Disney Soars: Parks & Streaming Crush Q3 Earnings—But Linear TV Drags Shares Down

Magic Kingdom meets Wall Street—Disney just flexed its financial muscles with a surprise earnings beat. Theme parks? Packed. Streaming? Surging. But old-school TV? Still bleeding viewers (and investor patience).

Here’s the breakdown:

Parks print money (again)
Crowds keep flooding Disney’s castles and coasters—proving people still prefer real-world pixie dust over metaverse fantasies.

Streaming’s plot twist
Subscriber growth outpaces expectations, because nothing sells like nostalgia repackaged as 'premium content.'

Linear TV’s slow death
Cable keeps crumbling—because why watch ads when you can binge without them? (Wall Street shrugs: 'Disney+ is the only tape measure that matters now.')

One cynical footnote: Shares dipped anyway—because even fairy tales can’t escape the 'what have you done for me lately?' market mentality.

Legacy headwinds meet digital gains

Disney reported revenue of $23.65 billion for the quarter, roughly in line with analyst expectations of $23.68 billion and up 2% from the same period last year.

Adjusted earnings per share of $1.61 came in ahead of the $1.46 expected by analysts polled by Bloomberg. Earnings increased from $1.39 from a year ago.

However, ongoing weakness in Disney’s linear networks business weighed on the quarter. Revenue in the segment fell 15% year over year while operating income dropped 28%. The decline in traditional TV, which includes ABC and Disney’s cable networks, overshadowed strength in other areas and contributed to the stock’s post-earnings slide.

On the streaming front, Disney+ added 1.8 million subscribers in the quarter, falling short of the 2.05 million analysts polled by Bloomberg had expected.

Disney's direct-to-consumer segment, which includes Hulu and Disney+, posted a profit of $346 million, compared to a $19 million loss a year ago. The company continues to prioritize consistent profitability in streaming amid the ongoing shift away from traditional pay-TV. Disney is targeting approximately $875 million in streaming profits for fiscal 2025.

Looking ahead, Disney expects total Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions to grow by more than 10 million in the current quarter, with most of that growth coming from Hulu due to an expanded distribution deal with Charter (CHTR). Disney+ is expected to see a more modest sequential increase.

Meanwhile, the parks business continued to shine in the quarter.

Revenue of $9.09 billion beat expectations of $8.87 billion with the company posting a 22% rise in operating income at its domestic parks. The gains were fueled by increased guest spending at theme parks, higher hotel occupancy, and a rise in cruise passenger volumes following the successful launch of the Disney Treasure late last year.

In a notable push abroad, the company recently announced plans to open a new theme park and resort in Abu Dhabi — its first major expansion into the Middle East and its seventh global resort. The MOVE comes as fresh competition emerges closer to home following the debut of NBCUniversal's Epic Universe in May.

Allie Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at [email protected].