AI interpretation based on checked source excerpts. Issuer assertions and evidence limitations remain explicit.
Policy quality-scores-2: six equally weighted categories. The overall score requires full coverage. Missing inputs are not zero. Qualitative grades are sourced interpretations, not probabilities. 6/6 · 18/10/2026
Moat50
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
structural advantage · 2/4 · IP monetization through licensing, subscriptions and experiences supports differentiation, reinforced by observed demand and pricing outcomes. Comparative superiority and barriers to replication are incompletely documented.
durability · 2/4 · Legally defined IP rights and a five-year exclusive distribution agreement provide identifiable persistence. Rights limitations, content renewal costs and absent franchise-level histories prevent a stronger durability assessment.
customer dependency · 2/4 · Subscriber and guest-volume growth alongside increased monetization indicate continued demand indirectly. The evidence does not establish essentiality, customer lock-in or repeat-customer retention rates.
erosion resilience · 2/4 · Experiences growth and improved streaming profitability demonstrate adaptation, while declining sports operating income and rising rights costs show realized pressure. Resilience varies materially by business.
Pricing power56
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
realized pricing · 3/4 · Nine-month subscription and affiliate revenue growth included four percentage points from higher effective rates and two from more subscribers. Parks revenue growth included three points from guest spending alongside six from volumes. This is strong current monetization evidence, although guest spending includes possible mix effects.
retention · 2/4 · Subscriber and guest-volume growth support continued customer demand despite increased monetization. This is indirect operating evidence: additions and expanded cruise capacity can mask churn or changes in repeat visitation.
margin resilience · 2/4 · Experiences operating income grew faster than revenue, but nine-month Entertainment income grew more slowly than revenue and Sports income declined. Pricing does not consistently offset costs across the portfolio.
contractual freedom · 2/4 · Realized effective-rate increases indicate some ability to change commercial terms. Hulu Live TV's exclusive distribution contract provides protection but ties wholesale fees to programming cost. The passages do not establish unrestricted repricing rights; carriage-pricing allegations remain unproven.
Predictability97
Five consecutive annual periods. Equal weights: nondeclining revenue frequency; revenue-growth volatility (5–40pp); positive FCF frequency; FCF-margin volatility (3–20pp). Stability indicator, not a growth forecast.
- Nondeclining revenue years (%)
- 100.00
- Revenue growth volatility (pp)
- 8.07
- Positive FCF years (%)
- 100.00
- FCF margin volatility (pp)
- 3.61
Financial strength46
Equal-weight grades: debt/FCF (1–8x), net debt/earnings before interest and tax (0–5x), interest service (1–12x), current ratio (0.75–2x). Earnings use reported operating income, or reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense when operating income is unavailable. Interest service uses earnings/interest expense; if unavailable, it uses reported operating cash flow/cash interest paid, without relabeling cash paid as accrued expense. Nonpositive cash flow/earnings score 0 for their service component; reported zero interest with a positive numerator scores 100. Net cash scores 100 for net leverage. Missing disclosures remain unavailable. General nonfinancial-company rubric, not a credit rating; exceptional and nonoperating gains are not normalized out. IFRS finance-cost and cash-flow classifications retain their reported scope.
- debtFcfGrade
- 54.71
- netDebtEbitGrade
- 58.60
- interestCoverageGrade
- 71.18
- currentRatioGrade
- 0.00
- Debt / FCF (x)
- 4.17
- Net debt / operating income (x)
- 2.07
- Current ratio (x)
- 0.71
- cashInterestPaid
- 2050.00
- cashInterestCoverage
- 8.83
Capital allocation86
Three-year equal-weight indicators: pretax return on average invested capital (0–25%; equity + debt − cash, each year and its prior year), share-count growth (0–5%, lower better), share-based cost/revenue (2–20%, lower better), consolidated FCF/net income (0–1x). Return uses reported operating income or, if unavailable, EBIT calculated from reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense; exceptional/nonoperating gains are not normalized out. Share-based cost uses the reported cash-flow add-back or, if absent, separately reported recognized compensation expense; the latter never becomes an FCF adjustment. Nonpositive net income scores 0 for cash conversion; absent income/FCF stays unavailable. Nonpositive invested capital has no defined return and remains unavailable. Does not establish acquisition quality or buyback timing.
