Josh D'Amaro Leads The Walt Disney Company to $1.57 EPS Beat
The Walt Disney Company beat Wall Street expectations in its fiscal second quarter, reporting adjusted earnings of $1.57 per share and revenue of $25.2 billion in Josh D'Amaro's first quarterly report as CEO. The numbers landed above forecasts and gave the new chief executive an early marker as he starts shaping the company’s next phase.
Josh D'Amaro's first quarter
Adjusted earnings topped the $1.51 a share forecast, while revenue rose 7% to $25.2 billion against $24.8 billion in expected sales. Total operating income reached $4.6 billion, up from $4.4 billion a year earlier, a sign that Disney is still converting higher revenue into profit even as it works through a leadership change.
D'Amaro, who took the reins on March 18, used the report to lay out a long-term strategy built on three pillars: investing in intellectual property like Zootopia, reaching more consumers, and using advanced technologies to power storytelling and increase monetization and returns. He also pointed to Zootopia 2, which brought in $1.9 billion at the global box office and passed 1 billion hours streamed on Disney+.
Disney Parks and spending
The experiences division, which includes parks and cruise businesses, brought in $9.5 billion in revenue, down from a record $10 billion in the first quarter. US park attendance fell 1%, but spending per customer on admissions, food and merchandise rose 5%, leaving the quarter with a steadier demand mix than the attendance number suggests.
Hugh Johnston told investors the company has not seen any change in consumer behavior or forward bookings from higher fuel prices, though he said Disney is mindful of the macro uncertainty consumers are facing and that the brand is not immune to the impacts if fuel prices go higher. Disney expects attendance to improve in the third quarter versus last year as it begins to lap softness in international visitor traffic and the opening of Epic Universe.
Sports costs and OpenAI
Disney's sports unit reported a 5% drop in operating income even as revenue rose 2% to $4.61 billion, and the company said higher sports rights and marketing costs are part of the pressure there. Entertainment revenue climbed 10% to $11.72 billion, with streaming revenue up 13% inside that division, helping offset weakness in a different part of the portfolio.
Disney also said it will not proceed with its previously planned investment in OpenAI after the company shut down Sora. The two had reached a December deal to generate short videos featuring Disney characters, and the decision closes off one possible near-term use case for Disney’s characters in short-form AI video.
For investors and operators, the read-through is straightforward: Disney is still growing fast enough to beat estimates, but the parks comparison gets tougher in the third quarter and sports remains a cost-heavy drag. The company now has to prove that D'Amaro's three-part strategy can hold revenue and earnings together while the business absorbs those pressures.
