Disney Tries to Change the Narrative
Disney just announced its earnings for the fourth quarter of the 2025 fiscal year.
This particular report comes with its fair share of drama, as many people are mad at Disney right now.
Inside Out 2 Shoulder Plushes in Disney Ever After – Anger
During the previous quarter, the company somehow managed to tick off both sides of the political aisle.
Also, at the time of publication, Disney has yet to reach an agreement on YouTube TV’s carriage renewals.
Photo: Variety
The situation has grown so acrimonious that Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Disney CEO Bob Iger are now involved with the negotiations.
The carriage battle doesn’t impact the current earnings report, but the whole affair has proven to be nightmarish PR for Disney. Again.
Photo; Disney
Lately, 2025 at Disney has felt a lot like 2022, which we’d all blamed on Bob Chapek at the time.
Long story short, Disney needs an earnings report win.
Image rights: CNBC and Illustration by Elham Ataeiazar
Did they get it? Let’s find out.
Disney Has Been on a Heater
Photo: CNBC
I just referenced the Bob Chapek debacle, which led to the shocking return of Iger as CEO.
That feud weirdly dovetails into what we’re about to discuss, as Disney has beaten its profit guidance for nine consecutive quarters coming into today.
Photo: LA Times
You can glance at the calendar and verify that this is pretty much the entire time Chapek has been gone.
So, blaming everything on Chapek has proven shockingly accurate thus far.
Mandatory Credit: Photo by JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Wall Street universally believes that Disney is undervalued, with most firms arguing for a price target of $140-$150.
Even the most pessimistic firm suggests a $129 price target, which is significant because the stock closed at $116.65 at the close of business on Tuesday.
(AP Photo/Matt Dunham, file)
So, everyone agreed yesterday that Disney was undervalued.
That won’t stop the stock from dropping after a soft report, though, and that’s what has happened.
According to guidance, Wall Street expected Disney to report earnings per share of $1.04, with revenue of $22.75 billion.
In actuality, Disney’s quarterly revenue came in at $22.464 billion, with earnings per share of $1.11.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew, File
So, we’re off to a mediocre start, with Disney hitting on earnings per share but missing slightly on revenue estimates.
I want to emphasize that the YouTube TV carriage dispute didn’t start until the witching hour of Halloween, which means its revenue impact won’t be felt until next quarter.
Image: The Wall Street Journal
Morgan Stanley, whose former leader is now the Chairman of the Board at the Walt Disney Company, suggests that Disney is losing $4.3 million per day in revenue.
They’re suggesting a $60 million budget shortfall from this contentious negotiation.
Photo: Deadline
Disney execs counter that with people unable to watch on YouTube TV, they’re subscribing more to the new ESPN app and FuboTV.
Theoretically, Disney is making subscription gains with long-term revenue benefits.
Photo: CNET
So, this is really only impacting customers.
Disney By the Numbers
Photo: The Street
As many of you know, the end of the fiscal fourth quarter also signifies the end of the fiscal year for Disney, which adds to the importance of this report.
So, we’re comparing year-over-year for the quarter and for the fiscal year.
Photo: NIMON/SHUTTERSTOCK
That’s a big ask for Disney because Disney earned its most revenue ever in fiscal 2024, finishing with $91.36 billion.
During the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024, Disney reported total revenue of $22.574 billion.
Photo:knowyourmeme.com
These are high bars to clear in fiscal 2025, and Disney couldn’t quite match for the fiscal quarter.
Disney’s revenue fell $110 million year over year, a trivial amount but still a decline.
Photo: skillastics.com
For the fiscal year, Disney improved to $94.425 billion, which is the most in the company’s history.
I’ll have plenty more to say about this in the coming days and weeks, but the data speaks for itself, doesn’t it?
Photo: D23
Still, you know the deal by now. We care the most about Disney’s core businesses.
At this point, Disney splits into three main cores: Entertainment, Experiences, and Sports.
Photo: Washington Post
During the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024, Entertainment managed $10.829 billion and $41.186 for the entire fiscal year.
For the current fiscal quarter and year, Disney reports Entertainment earnings of $10.208 billion and $42.466 billion, respectively.
These totals reflect the fact that Disney’s movie year was a bit better in 2024, and it’s the primary reason for the full quarter dropping.
Still, the studio has already earned $4 billion in 2025 and is all but certain to finish above $6 billion with Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash debuting over the next six weeks.
Still, if Disney had released better movies, its Entertainment segment numbers would be at least 10 percent better than they are. It’s cause and effect.
Disney’s Other Cores
One of Disney’s other cores is Sports, which experienced virtually no operating growth in fiscal 2024, and in fact lost money.
It earned $3.914 billion that quarter and $17.619 billion for the 2024 fiscal year.
In fiscal 2025, Disney managed $3.98 billion and $17.672 billion. Note that Sports IS the division that will be impacted by the YouTube TV standoff, as is entertainment.
Remember that sports cost more this year for two reasons: increased licensing fees and the completion, release, and marketing of the ESPN app.
Finally, we have the division you care about the most – Experiences.
Last year, Experiences earned $8.24 billion for the fiscal quarter and $34.151 billion for the fiscal year.
Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom
Importantly, Experiences also earned $1.659 billion in operating income, nearly half of Disney’s overall total that quarter.
For the full fiscal year in 2024, Experiences’ operating income was $9.272 billion.
So, were the parks up or down in 2025?
During the fiscal quarter, Disney Experiences earned $8.766 billion and then $36.156 billion for the year. That’s solid growth of six percent.
Its operating income was $1.878 billion this quarter and $9.995 billion for the fiscal year.
Many on Wall Street perceive Disney as the bellwether for the health of the American economy.
Right now these folks are breathing a sigh of relief, with Disney Experiences netting almost exactly $10 billion for the year.
Keep reading MickeyBlog throughout the day as we’ll continue to post updates about the company’s 2026 outlook and plans.
Photo: MickeyBlog
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