- 3-year pre-tax operating return (%)
- 10.80
- 3-year average dilution (%)
- -0.33
- 3-year average SBC / revenue (%)
- 1.41
- cashConversionGrade
- 100.00
Management69
Equal-weight average of four evidence-backed rubric grades (0–4), scaled to 100.
capital discipline · 2/4 · Repurchases reduced shares despite compensation issuance, but $7.245 billion of nine-month repurchases coincided with $3.689 billion of increased borrowings and substantial restructuring and impairment charges. These are mixed allocation outcomes; missing cash-flow and investment-return detail prevents a stronger conclusion.
incentive alignment · 3/4 · Actual fiscal 2025 CEO equity awards comprised 60% performance units and 40% options. Performance units use three-year relative TSR, EPS growth and ROIC, and incentive cash-flow adjustments removed tax-related benefits while adding back restructuring payments. This supports substantial alignment, without proving exceptional realized outcomes or ownership compliance.
execution · 3/4 · The reported streaming turnaround and current Experiences revenue, volume and operating-income growth demonstrate meaningful execution. Sports deterioration and restructuring charges temper the assessment. Management attribution of these results to strategy is not independently established.
governance · 3/4 · Disclosed structures include a majority-independent board, independent key committees, annual director elections, special-meeting rights and proxy access. Management also concluded disclosure controls were effective. These support strong formal governance, while not proving oversight effectiveness or successful succession.
Evidence
Items Excluded from Segment Operating Income Related to Experiences The following table presents supplemental information for items related to the Experiences segment that are excluded from segment operating income: Quarter Ended % Change Better (Worse) (in millions) June 27, 2026 June 28, 2025 Restructuring and impairment charges $ (10) $ — nm Acquisition Amortization (1) (1) — % 42 MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS — (continued) BUSINESS SEGMENT RESULTS - Current Period Nine-Month Results Compared to the Prior-Year Nine-Month Period Entertainment Operating results for Entertainment are as follows: Nine Months Ended % Change Better (Worse) (in millions) June 27, 2026 June 28, 2025 Revenues Subscription and affiliate fees $ 22,596 $ 20,343 11 % Advertising 5,070 5,137 (1) % Content sales 5,257 4,877 8 % Other 1,746 1,901 (8) % Total revenues 34,669 32,258 7 % Operating expenses (22,927) (20,965) (9) % Selling, general, administrative and other (7,257) (7,075) (3) % Depreciation and amortization (687) (579) (19) % Equity in the income of investees 318 344 (8) % Operating Income $ 4,116 $ 3,983 3 % Revenues - Subscription and affiliate fees Growth in subscription and affiliate fees was due to increases of 5% from the Fubo Transaction, 4% from higher effective rates, 2% from more subscribers and 1% from a favorable foreign exchange impact.
MD&A / nine-month Entertainment results and subscription revenue drivers · Filed 05/08/2026
Supplemental revenue and operating income The following table presents supplemental revenue and operating income detail for the Experiences segment: Quarter Ended % Change Better (Worse) (in millions) June 27, 2026 June 28, 2025 Supplemental revenue detail Parks & Experiences Domestic $ 7,116 $ 6,403 11 % International 1,787 1,691 6 % Total Parks & Experiences 8,903 8,094 10 % Consumer Products 1,065 992 7 % $ 9,968 $ 9,086 10 % Supplemental operating income detail Parks & Experiences Domestic $ 2,088 $ 1,650 27 % International 369 422 (13) % Consumer Products 560 444 26 % $ 3,017 $ 2,516 20 % Total Parks & Experiences revenue increased $809 million, to $8,903 million from $8,094 million due to increases of 6% from higher volumes and 3% from increased guest spending.
MD&A / Experiences supplemental results, volumes and guest spending · Filed 05/08/2026
In addition, licensing revenues fluctuate with the timing and performance of theatrical and game releases and direct-to-consumer content.
Seasonality / licensing revenue and content releases · Filed 05/08/2026
Pursuant to an agreement entered into as part of the Fubo Transaction, the Company is the exclusive distributor of the Hulu Live TV service for five years (renewable for an additional five-year term by mutual agreement) and pays a wholesale fee to Fubo based on Fubo’s cost to program Hulu Live TV.
Financial statement notes / exclusive Hulu Live TV distribution agreement · Filed 05/08/2026
Looking forward, we are confident in our ability to leverage our unrivaled portfolio of beloved brands and franchises and deepen engagement with our global fan base.
CEO letter / management characterization of brands and franchises · Filed 22/01/2026
The value to us of our IP is dependent on the scope and duration of our rights as defined by applicable laws in the U.S.
Risk factors / legal scope and duration of IP rights · Filed 05/08/2026
In fiscal 2025, our Entertainment DTC business generated $1.3 billion in operating income, representing a remarkable improvement of nearly $5 billion in just three years.
CEO letter / reported fiscal 2025 Entertainment DTC operating income · Filed 22/01/2026
•Our linear networks and DTC streaming services compete for viewers and subscribers with an increasing number of competitors, including other DTC and linear offerings, all other forms of media and all other forms of entertainment, as well as for technology, creative, performing and business talent and for content.
