Disney's theme parks delivered record revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, providing the strongest performance across the company's business segments as streaming and entertainment divisions faced headwinds.
The Experiences segment generated $10 billion in revenue and $3.3 billion in operating income during the quarter ended December 27, 2025. Domestic parks operating income grew 8% compared to the prior year, while attendance increased 1% and per capita guest spending rose 4%.
The results reflect the impact of Disney's cruise line expansion, with the Disney Treasure launching in December 2024 and the Disney Destiny in November 2025. Additional passenger cruise days, along with increased attendance and occupied room nights at domestic properties, drove the revenue growth. The quarter also benefited from comparison to the prior year when Hurricane Milton affected operations.
Overall company performance presented a mixed picture. Total revenues increased 5% to $26 billion, but total segment operating income decreased 9% to $4.6 billion. Diluted earnings per share fell to $1.34 from $1.40 in the prior year quarter.
The Entertainment segment saw operating income decline 35% to $1.1 billion, despite revenue growth of 7%. Higher programming, production, and marketing costs offset gains from subscription fees and theatrical releases. The quarter included releases of Zootopia 2, Avatar: Fire and Ash, Predator: Badlands, and Tron: Ares.
Disney's streaming services showed improvement, with SVOD operating income increasing 72% to $450 million. The company projects SVOD operating margin will reach 10% for the full fiscal year.
The Sports segment posted operating income of $191 million, down 23% from the prior year. A temporary suspension of YouTube TV carriage cost approximately $110 million in operating income. Higher programming costs and fewer subscribers were partially offset by 10% advertising revenue growth.
Looking ahead, Disney expects modest Experiences segment operating income growth in the second quarter. The company cited factors including international visitation headwinds at domestic parks, pre-launch costs for the Disney Adventure cruise ship, and pre-opening costs for World of Frozen at Disneyland Paris.
For the full fiscal year 2026, Disney projects high-single digit growth in Experiences segment operating income, weighted to the second half of the year. The company expects double-digit adjusted earnings per share growth and remains on track to repurchase $7 billion of stock.
Capital expenditures increased to $3 billion in the quarter, up from $2.5 billion in the prior year. Higher spending on cruise ship fleet expansion and new theme park attractions at the Experiences segment drove the increase.
International parks revenue grew 7% to $1.8 billion, with operating income up 2% to $428 million. Consumer Products revenue remained flat at $1.3 billion, while operating income increased 3% to $732 million.
Disney CEO Robert Iger noted the company's progress over the past three years, highlighting strong box office performance with billion-dollar hits including Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash. The company reported revenues for the quarter increased 5% to $26 billion from $24.7 billion in the prior year period.
The quarter included payment of federal and California state income tax liabilities related to the 2025 California wildfires, affecting cash provided by operations. Cash from operations decreased to $735 million from $3.2 billion in the prior year quarter.
Disney will host a conference call today at 8:30 AM EST to discuss the results. View the full report.
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