Disney quarterly revenue rises, earnings dip but beats expectations

Walt Disney Co on Monday reported higher revenue but lower earnings per share in its first quarter, as cost pressures weighed on profitability despite growth across its main businesses.

Revenue rose 5.2% to USD25.98 billion in the quarter ended December 27, from USD24.69 billion a year earlier and beating the Bloomberg consensus of GBP25.64 billion.

Pretax income edged up 0.9% to USD3.69 billion from USD3.66 billion.

Diluted earnings per share fell to USD1.34 from USD1.40 a year earlier, while adjusted EPS declined to USD1.63 from USD1.76, but still beat the Bloomberg consensus of USD1.55.

Total segment operating income dropped 9.1% to USD4.60 billion from USD5.06 billion, reflecting weaker performance in Entertainment and Sports, partly offset by growth in Experiences.

Entertainment revenue increased 6.8% to USD11.61 billion, but segment operating income fell 35% to USD1.10 billion from USD1.70 billion, as higher programming, production and marketing costs outweighed gains in subscription.

Sports revenue rose 1.2% to USD4.91 billion, while operating income declined 23% to USD191 million. Experiences delivered record quarterly revenue of USD10.01 billion, up 6.3% from USD9.42 billion, with segment operating income rising to USD3.31 billion from USD3.11 billion.

Looking ahead, Disney guided for double-digit growth in adjusted earnings per share for the full 2026 financial year and said it expects revenue momentum to strengthen in the second half.