Disney Q4 Profit Beats Street, Revenues Miss; Sees Adj. EPS Growth, Plans $7 Bln Buyback; Stock Down

(RTTNews) - Shares of Walt Disney Co. were losing around 4 percent in the pre-market activity on Thursday after the media and entertainment major reported nearly flat revenues in its fourth quarter below market estimates, even though profit beat the Street.

Further, the firm said it expects double digit year-over-year growth in adjusted earnings per share for fiscal 2026 and 2027, and to double share repurchases target to $7 billion in fiscal 2026 compared to fiscal 2025.

For 2026, the company projects $24 billion in content investment across Entertainment and Sports.

The Board has declared a cash dividend of $1.50 per share, payable in two installments of $0.75 per share. The first installment is payable on January 15, 2026 with record date December 15, and second on July 22, 2026, with record date June 30, 2026.

For the first quarter, the company projects entertainment DTC SVOD operating income of approximately $375 million, and lower political advertising revenue of $140 million compared to last year.

Further, for fiscal 2026, the company projects segment operating income growth in double digit percentage in Entertainment segment, low-single digit percentage in Sports segment, and high-single digit percentage in Experiences.

In the fourth quarter, Disney's net income attributable to the company came in at $1.313 billion or $0.73 per share, compared with $460 million or $0.25 per share last year.

Adjusted earnings were $2.151 billion or $1.11 per share for the period, compared to $1.14 per share a year ago.

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $1.02 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total segment operating income decreased 5 percent to $3.5 billion from $3.7 billion last year. Entertainment segment operating income of $691 million decreased $376 million from the prior-year quarter, driven by theatrical slate comparisons.

The company's revenue for the period fell 0.5 percent to $22.464 billion from $22.574 billion last year. The Street was looking for revenues of $22.78 billion.

Direct-to-Consumer revenue increased 8 percent.

In the pre-market activity, Disney shares were trading at $111.90, down 4.14 percent.

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