Disney raises dividend and buybacks as theme parks defy downturn fears

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite tales on this weekly publication.Disney has mentioned it should enhance its dividend and double its share buyback programme subsequent 12 months after its theme parks reported one other quarter of strong progress, offsetting declines in its movie and tv companies.Theme park attendance has been sturdy regardless of fears of weakening shopper spending. Disney’s experiences enterprise, which incorporates theme parks and cruise traces, reported working earnings of $1.9bn for the three months to the tip of September, up 13 per cent in contrast with the earlier 12 months. The corporate added 3.8mn Disney+ streaming subscribers within the quarter, regardless of issues about buyer cancellations over its transient suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night present following feedback the comic made within the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s homicide. Working earnings on the direct-to-consumer streaming enterprise elevated by $99mn to $352mn. Disney reported web earnings of $1.4bn within the quarter ending in September, up from $564mn a 12 months earlier, when the corporate reported greater impairments. Adjusted earnings per share of $1.11 had been forward of Wall Road forecasts of $1.07. Income of $22.5bn within the quarter was unchanged on the earlier 12 months and fell wanting analyst expectations. The movie division suffered compared with final 12 months’s blockbuster field workplace efficiency of Inside Out 2 and Deadpool and Wolverine, and reported an working lack of $52mn, in contrast with an working revenue of $316mn a 12 months earlier. However the firm mentioned it anticipated double-digit progress within the film enterprise in 2026.  Disney mentioned it will double its share buybacks to $7bn in 2026 and pay a money dividend of $1.50 a share, up from $1. The inventory fell 3 per cent in pre-market buying and selling.“This was one other 12 months of nice progress,” mentioned Bob Iger, whose tenure as Disney’s chief govt is anticipated to finish in December 2026. He singled out the “significant progress” the corporate had made in its streaming enterprise.