Walt Disney World Leads the Way as the Disney Parks Deliver a Strong Q3
Wall Street’s attention will once again be focused on Disney today as Josh D’Amaro prepares to present the company’s fiscal third-quarter 2026 earnings.
Ahead of today’s earnings call, the company released its quarterly results, which were largely positive.
Photo: Disney
The headline news is that Disney beat earnings per share expectations, reporting $2.06 versus the $1.86 analysts had projected. Revenue, however, came in just shy of estimates at $25.25 billion, compared to the expected $25.4 billion.
Photo: The Walt Disney Company
Digging into the numbers, however, tells a much more interesting story.
Disney Experiences Delivers Again
Looking at Disney’s fiscal third-quarter report, the clear standout was Disney Experiences.
Walt Disney Company
Overall, the division’s revenue increased 10% year over year to $9.97 billion. Operating income also rose 20% to more than $3 billion on nearly $10 billion in revenue.
Across Disney’s parks, average per capita guest spending increased 5%.
That figure is particularly impressive, as Disney’s competitors in the themed entertainment industry have been negatively affected by the broader economy.
Walt Disney World Leads the Way
Domestically, theme park attendance increased 3%, while per capita guest spending rose 4%.
For its part, Walt Disney World delivered a particularly strong quarter, buoyed by healthy attendance growth from both domestic vacationers and Annual Passholders.
Photo: Disney
“Those numbers are somewhat different than what you would have seen from our competitor down there, as well as some of the reported traffic coming through Orlando [International] Airport,” Disney CFO Hugh Johnston told CNBC.
As Johnston noted, Walt Disney World’s standout quarter comes as Universal Orlando has experienced softer demand.
EPCOT
Walt Disney World, however, has not experienced those same headwinds.
Disneyland Paris Boosts International Numbers
Looking overseas, Disney did report some consumer softness across its Asia parks during the quarter.
Photo: Disney
That weakness, however, was offset by a strong quarter at Disneyland Paris, which saw increased attendance following the opening of World of Frozen.
Disney’s ongoing transformation of Walt Disney Studios Park into Disney Adventure World already appears to be paying dividends.
As always, be sure to check back with MickeyBlog. We will continue to update you on all the news coming out of The Walt Disney Company.
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