Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS, XETRA:WDP) on Wednesday reported fiscal third-quarter results that topped Wall Street estimates, driven by a doubling of streaming profit and record domestic theme park revenue.
Adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.06, up 28% from a year earlier and well above the $1.86 analysts had forecast.
Revenue rose 7% to $25.2 billion, just short of the $25.4 billion estimate. Operating income climbed 21% to $5.6 billion, beating expectations of $5.2 billion.
Shares rose 2% on Wednesday morning.
Entertainment streaming operating income more than doubled to about $712 million, helped by subscription price increases and lower subscriber churn. The company's Entertainment segment posted $1.7 billion in operating income, up 64% year over year, while SVOD revenue reached $5.5 billion, an 11% increase, with a 13% operating margin.
The Experiences division, which includes theme parks, generated $3 billion in operating income, up 20%, on record fiscal third-quarter revenue of nearly $10 billion. Domestic parks operating income grew 27%, supported by a 3% rise in attendance, a 4% increase in per capita spending, and a $100 million refund tied to a legal strike-down of global tariffs. International parks and experiences operating income fell 13%, which Disney attributed to weaker international travel and tourism.
The Sports segment reported operating income of $858 million, down 17%, which the company linked to the timing of media rights payments, early-round sweeps in the NBA playoffs and an ongoing network carriage dispute.
Free cash flow was $3.1 billion, up 63% from a year earlier but below the $3.61 billion estimate.
Disney reaffirmed its full-year guidance, including adjusted EPS growth of about 12% excluding a 53rd week and about 16% including it. The company continues to project cash from operations of at least $19 billion and capital expenditures of about $9 billion for the year.
For the fourth quarter, Disney guided operating income to approximately $4.9 billion, roughly in line with the $4.99 billion analysts expected.
The quarter's box office performance was buoyed by "Toy Story 5," which surpassed $1 billion in global ticket sales, a result the company said also lifted streaming engagement and merchandise sales.
Separately, Disney and TikTok announced a deal allowing creators to use assets from Disney's film and television library to make fan videos for the platform, with select content set to appear on Disney+.
Disney also said it is shifting its consumer products business into its Studios division as part of an internal reorganization.