The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is entering a pivotal phase as its long-term investments in streaming begin to pay off while its iconic theme parks continue to generate robust cash flow. After years of losses in direct-to-consumer operations and concerns about post-pandemic travel demand, investors are asking whether DIS stock momentum 2026 can be sustained.
Disney’s latest fiscal 2025 results suggest the company is finally finding the right balance between digital scale and physical experiences, positioning the stock for steady earnings growth over the next several years.
Streaming Turns a Corner on Profitability
One of the strongest pillars supporting DIS stock momentum 2026 is the dramatic turnaround in streaming profitability. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, Disney’s direct-to-consumer segment posted operating income of $352 million, representing a 39% year-over-year increase. For the full fiscal year, streaming operating income reached $1.3 billion, a remarkable reversal from roughly $4 billion in losses just three years earlier.
Subscriber growth remains healthy. Combined Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions totaled 196 million at quarter-end, reflecting a net increase of 12.4 million subscribers from the prior quarter. Disney+ Core alone reached 132 million subscribers, underscoring the platform’s global appeal.
Management is now focused on efficiency and integration. In December 2025, Disney announced plans to fully integrate Hulu into Disney+ by 2026, eliminating the standalone Hulu app. This move is expected to streamline operations, reduce marketing costs, and improve engagement across a unified platform. Disney projects operating margins of around 10% for Disney+ and Hulu in fiscal 2026, a meaningful milestone for the business.
Theme Parks Deliver Record Results
While streaming grabbed headlines, Disney’s Experiences segment once again proved its importance to the investment thesis. The parks business delivered record fiscal fourth-quarter operating income of $1.9 billion, up 13% year over year. Full-year operating income for the segment reached a record $10 billion, representing 8% growth.
Domestic parks continued to perform well, with operating income rising 9% to $920 million. International parks were an even bigger bright spot, as operating income surged 25% to $375 million, driven largely by strong performance at Disneyland Paris.
Although domestic attendance dipped slightly by about 1%, guest spending increased 5% in the first quarter of fiscal 2026. This highlights Disney’s ability to offset softer volumes with premium pricing and higher per-capita spending. Management expects high single-digit operating income growth for the Experiences segment in fiscal 2026, weighted toward the second half of the year.
Competitive Landscape: How Rivals Compare
Looking beyond Disney helps put DIS stock momentum 2026 into perspective. Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) has faced mixed results across its entertainment portfolio. Universal theme parks benefited from the opening of Epic Universe, which drove 19% revenue growth to $2.72 billion in the third quarter of 2025. Adjusted EBITDA for Universal’s parks rose 13% to $958 million, showing resilience despite heavy capital spending.
However, Comcast’s streaming service Peacock remained flat at 41 million subscribers through September 2025, though losses narrowed to $217 million. This contrast highlights Disney’s advantage in achieving both scale and improving margins in streaming.
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation (NYSE:FUN) tells a different story. In the third quarter of 2025, attendance rose 1% to 21.1 million guests, but revenue declined 2% to $1.32 billion. Increased promotions and a shift toward lower-spending season pass holders pressured margins. These results underscore how destination resorts like Disney’s parks are better positioned than regional operators in a price-sensitive consumer environment.
DIS Stock Valuation and Earnings Outlook
From a valuation perspective, Disney stock appears reasonably priced relative to peers. Shares are trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings ratio of about 16.8, below the media conglomerates industry average of roughly 18.7. This discount suggests the market is still cautious, despite improving fundamentals.
Disney shares have gained around 1.1% over the past three months, outperforming the broader consumer discretionary sector, which declined nearly 5% over the same period. Analysts expect earnings to continue climbing, with consensus estimates calling for fiscal 2026 earnings of $6.60 per share, representing year-over-year growth of about 11.3%.
Can DIS Stock Maintain Momentum?
The outlook for DIS stock momentum 2026 rests on two key drivers: sustained streaming profitability and continued strength in theme parks. With streaming margins rising, subscriber growth stabilizing, and parks generating record cash flow, Disney appears well positioned for double-digit adjusted earnings growth through fiscal 2027.
While macroeconomic uncertainty and consumer spending trends remain risks, Disney’s diversified business model provides balance. For long-term investors, the combination of improving digital economics and resilient physical experiences makes DIS a compelling stock to watch as momentum builds into 2026.
Featured Image: Pixabay © Fabiana Bigao
