes. Thanks for the question, Batya. No, in fact, tariffs really have nothing to do with it. Everything that's happened in tariffs, the tariffs we paid were in the first 2 quarters of this year, and the refund was in the third quarter. We -- if there's anything in the fourth quarter, we expect it to be immaterial. So for the full year, essentially tariffs have 0 impact. Instead, what's driving the performance is actually terrific execution by the Parks team, both from the perspective of the domestic parks and certainly, Paris is doing well as well. So -- and the cruise ships, of course, are driving strong growth. We feel great about the attendance growth. We feel great about the per caps we're receiving, and we think we're competing effectively in the marketplace, and that's why we're doing so well. Benjamin Daniel Swinburne, C.F.A.: Okay. That was our last question to close out the call. I'm going to hand it back to Josh. Josh D’Amaro: Well, thanks, Ben, and thank you all for the time this morning. I think you can see in our results and here in our answers to your questions that we believe we are uniquely positioned in the global entertainment industry. We have clear growth drivers in Experiences and Streaming and unmatched breadth and depth of IP. In an increasingly fragmented attention economy, consumers are choosing to spend their time with us across our core platforms, Experiences, Disney+, and ESPN. Finally, we're delivering on the financial commitments that we've made to the market. We look forward to continuing to engage with the investment community and our shareholders, including on our fiscal Q4 earnings call scheduled for November. Thanks, everyone. Before you buy stock in Walt Disney, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Walt Disney wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut are built for long-term growth and could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $403,337!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,334,946!* That performance is why people listen. With a track record of beating the S&P 500 by 4x, Stock Advisor offers a distinct advantage. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built for the long haul. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 12, 2026. This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Disney (DIS) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

Our analysts just identified a stock with the potential to be the next Nvidia. Tell us how you invest and we'll show you why it's our #1 pick. Tap here. Management attributed the sequential margin expansion to a deliberate front-loading of marketing spend in Q1, allowing profitability to emerge as acquisition costs normalized in Q2. The Disney Solitaire title demonstrated high durability, growing revenue by 15.5% sequentially despite a meaningful reduction in marketing investment, validating the game's long-term player value. Slotomania achieved its third consecutive quarter of stable performance, which management views as a successful turnaround of their legacy franchise through operational discipline. Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) revenue reached 39.3% of total revenue, serving as a critical strategic lever to protect margins against platform fees and macroeconomic volatility. Bingo Blitz performance was impacted by a strategic pivot away from high-volume, short-lived incentive-driven users toward higher-quality, long-tenured players who provide a more stable revenue foundation. Operational efficiency was bolstered by a 15.8% year-over-year reduction in R&D expenses, reflecting the full benefit of headcount actions and reduced outsourcing costs. Management expects to finish the year at the lower end of revenue and EBITDA ranges due to a planned 70% reduction in Super Play marketing spend in the second half. Guidance assumes a cautious stance on consumer sentiment, noting that mid-quarter softening in discretionary spending was steeper than typical seasonal patterns. Revenue for Super Play titles is expected to decline sequentially in the second half as a direct result of the front-loaded investment strategy tied to earn-out structures. The company anticipates year-over-year comparisons for Bingo Blitz will become more challenging in the second half as the Q4 2023 marketing mix shift annualizes. Management intends to maintain flexibility in year-end marketing spend to ensure a strong competitive position heading into the next fiscal year. The Super Play earn-out structure, which requires both revenue growth and margin expansion, is the primary driver behind the lumpy quarterly marketing spend and revenue trajectory. Persistent inflation is identified as a key headwind, weighing on consumer confidence and impacting the broader mobile gaming industry's discretionary spending levels. G&A expenses showed a significant year-over-year increase primarily due to a prior-year one-time benefit from a contingent consideration revaluation, rather than a structural cost increase. Management explicitly declined to provide updates or commentary regarding the ongoing strategic alternatives review during the call. One stock. Nvidia-level potential. 30M+ investors trust Moby to find it first. Get the pick. Tap here. Management clarified that while lower spend helps margins, the revenue decline follows spend with a lag, creating a non-linear sequential pattern weighted toward Q3. The decision to point toward the lower end of the range reflects a desire to align Street models with the specific timing of the Super Play earn-out cycle. Having stabilized the title for three quarters, management is now finalizing new marketing campaigns to return the game to growth. The company expressed renewed confidence in the social casino genre based on the successful stabilization of their oldest franchise. The reduction is a tactical choice driven by the annual earn-out framework rather than a lack of confidence in the title's LTV or potential. Management emphasized that the game is only 15 months old and lacks the deep cohort base of mature titles to fully offset large marketing step-downs in the short term. While no new target was set beyond the current 39.3%, management noted that individual games have significantly higher penetration depending on their lifecycle. DTC remains the primary defense against platform fee pressure and is a core component of the long-term margin strategy.

