In This Story
Disney’s (DIS-1.33%) latest earnings report delivered a bit of old-school magic. Revenue rose 7% to $23.6 billion, up from $22.1 billion last year. EPS rose to $1.45 from last year’s $1.21.
As the company works to steady its streaming ship, it’s the theme parks that continue to do the heavy lifting, with higher prices, fuller cruise ships, and longer guest stays all contributing to that rising bottom line.
Disney stock rose 10.4% in Wednesday morning trading. The shares are still down about 8% so far this year.
Standout performance in parks
Revenue in the Parks, Experiences, and Products segment jumped 10% year over year to $8.4 billion, while operating income from domestic parks climbed 12% to $1.9 billion. Disney Cruise Line added the Disney Treasure to its fleet and expanded its itineraries. Guest spending also rose, thanks to add-ons like Genie+ and Lightning Lane.
Defying some analysts’ fears that the trade war is weighing on American brands overseas, Disney’s international parks turned in a strong quarter, with operating income up 7%. Hong Kong Disneyland even turned a profit—something that hasn’t happened in years.
CEO Bob Iger called the parks “a cornerstone of our business,” and with $60 billion earmarked for further buildouts over the next decade, the company is clearly betting that physical experiences will keep driving real-world dollars.
So far, the bet is working. Even amid a softening consumer economy, guests aren’t balking at the price hikes.
Disney’s storytelling machine is humming again, too.
Mufasa: The Lion King has now quietly pulled in over $720 million globally since its holiday release, and as Iger pointed out in his comments, Marvel’s Thunderbolts is the top film in the world.
The rest of the 2025 lineup reads like a greatest-hits remix: Freakier Friday, Zootopia 2, Elio, Avatar: Fire and Ash, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps are all examples of the franchise extensions Disney is well known for.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Moana universe “knows the way.” Moana 2 became one of the top three films of 2024, earning $1 billion at the box office, and has clocked 139 million streaming hours on Disney+ since March. The original remains the most-streamed film on the platform with an eye-watering 1.4 billion viewing hours — and like other Disney IP goes on minting cash by fueling attractions, stage shows, and character meet-and-greets across parks and cruise ships. It’s less a virtuous cycle than a virtuous voyage.
Content powers streaming to modest growth
All this momentum is translating into modest growth for Disney+. The service added 1.4 million subscribers in Q2 to reach 126 million overall, driven by both domestic and international gains. Executives credited the strong content bank — especially Moana 2, Mufasa, and Daredevil: Born Again — for the bump in subscriptions and streaming revenue.
Iger emphasized the “multiplier effect” of hit films, which creates lasting long-tail value across all of Disney’s divisions. Stories become ecosystems, ecosystems mint cash, and then they mint even more of it.