Risk factors / competition for viewers, subscribers, talent and content · Filed 13/11/2025
Operating expenses ($ in millions) 2025 2024 % Change Better (Worse) Programming and production costs ESPN Domestic $ (11,240) $ (10,435) (8) % International (1,235) (1,194) (3) % (12,475) (11,629) (7) % Star India (17) (1,354) 99 % (12,492) (12,983) 4 % Other operating expenses (986) (951) (4) % $ (13,478) $ (13,934) 3 % Domestic ESPN programming and production costs increased primarily due to expanded college football programming rights and contractual rate increases.
MD&A / ESPN programming costs and contractual rights increases · Filed 13/11/2025
The following table presents income from our operating segments and other components of income before income taxes: Quarter Ended % Change Better (Worse) Nine Months Ended % Change Better (Worse) (in millions) June 27, 2026 June 28, 2025 June 27, 2026 June 28, 2025 Entertainment operating income $ 1,680 $ 1,022 64 % $ 4,116 $ 3,983 3 % Sports operating income 858 1,037 (17) % 1,701 1,971 (14) % Experiences operating income 3,017 2,516 20 % 8,941 8,117 10 % Corporate and unallocated shared expenses (334) (410) 19 % (1,018) (1,265) 20 % Equity in the loss of India joint venture (44) (50) 12 % (136) (186) 27 % Restructuring and impairment charges (900) (185) >(100) % (1,139) (437) >(100) % Interest expense, net (298) (324) 8 % (813) (1,037) 22 % Acquisition Amortization (334) (395) 15 % (947) (1,188) 20 % Income before income taxes $ 3,645 $ 3,211 14 % $ 10,705 $ 9,958 8 % 36 MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS — (continued) Depreciation expense is as follows: Quarter Ended % Change Better (Worse) Nine Months Ended % Change Better (Worse) (in millions) June 27, 2026 June 28, 2025 June 27, 2026 June 28, 2025 Entertainment $ 205 $ 185 (11) % $ 648 $ 540 (20) % Sports 29 13 >(100) % 81 34 >(100) % Experiences Domestic 563 487 (16) % 1,631 1,438 (13) % International 231 197 (17) % 656 576 (14) % Total Experiences 794 684 (16) % 2,287 2,014 (14) % Corporate 76 84 10 % 244 244 — % Total depreciation expense $ 1,104 $ 966 (14) % $ 3,260 $ 2,832 (15) % Amortization of intangible assets is as follows: Quarter Ended % Change Better (Worse) Nine Months Ended % Change Better (Worse) (in millions) June 27, 2026 June 28, 2025 June 27, 2026 June 28, 2025 Entertainment $ 13 $ 13 — % $ 39 $ 39 — % Experiences 27 27 — % 81 81 — % Acquisition amortization - intangible assets 270 326 17 % 755 980 23 % Total amortization of intangible assets $ 310 $ 366 15 % $ 875 $ 1,100 20 % BUSINESS SEGMENT RESULTS - Current Quarter Results Compared to Prior-Year Quarter Entertainment Operating results for Entertainment are as follows: Quarter Ended % Change Better (Worse) (in millions) June 27, 2026 June 28, 2025 Revenues Subscription and affiliate fees $ 7,545 $ 6,765 12 % Advertising 1,625 1,641 (1) % Content sales 1,596 1,698 (6) % Other 579 600 (4) % Total revenues 11,345 10,704 6 % Operating expenses (7,238) (7,098) (2) % Selling, general, administrative and other (2,301) (2,488) 8 % Depreciation and amortization (218) (198) (10) % Equity in the income of investees 92 102 (10) % Operating Income $ 1,680 $ 1,022 64 % Revenues - Subscription and affiliate fees Growth in subscription and affiliate fees was due to increases of 4% from the Fubo Transaction, 3% from higher effective rates, 3% from more subscribers and 1% from a favorable foreign exchange impact.
MD&A / segment operating results and current-quarter Entertainment results · Filed 05/08/2026
Where those laws are drafted or interpreted in ways that limit the extent or duration of our rights, or if existing laws are changed, our ability to generate revenue from our IP may decrease, or the cost of obtaining and maintaining rights may increase.
Risk factors / potential limitations on IP monetization · Filed 05/08/2026
The plaintiffs in the Biddle Action asserted a claim under Section 1 of the Sherman Act based on allegations that Disney uses certain pricing and packaging provisions in its carriage agreements with vMVPDs to increase prices for and reduce output of certain services offered by vMVPDs.
Legal proceedings / allegations concerning carriage pricing and packaging · Filed 05/08/2026
New guest offerings include the fleet expansion at Disney Cruise Line.
