Disney Walt — Financial Results
Streaming (Direct-to-Consumer) Turned a Real Profit, Not Just a Trickle
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| DTC Revenue | $24,614M | $22,776M | +8% |
| DTC Operating Income | $1,327M | $143M | +$1,184M |
| Disney+ Paid Subscribers | 131.6M | 125.3M | +5% |
| Hulu SVOD Subscribers | 59.7M | 47.4M | +26% |
Disney's streaming business went from barely breaking even to generating $1.3 billion in operating profit in a single year. The driver was a combination of price increases (Disney+ average monthly revenue per subscriber rose 11% globally) and a surge in Hulu subscribers, up 26% to 59.7 million. This is a significant milestone for a business that burned through cash for years during its build-out phase.
Linear TV Continues to Erode, Domestic Ad Revenue Down 9%
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linear Networks Revenue | $9,364M | $10,692M | -12% |
| Domestic Affiliate Fees | $5,744M | $5,826M | -1% |
| Domestic Ad Revenue | $2,457M | $2,705M | -9% |
| Linear Networks Operating Income | $2,955M | $3,452M | -14% |
Traditional TV — the bundle of cable channels Disney owns — is shrinking. Fewer households are paying for cable (domestic subscribers fell 9%), pulling both affiliate fees and advertising revenue lower. While some of the headline decline is explained by the Star India transaction, the domestic numbers confirm the structural trend is intact and continuing.
Experiences Segment Keeps Growing, Approaching $10 Billion in Operating Profit
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Experiences Revenue | $36,156M | $34,151M | +6% |
| Experiences Operating Income | $9,995M | $9,272M | +8% |
| Domestic Park Attendance | -1% | — | — |
| Domestic Per Capita Guest Spending | +5% | — | — |
The parks, resorts, and cruise business generated nearly $10 billion in operating profit, growing 8% despite flat-to-declining attendance at domestic parks. The growth came from guests spending more per visit, higher hotel occupancy (87%), and cruise expansion — the Disney Treasure launched during the year. Capital spending here is accelerating, rising from $8 billion in 2025 to a planned $9 billion in 2026.
Net Income More Than Doubled, But a Big Tax Benefit Did Most of the Heavy Lifting
| Metric | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Net Income Attributable to Disney | $12,404M | $4,972M |
| Diluted EPS | $6.85 | $2.72 |
| Effective Tax Rate | -11.9% | +23.7% |
Disney's reported profit nearly tripled, but investors should look beneath the surface. A $3.3 billion non-cash tax benefit — triggered by a change in how Hulu is classified for U.S. tax purposes — and a $1 billion resolution of a prior-year tax dispute together added roughly $2.11 per share to earnings. Underlying operating improvements at Entertainment and Experiences were real, but they alone do not explain the magnitude of the profit jump.
Debt Is Being Paid Down and Capital Is Being Returned to Shareholders
Disney reduced its total debt from $45.8 billion to $42.0 billion during the year, paying down $3.6 billion net. At the same time it spent $3.5 billion buying back its own shares and paid $1.8 billion in dividends. Looking ahead, the company has set a target of $7 billion in share repurchases in fiscal 2026 — a notably aggressive return of cash to shareholders. Operating cash flow, which funds all of this, rose 30% to $18.1 billion.