The Walt Disney Company DIS used its third quarter of fiscal 2026 earnings call to emphasize that Experiences and streaming are carrying its growth agenda despite mixed film results and softer streaming advertising. Management reiterated its outlook and presented the One Disney model as the framework for fan relationships. Adjusted earnings of $2.06 per share beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.88. However, quarterly revenues of $25.25 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $25.48 billion. The Walt Disney Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The Walt Disney Company Quote CEO Josh D’Amaro said Disney remains on track for approximately 12% adjusted earnings growth in fiscal 2026 excluding the 53rd week, or approximately 16% including it. CFO Hugh Johnston expects fiscal fourth-quarter total segment operating income of approximately $4.9 billion. The extra week should contribute approximately $600 million. Disney maintained its expectation for double-digit adjusted earnings growth in fiscal 2027. Fiscal fourth-quarter Entertainment results will reflect weaker-than-expected Moana box office performance and softer domestic streaming advertising. D’Amaro said Experiences generated revenues of $9.968 billion, up 10%. Global guests increased 4%, domestic parks attendance rose 3% and domestic per-capita spending advanced 4%. A MoffettNathanson analyst asked about returns from the parks and cruise investment cycle. D’Amaro also stated that projects are evaluated against defined returns and guest benefits, balancing volume and yield as capacity expands. A LightShed Partners analyst questioned recent park promotions. D’Amaro said the offers target customer segments and capacity use rather than signal weakness. Johnston added that Walt Disney World and cruise forward bookings remain healthy, although Asian parks face softer demand. D’Amaro stated that Disney+ is intended to become the company’s digital centerpiece. Entertainment SVOD delivered a 13% operating margin and management expects a double-digit margin for fiscal 2026 excluding the extra week. A JPMorgan analyst asked about Disney+ and Hulu integration. D’Amaro said Hulu subscribers can link profiles and watch history on Disney+, while live television and add-ons are expected by the end of calendar 2026. A Wells Fargo analyst asked whether licensing could offer a simpler alternative. D’Amaro defended direct-to-consumer distribution for its data, personalization and recurring revenues, while leaving room for selective licensing and third-party aggregation. D’Amaro used Toy Story 5 to show how theatrical releases can drive streaming, retail and park engagement. The film surpassed $1 billion globally, while the five-film franchise has generated more than $4 billion at the box office. Management acknowledged that The Mandalorian and Grogu and the live-action Moana fell short of box office expectations. D’Amaro said both properties still support merchandise, attractions, gaming and streaming engagement. A Barclays analyst asked how much earnings growth depends on theatrical success. Johnston said the current growth engines are Experiences and streaming, with theatrical performance one component of the broader franchise model. Johnston said Disney now plans at least $9 billion of fiscal 2026 share repurchases. The increase reflects cash previously reserved for the OpenAI deal and expected proceeds from selling Disney’s A+E stake. Johnston kept reinvestment first in the capital-allocation hierarchy. Disney remains on track for approximately $9 billion of capital expenditures and $24 billion of content spending in fiscal 2026. Management is evaluating labor and selling, general and administrative cost reductions. Johnston said the work is intended to create more capacity for growth investment while preserving Disney’s leverage position. D’Amaro centered his message on coordinating intellectual property, technology and consumer data. He positioned One Disney as the structure connecting parks, streaming, sports and consumer products. Management’s confidence was balanced by weaker Asian park demand, competitive streaming advertising and uneven theatrical performance. The near-term focus remains execution against the reiterated outlook while funding capacity and digital product improvements. DIS carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating a neutral near-term earnings-estimate revision outlook. Its Value Score of B is favorable, while the Growth Score of C, Momentum Score of D and VGM Score of C present a mixed profile. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Style Scores complement the Zacks Rank, with A and B grades representing stronger characteristics. The Value reading stands out, but the combined scores are less supportive, and the Zacks Rank can change as analysts revise estimates following the reported results. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report The Walt Disney Company (DIS) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research