MD&A / cruise fleet expansion within new guest offerings · Filed 05/08/2026
Financing Activities Financing activities for the nine months ended June 27, 2026 and June 28, 2025 are as follows: Nine Months Ended (in millions) June 27, 2026 June 28, 2025 Change in borrowings $ 3,689 $ (3,410) Dividends (1,337) (905) Repurchases of common stock (7,245) (2,496) Acquisition of redeemable noncontrolling interest — (439) Other financing activities, net(1) (847) (840) Cash used in financing activities $ (5,740) $ (8,090) (1)Primarily consists of dividends to noncontrolling interest holders and equity award activity.
MD&A / borrowings, dividends and repurchases · Filed 05/08/2026
Certain Items Impacting Results in the Nine Month Period Results for the nine months ended June 27, 2026 were impacted by the following: •Restructuring and impairment charges of $1,139 million •Acquisition Amortization of $947 million •Non-cash tax charges resulting from the Fubo Transaction and NFL Transaction of $307 million and $115 million, respectively Results for the nine months ended June 28, 2025 were impacted by the following: •Hulu Transaction Impacts of $3,277 million recognized in “Income taxes” and $477 million recognized in “Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests” •Resolution of a prior-year tax matter of $1,016 million •Acquisition Amortization of $1,188 million •Restructuring and impairment charges of $437 million and a non-cash tax charge of $244 million, which was related to the Star India Transaction.
MD&A / restructuring, impairments and transaction-related items · Filed 05/08/2026
See Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements 7 THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EQUITY (unaudited; in millions) Nine Months Ended Equity Attributable to Disney Shares(1) Common Stock and Additional Paid-in Capital Retained Earnings Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) Treasury Stock Total Disney Equity Non-controlling Interests(2) Total Equity Balance at September 27, 2025 1,791 $ 59,814 $ 60,410 $ (2,914) $ (7,441) $ 109,869 $ 4,743 $ 114,612 Comprehensive income — — 7,287 6 — 7,293 564 7,857 Equity compensation activity 7 960 — — — 960 9 969 Dividends — 14 (2,648) — — (2,634) — (2,634) Common stock repurchases (68) — — — (7,245) (7,245) — (7,245) Fubo and NFL Transactions — 1,873 — — — 1,873 1,936 3,809 Distributions and other — (22) 3 — (65) (84) (442) (526) Balance at June 27, 2026 1,730 $ 62,639 $ 65,052 $ (2,908) $ (14,751) $ 110,032 $ 6,810 $ 116,842 Balance at September 28, 2024 1,812 $ 58,592 $ 49,722 $ (3,699) $ (3,919) $ 100,696 $ 4,826 $ 105,522 Comprehensive income — — 11,091 650 — 11,741 370 12,111 Equity compensation activity 9 911 — — — 911 — 911 Dividends — 7 (1,814) — — (1,807) — (1,807) Common stock repurchases (24) — — — (2,496) (2,496) — (2,496) Distributions and other — 5 110 — (15) 100 (585) (485) Balance at June 28, 2025 1,797 $ 59,515 $ 59,109 $ (3,049) $ (6,430) $ 109,145 $ 4,611 $ 113,756 (1)Shares are net of treasury shares.
Statements of equity / compensation issuance and share repurchases · Filed 05/08/2026
Iger’s annual equity award and 50% of other NEOs’ annual equity awards — are based on three-year cumulative total shareholder return (“TSR”) relative to the S&P 500 Media & Entertainment Index, adjusted earnings per share (“EPS”) growth and return on invested capital (“ROIC”) over a three-year period.
Executive compensation / fiscal 2025 performance equity metrics · Filed 22/01/2026
•Compensation Mix – In fiscal 2025, for the CEO, the compensation mix for long-term equity-based incentives was 60% PBUs and 40% stock options.
Executive compensation / actual fiscal 2025 CEO equity mix · Filed 22/01/2026
In addition, the Committee made two adjustments to after-tax free cash flow performance for incentive purposes: (i) an upward adjustment of $71 million to account for non-recurring cash restructuring and impairment payments and (ii) a downward adjustment of $1,875 million to account for the impact of an income tax deferral, as well as legislation changes.
Executive compensation / incentive cash-flow adjustments · Filed 22/01/2026
The Board’s governance structures also reflect a commitment to independence, including a majority of the Board comprised of independent directors and key Board committees comprised solely of independent directors.
Corporate governance / board and committee independence · Filed 22/01/2026
Further, all directors are elected annually for a one-year term which enhances accountability.
Corporate governance / annual director elections · Filed 22/01/2026
The Company also provides shareholders with meaningful shareholder rights and opportunities to express their perspectives, including the right to call a special meeting and the ability to nominate directors through the Company’s proxy access provision.
Corporate governance / special meetings and proxy access · Filed 22/01/2026
Based on their evaluation as of June 27, 2026, the principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the Company have concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) are effective.
Controls and procedures / management conclusion on disclosure controls · Filed 05/08/2026
