Disney Parks Bail Out Its Box Office — Analysts Stay Bullish

Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS ) delivered fiscal third-quarter results on Wednesday that cleared Wall Street's profit bar, and analysts are weighing in on the print.

Adjusted earnings per share landed at $2.06, beating the $1.86 consensus by 20 cents.

Revenue rose 7% year-over-year to $25.25 billion, narrowly missing the $25.43 billion analyst forecast, according to data Pro.

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Experiences Segment Experiences stole the show.

Revenue climbed 10% to nearly $10 billion, well ahead of estimates calling for 7% growth, while segment operating income jumped 20% to $3 billion, according to Rosenblatt.

Domestic parks led the charge, with revenue up 11% on 3% attendance growth and 4% higher per-cap spending.

Operating income there rose 27% to $2.1 billion, boosted by a $100 million tariff refund.

International parks operating income slipped 13% to $369 million as Asia trends softened.

Consumer products, by contrast, jumped 26% to $560 million, riding Star Wars merchandise tied to "The Mandalorian and Grogu." Management raised full-year Experiences operating income guidance to the high end of high-single-digit growth.

Guggenheim noted forward bookings at Walt Disney World are "up nicely," and the cruise fleet is expanding to eight ships.

Read Also: SpaceX, Tesla Confirm Terafab Site as Chip Demand Outruns Global Supply Entertainment Segment Entertainment revenue grew 6% to $11.35 billion, falling short of estimates near 10%.

Operating income told a different story, surging 64% to $1.68 billion.

Streaming drove it: SVOD revenue rose 11% to $5.53 billion, and operating income more than doubled to $712 million.

Margin expanded to 12.9% from 6.6% a year ago, per Rosenblatt, running ahead of management's "at least 10%" full-year target cited by Guggenheim.

Streaming advertising growth of just 3% disappointed against a $911.7 million consensus.

Box office results were mixed — "The Mandalorian and Grogu" and live-action "Moana" underperformed, but "Toy Story 5" crossed $1 billion globally.

Disney and TikTok Inc. also announced a content-sharing partnership aimed at cutting Disney+ churn.

An expanded Disney+ ecosystem featuring games and merchandise is set to launch in spring 2027.

Sports Segment Sports was the lone weak spot.

Revenue rose 4% to $4.5 billion, but operating income fell 17% to $858 million, a steeper drop than the roughly 14% decline Disney had previously guided to.

Higher rights costs tied to the NBA contract renewal and playoff sweeps drove the decline.

Management is "cautiously optimistic" the NFL Network carriage dispute with Comcast Corp. will resolve soon, per Guggenheim.

Full-year Sports guidance remains mid-single-digit growth.

The Takeaway Guggenheim kept a Buy rating and $120 price target, citing "record Experiences revenue and segment operating income" and calling CEO Josh D'Amaro 's "One Disney" operating model still in its early stages.

Rosenblatt also reiterated Buy, with a $126 target, arguing Disney can trade at a premium multiple near 18 times adjusted EPS given its studio and content library.

DIS Stock Price Activity: Disney stock was up 1.67% at $103.46 at the time of publication Thursday, according to Pro.

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