“After an early Feb. 2 earnings disclosure, as if to orchestrate some breathing room for CEO Bob Iger to give the in-the-weeds financial updates on its studio division and experiences unit, Disney formally unveiled his successor, Josh D’Amaro, on Tuesday morning. The blockbuster move marks the conclusion of the yearlong bake-off between the parks chief”, — write: www.hollywoodreporter.com
In his swan song earnings call as CEO, Iger ticked off the topline notes of $6.5 billion at the global box office in calendar year 2025, quarterly revenue exceeding $10 billion for the first time at the experiences/parks division, streaming operating income at $450 million (no more regular subscriber updates). He also outlined the contours of the three-year OpenAI Disney+ deal (“It jump starts our ability to have short-form video on Disney+”). But his main theme may be that he’s spent the last three years righting the ship.
“The good news is that the company is in much better shape today than it was three years ago because we have done a lot of fixing,” Iger said on Feb. 2 earnings call. Much of that “fixing” occurred on the streaming side, as CFO Hugh Johnston noted on the call.
“At one point a few years ago, in fact, we were losing $1 billion a quarter,” the CFO added. “That number improved substantially. Bob laid out a goal for us to return or to get streaming to profitability, and then to get it to double-digit margins. Recall last year, we got it to a 5 percent margin, and we stated we have a goal this year and guidance this year to achieve a 10 percent margin.”
Now, Iger sees the studio unit and the parks and experiences division as both vying to lead Disney as far as a profit center. “We have a healthy competition now at our company in terms of which of those two businesses is going to essentially prevail as the No. 1 driver of profitability for the company,” he added.
Disney has been trading at $102.54 a share as of noon Eastern time on Tuesday. In their post-earnings reports, the primary Wall Street analysts who cover Disney have price targets ranging from $123-$140 for the studio empire. Here’s a snapshot of key takeaways:
Price target: $123
What to Watch For: “D’Amaro’s most immediate priorities will be (1) managing the Parks business through what continues to be a bumpy economic environment, particularly for non-wealthy consumers, (2) maintaining creative momentum in the Studios, both at the box office and on Disney+, and (3) managing the continued transition from linear to digital distribution, with ESPN the most at-risk asset if linear declines re-accelerate.”
The Bottom Line: “Finally, we note that D’Amaro has expressed significant interest in expanding Disney’s footprint in video games; he was a leader in forging Disney’s $1.5B investment in Epic Games and associated Fortnite project. It will be interesting to see if D’Amaro continues to pursue a partnership strategy or invests more aggressively, either internally or through M&A; Iger deliberately avoided the investment path after some early efforts (Club Penguin, Playdom, Disney Infinity) failed to meet expectations.”
Price target: $125, down from $140 prior
What to Watch For: “In Experiences, international visitation to domestic parks remains a headwind and there are pre-launch costs for the Singapore ship, Disney Adventure, as well as for the World of Frozen at Disneyland Paris (which will nearly double the size of the second park). Notably, bookings are up 5% for the year, which given underlying trends, imply a significant improvement in 2H. Meanwhile, Sports will see a step-up in rights expenses.”
The Bottom Line: “We reiterate our Buy but lower the [price target] to $125 … Drivers include: (1) profitability inflection/growth in DTC; (2) reacceleration in the Parks; and (3) multiyear Sports drivers (personalization, betting, multiscreen), cementing ESPN’s role as the premium sports platform.”
Price target: $140
What to Watch For: “With experiences providing a solid anchor, Disney’s content assets appear meaningfully undervalued — particularly in the wake of the Warner Bros. acquisition and further underscored by ESPN’s $30 billion valuation implied by the recent 10% NFL equity deal. … [Would] Disney ultimately be better served by spinning ESPN out altogether?”
The Bottom Line: “We are maintaining our total revenue forecast at $101.5 billion (+7.5% Y/Y), driven primarily by Experiences revenue growth of +7%, with Entertainment growth of +9% and Sports revenue growth of +7%.”
Price target: $140
What to Watch For: “Disney shares trade at a meaningful discount to the broader market despite the company’s unique portfolio of assets, improving streaming economics, and long-term growth potential in Experiences. We see the current valuation as an attractive entry point for investors with a multi-year view.”
The Bottom Line: “[We] are positive on the potential for Mr. D’Amaro, with nearly 30 years of experience at the Walt Disney Company, to intensify strategic focus on the company’s unique brands and assets yielding a more robust content slate and incremental consumer touchpoints.”
Price target: $126, down from $134 prior.
What to Watch For: “Investing in Disney’s Experiences segment has been a roller-coaster ride. After a strong recovery from the pandemic, investors were spooked by the launch of Epic Universe in Orlando. Initially, during the early summer of 2025, Epic seemed to have little to no impact on [Walt Disney World]. By late summer/early fall, domestic parks sales fell 1%. This morning, Disney reported accelerated parks [operating income] growth, but the stock fell on a weaker F3Q outlook. What is going on here?”
The Bottom Line: “While macro sensitive and facing competitive pressure from Epic in parks, secular declines in Linear Networks, and concerns around long-term DTC revenue growth, Disney remains an objectively good business that competes in growing markets with valuable IP.”
Price target: $135
What to Watch For: “Relative to consensus expectations, guidance for Entertainment [operating income] to be flattish YoY (vs. Street +$250mm), Sports [operating income] to decline $100mm YoY (vs. Street flat to down modestly), and Experiences [operating income] to grow modestly (vs. Street up M-HSD) together represent a roughly $400mm [operating income] shortfall. We attribute roughly half of this to the timing of sports rights fees and parks pre-opening expenses.”
The Bottom Line: “Amidst shifting disclosures, we still see Disney’s streaming and Experiences businesses as healthy growth engines supporting multiple expansion: Our OW thesis for DIS shares reflects our view that Disney’s portfolio of iconic brands and franchises can be monetized at a level that delivers double-digit compounding earnings growth for years to come.”