Strength in Disney‘s Sports and Experiences divisions propelled the media giant to better-than-expected results in its fiscal second quarter.
Revenue in the period ended increased 7% over the same quarter a year ago, reaching $23.6 billion. Earnings per share, excluding certain items, hit $1.45 on a diluted basis, up from $1.21 in the 2024 period.
The top- and bottom-line figures were comfortably ahead of Wall Street analysts expectations.
The Sports division benefited from the expanded College Football Playoff and an additional NFL game compared with the year-earlier quarter. While production costs rose due to the three extra CFP games, domestic ad revenue in Sports surged 29%.
Experiences also Revenue in Domestic Parks and Experiences and Consumer Products climbed by 13% and 14%, respectively.
Streaming also continues to show progress, with direct-to-consumer operating profit increasing by $289 million to $336 million. The company only a few quarters ago started turning a profit in streaming after a grueling five-year rollout of Disney+.
The streaming flagship hit 126 million subscribers, up 1.4 million from the previous quarter. The Disney+-Hulu bundle increased by 2.5 million to 180.7 million.
Our outstanding performance this quarter—with adjusted EPS(1) up 20% from the prior year driven by our Entertainment and Experiences businesses—underscores our continued success building for growth and executing across our strategic priorities,” CEO Bob Iger said in the earnings release. “Following an excellent first half of the fiscal year, we have a lot more to look forward to, including our upcoming theatrical slate, the launch of ESPN’s new DTC offering, and an unprecedented number of expansion projects underway in our Experiences segment. Overall, we remain optimistic about the direction of the company and our outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year.”
