The Walt Disney Company reported strong third-quarter 2026 earnings earlier today. Wednesday, August 5th. The strong quarter was led by domestic parks, Disney Cruise Line, streaming and the success of Toy Story 5. Based on CEO Josh D’Amaro commentary, the bigger story is how Disney continues to connect movies, merchandise, streaming, parks and vacations.
He called that strategy “One Disney.” The goal is simple: one successful story can create value across the entire company.
Disney’s third-quarter results
Disney reported quarterly revenue of $25.25 billion, up 7%. Total segment operating income increased 21% to $5.56 billion. Adjusted earnings per share rose 28% to $2.06.
Disney Experiences remained one of the company’s strongest businesses. Revenue increased 10% to nearly $10 billion, while operating income rose 20% to just over $3 billion. Domestic Parks and Experiences revenue increased 11%.
Those are BIG numbers! And showcase that the consumer is willing to pay up for a Disney Vacation, and they do.
Walt Disney World attendance and spending increased
Attendance at Disney’s domestic parks increased 3%. Spending per guest, that increased 4%, and that’s all part of the bigger plan. Increase attendance slightly, will increasing spend per guest, translation – less people spending more. A Win-Win for Disney and the consumer?.
Disney described Walt Disney World as a standout performer, helped by domestic tourists, annual passholders, summer promotions and new experiences.
International visitation to Disney’s U.S. parks remained lower. However, Disney said that pressure improved compared with the previous quarter. Forward bookings at Walt Disney World also remained strong.
Disneyland Paris gained while Asia remained soft
Disney’s international park results were mixed. Disneyland Paris recorded strong attendance growth following the opening of World of Frozen.
Disney did confirm continued weaker consumer demand at its Asian parks. Could announcements be instore for the upcoming D23 Ultimate Disney Fan event?
Strength at Walt Disney World, Disneyland Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Consumer Products and Disneyland Paris more than covered that weakness.
Disney Cruise Line continues to grow
Disney Cruise Line also helped drive the quarter. The Disney Destiny and Disney Adventure increased available stateroom capacity by approximately 50% compared with last year.
Important note, that does not mean cruise revenue increased 50%. It means Disney had far more rooms available to sell. Disney said occupancy and future bookings remained encouraging.
Cruising is becoming a larger part of Disney Experiences, while also giving the company another place to bring its characters and stories to life.
Toy Story 5 was the clear winner
Toy Story 5 has now passed $1 billion at the global box office. The five Toy Story films have generated more than $4 billion worldwide. Toy Story content has also produced more than two billion hours of viewing on Disney+.
Disney said the franchise generates more than $1 billion in annual global retail sales. Toy Story also appears at every Disney theme park resort and aboard every Disney cruise ship.
That is the Disney flywheel in action. A movie can produce ticket sales, streaming views, merchandise revenue and demand for park and cruise experiences.
Moana and The Mandalorian fell short in theaters
Disney openly acknowledged that The Mandalorian and Grogu and the live-action Moana underperformed at the box office. However, both still created value elsewhere.
The Mandalorian and Grogu helped increase Star Wars merchandise sales, drove gaming engagement and supported the new Mandalorian update to Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
Disney expects the live-action Moana to perform strongly on Disney+. The box-office results disappointed. Still, Disney’s point was clear: theatrical performance is only one part of the value of a franchise.
ESPN profits fell, but audiences grew
ESPN was one of the weaker financial areas in the report. Sports operating income declined 17% to $858 million. Disney blamed shorter NBA playoff series and a carriage dispute.
However, ESPN’s audience remained strong. Disney reported its most-watched fiscal third quarter across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN on ABC since 2016.
So, ESPN’s problem was not a lack of viewers. It was the cost and structure of sports broadcasting.
Disney+ is becoming more than streaming
Disney’s streaming business continued to improve. Entertainment streaming revenue increased 11%, while subscription revenue increased 15%. Disney also reported lower Disney+ churn.
In addition, the company announced a collaboration with TikTok that will bring selected creator videos into Verts, the vertical-video section of Disney+. Disney wants Disney+ to become more than a place to watch movies and television shows. The service could eventually connect streaming, sports, games, merchandise, subscriber benefits and vacation planning.
Disney highlighted its parks expansion pipeline
Disney did not announce any new theme park projects during the earnings report. However, the company highlighted major projects already underway. Those include Villains Land, Monsters, Inc., Tropical Americas and Cars at Walt Disney World.
Disney also referenced the Avengers Campus expansion, Coco attraction and Avatar experience planned for Disneyland Resort. International projects include new Marvel and Spider-Man attractions, The Lion King at Disneyland Paris and the future Disney theme park in Abu Dhabi.
