Disney shares are rising: expectations for profit and sales have been significantly exceeded

Walt Disney posted profits in the second quarter of its 2026 fiscal year. After a profit of $1.45 per share in the same period last year, the entertainment giant’s EPS in the current reporting period was now $1.57. This was significantly more than the market had previously expected at an average of $1.49 per share. Earnings before taxes increased by 9 percent to $3.4 billion (previous year: $3.1 billion). The bottom line is that profits fell from $3.3 billion in the same quarter last year (end of March) to $2.25 billion. This was mainly due to taxes. A year earlier, Disney was able to claim a tax credit.

At $25.2 billion, sales in the past quarter were higher than the previous year’s figure of $23.50 billion. Analysts’ expectations for quarterly sales were $24.87 billion, so Disney was able to convince here too.

This is how the individual divisions performed

The direct marketing division, which includes the Disney+ streaming service, achieved a double-digit percentage profit margin for the first time. For a long time, the company had been making losses with this offer in tough competition with Netflix, Amazon and Co.

The group’s film studio benefited from a good run of the cinema productions “Avatar: Fire and Ash” and “Zootopia 2” (in Germany “Zoomania 2”). Together with the animated film “Hoppers,” the three films have grossed more than $3.7 billion at the box office since their release.

While the sports division made less profit due to declining advertising revenue from the sports channel ESPN, guests spent more money at the company’s theme parks and cruise ships. However, management was cautious about the theme park business due to the difficult economic situation.

Outlook for the year as a whole is convincing

For the 2026 financial year, the entertainment group expects adjusted EPS growth of around 16 percent. In addition, share buybacks worth at least $8 billion are planned for the full year.

“We expect third quarter total operating income for the segment to be approximately $5.3 billion. Current demand at our domestic parks and resorts is good. However, we are aware of the macroeconomic uncertainty that consumers are currently facing,” the company said in its earnings release.

Disney shares were up 7.54 percent at $108.06 in trading on the NYSE.

Carolin Ludwig, Claudia Stephan, Julia Walter, Bettina Schneider, Svenja Polonyi, finanzen.net editorial team with material from dpa-AFX

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