Disney Reports Record Quarter for Experiences Segment

(eap) The Walt Disney Company presented its financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2026 yesterday. Overall, the group’s revenue, which has been headed by the new CEO Josh D’Amaro since mid-March, increased by seven per cent compared to the prior-year quarter to USD 25.2 billion. Total segment operating income rose by four per cent to USD 4.6 billion. The Disney Experiences business segment, which is being headed by Thomas Mazloum and includes Disney’s parks, resorts and cruise line operations, also developed particularly positively. According to Disney, with a revenue of 9.487 billion US dollars and an operating income of 2.615 billion US dollars, it achieved a record result for a second fiscal quarter in both cases. Compared to Q2 2025, this corresponds to an increase of seven and five per cent respectively.

The “World of Frozen” is Disney’s most recent example of taking franchise IP and translating it into immersive physical experiences that deepen fan affinity and drive attractive economic returns. © Disney

The growth was attributable, among other things, to higher guest spending in the parks, particularly on admission fees, food and beverage and merchandise, as well as to increased passenger cruise days in the course of the fleet expansion. At the same time, pre-opening costs for the Disney Adventure and the new “World of Frozen” area at Disneyland Paris weighed on operating income growth by around two percentage points. The group’s long-term strategy continued to be based on several central pillars: investments in intellectual property (IPs) and creativity, greater global reach, as well as the use of advanced technologies to further develop storytelling, monetisation and operational processes.

In the Disney Experiences segment, this approach was evident in particular in the transfer of well-known IPs into physical experience worlds. For example, the “Zootopia” themed area, which opened in 2023 at Shanghai Disneyland, continued to be an important draw for guests. The recently opened World of Frozen area at Disneyland Paris – read also our opening report in EAP 3/2026 – also stood as an example of this strategy.

The new Disney Adventure serves the Asian cruise market from Singapore. © Disney

In parallel, Disney is working to further advance the international growth of its Experiences segment. This includes, among other assets, the Disney Adventure cruise ship, which is serving the Asian market from Singapore. In the coming years, another cruise ship is also expected to follow in Japan. The planned first Disney theme park resort in Abu Dhabi also remains part of the expansion strategy. According to the group, the strategic logic behind the project plans is unchanged; both in Japan and in Abu Dhabi, Disney is relying on cooperations with established local operators.

Disney assigns an important role to advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) – also in the area of guest and consumer experiences. Following OpenAI’s discontinuation of the video AI “Sora”, Disney is no longer pursuing the originally planned investment in the software company. However, potential commercial opportunities with OpenAI and other partners, however, would continue to be explored. ■