D23 is next
The lack of new park announcements was not surprising. D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event takes place next weekend in Anaheim, California. Disney has not guaranteed any new park announcements.
I will. With major expansions underway in Florida, California and around the world, I expect Disney to reveal new details that could affect parks and experiences globally.
That could mean timelines, attraction details, entertainment updates or something completely unexpected.
We already have our D23 parks wish list.
Do you have yours?
The bigger Disney story
Disney’s earnings show the value of operating as one connected company. Toy Story 5 sold movie tickets, merchandise and Disney+ subscriptions. The Mandalorian and Grogu disappointed in theaters but supported retail, gaming and the parks. Disney Cruise Line added capacity, while Disney+ continued evolving into a broader fan platform.
For Disney, the movie is no longer the end product. It is often only the beginning.
Walt Disney Company News
The Walt Disney Company reported its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday (available here), with CEO Josh D’Amaro addressing investors on the results and his first five months in the role.
“During my first five months as CEO, I’ve been focused on ensuring that we execute as one company around a unified strategy,” D’Amaro said on the earnings call. “And what we’re seeing this quarter is proof that coordinating our franchises, sharing data and technology, and building seamless fan experiences works.”
He noted that Disney’s “fundamental advantage is the depth of our fan relationships, and that translates directly to durable financial returns.”
D’Amaro mentioned that “we find ourselves in an environment where consumers have more options than ever for their time,” but that the company’s results show that “they keep choosing to spend their time with Disney.”
“This success reflects our continued execution across three 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.” he said. “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.”
Highlights of Disney’s Strength from Q3
Before walking investors through the quarter’s performance, D’Amaro paused to highlight a few examples that “demonstrate how the strength of our consumer connections and the power of our IP are expanding our reach and our relevance.”
Among them:
- Growing global guests 4% year-over-year, with particular strength at Walt Disney World, while the company also benefitted from additional capacity at Disney Cruise Line.
- The strength of our franchise IP via the financial and cultural impact of Toy Story 5, which recently surpassed $1 billion at the global box office.
- And the unique passion of sports fandom drove over 100% growth in NBA Finals and NHL postseason viewership across ESPN and ABC versus the prior season*¹, making this the most viewed fiscal Q3 across ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN on ABC since 2016.
Experiences
Starting with Disney Experiences, D’Amaro said that Disney is “proud of the growth that we’ve had this year, and we’re investing to sustain that growth.”
“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,” he said.
Entertainment
“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,” D’Amaro said.
He noted that the five Toy Story films have delivered more than $4 billion at the global box office and over 2 billion hours streamed on Disney+. Across all retailers, the franchise generates more than $1 billion in annual global retail sales *² and reaches fans at every Disney park and cruise ship — spanning four immersive lands, 19 attractions, and two hotels.
“Now, that’s the Disney flywheel in action,” he said. “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.”
He added that “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, for instance, drove healthy growth in Star Wars retail sales, drew guests to the updated Millennium Falcon attraction at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and led to significant engagement in gaming.
As for the live-action Moana, D’Amaro said it’s expected to be a strong performer on Disney+, building on the success of the original — one of the most-streamed films of all time.*³
Streaming
D’Amaro said “the appeal of our IP across multiple consumer touchpoints is central to our strategy, and Disney+ is the digital centerpiece for that.”
During the quarter, he noted, “we passed an important milestone in app unification, allowing Hulu standalone and bundle subscribers to link profiles and manage subscriptions on Disney+.”
Still, he acknowledged the company has “work to do scaling Disney+ outside the U.S., and we’re focused on driving growth and returns over the long term in under-monetized markets.”
“Our strategy is clear,” D’Amaro added. “Leverage regional relationships and bring regional content onto Disney+ at scale. And that’s how we will grow internationally.”
He explained that Disney’s long-term streaming strategy rests on two 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,” he said. “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.”
D’Amaro concluded by saying that “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.”
Sports
That same strategy extends to sports, where, according to D’Amaro, “ESPN gives us another powerful way to deepen our relationship with fans.”
As Disney+ evolves, he added, “we’ll continue to bring select premium sports events to the platform.”
“At the same time, ESPN remains the primary destination for daily sports content,” he said. “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.”
AI and Emerging Technology
Before wrapping the call, D’Amaro turned to the emerging technology underpinning all of this work.
“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,” he said. “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.”
He continued, “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 are doing all of this while keeping human creativity at the center. AI amplifies what our storytellers can do – it doesn’t replace them.”
“This efficiency, it matters financially, too,” he said. “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.”
Final Thoughts
Wrapping up his commentary, D’Amaro said that “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,” he said concluding the call.
