Can DIS Stock Maintain Momentum With Streaming Wins and Parks Growth?

Disney DIS faces a critical juncture as its streaming segment's profitability is accelerating while theme park operations demonstrate resilience despite industry headwinds. The company's fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results revealed streaming's transformation, with direct-to-consumer operating income reaching $352 million, up 39% year over year.

Full-year streaming operating income hit $1.3 billion, a remarkable turnaround from a $4 billion loss three years earlier. Combined Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions totaled 196 million at quarter-end, adding 12.4 million subscribers compared with the prior quarter. Disney+ Core reached 132 million subscribers. In December 2025, Disney announced plans to fully integrate Hulu into Disney+ by 2026, eliminating the standalone Hulu app and consolidating content. Management projects 10% operating margins for Disney+ and Hulu in fiscal 2026.

However, parks defied expectations. The Experiences segment delivered record fiscal fourth-quarter operating income of $1.9 billion, up 13%, and record full-year operating income of $10 billion, up 8%. Domestic parks operating income grew 9% to $920 million, while international parks surged 25% to $375 million, driven by Disneyland Paris performance.

Despite slight domestic attendance declines of 1%, guest spending increased 5% in the first quarter of fiscal 2026. The company projects high single-digit percentage growth for Experiences’ operating income for fiscal 2026, weighted to the second half.

Disney's streaming pivot validates its direct-to-consumer strategy while parks maintain strength through premium pricing. The combination positions Disney for sustained profitability growth, with management forecasting double-digit adjusted earnings growth through fiscal 2027.

Rival Theme Park Operators Navigate Similar Pressures

Comcast's CMCSA Universal theme parks experienced divergent trends in the third quarter of 2025, with the May opening of Epic Universe driving 19% revenue growth to $2.72 billion. Universal's domestic attendance initially faced pressure in earlier 2025 quarters, but Epic Universe reversed momentum across the entire Universal Orlando Resort. Comcast's streaming service Peacock remained stagnant at 41 million subscribers through September 2025, narrowing losses to $217 million despite flat growth. Universal's theme park segment achieved adjusted EBITDA of $958 million, up 13 % year-over-year, demonstrating resilience through major capital investments.

Six Flags Entertainment FUN reported contrasting results for third-quarter 2025, with attendance increasing 1% to 21.1 million guests but revenues declining 2% to $1.32 billion. Six Flags attributed weakness to promotional activity and shifting attendance mix toward season pass holders, whose per-capita spending fell 4%. The merged Six Flags-Cedar Fair entity targets $1.08 billion to $1.12 billion adjusted EBITDA for 2025 while pursuing $70 million in remaining cost synergies. Six Flags' challenges reflect broader industry trends of normalized post-pandemic demand and consumer price sensitivity affecting regional park operators differently than destination resorts.

DIS’ Share Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Disney shares have returned 1.1% in the past three-month period, outperforming the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector’s 4.8% decline.

DIS’ 3-Month Price Performance

From a valuation standpoint, DIS stock is currently trading at a forward 12-month price/earnings ratio of 16.81X compared with the Zacks Media Conglomerates industry’s 18.74X. DIS has a Value Score of B.

Disney’s Valuation

Estimates for Disney

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Disney’s earnings is pegged at $6.60 for fiscal 2026, suggesting year-over-year growth of 11.3%.

The Walt Disney Company Price and Consensus

The Walt Disney Company price-consensus-chart | The Walt Disney Company Quote

DIS currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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