{"id":627085,"date":"2026-05-06T15:35:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T15:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/627085\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T15:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T15:35:13","slug":"josh-damaro-lays-out-disney-strategy-in-first-earnings-call-as-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/627085\/","title":{"rendered":"Josh D’Amaro Lays Out Disney Strategy in First Earnings Call as CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWalt Disney<\/a> Co. CEO Josh D\u2019Amaro is laying out his long-term vision for the company, using his first quarterly earnings report since succeeding Bob Iger two months ago to introduce himself to Wall Street, and explain where he sees the company going.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe company beat Wall Street expectations in its fiscal Q2, which ended March 3, reporting revenue of $25.2 billion (up 7 percent) and segment operating income of $4.6 billion (up 4 percent).<\/p>\n

\n\tDisney\u2019s entertainment division led the pack, with revenues of $11.7 billion, up 10 percent from a year ago and operating income of $1.3 billion, up 6 percent. That was followed by experiences, which had revenues of $9.5 billion, up 7 percent, with operating income of $2.6 billion, up 5 percent (they also said that the Abu Dhabi park plans remain \u201cunchanged\u201d given the years-long development process). Sports, which is mostly comprised of ESPN, had revenue of $4.6 billion, up 2 percent, and operating income of $652 million, down 5 percent.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe company also further adjusted its guidance, raising its share buyback goal to $8 billion, with adjusted EPS growth of 12 percent this year.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut it will be D\u2019Amaro and his leadership team\u2019s vision that surely dominates the discussion, with the CEO and CFO Hugh Johnston explaining in some detail in a newly-formatted earnings letter how they are thinking about the future of Disney.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat begins with \u201cthree pillars\u201d that will serve as the heart of that strategy:<\/p>\n

Investing in IP and creativity that breaks through, builds connections, and endures<\/p>\n

Reaching more consumers in more seamless, engaging ways around the world<\/p>\n

Using advanced technologies to power our storytelling and increase monetization and returns<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the IP and creativity front, the executives touted franchises like The Mandalorian and Grogu, Toy Story 5 and the live-action Moana, while making it clear that \u201ceven as we invest in existing franchises, we know the importance of taking creative risks to build new ones.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHoppers, from Pixar, is a strong example of our focus on original IP, and we are pleased with its
critical reception and the enthusiasm with which fans have embraced the story and characters,\u201d he said, before noting how all creative, from films and TV shows to streaming originals and games now report into Dana Walden.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the second pillar, the executives reiterated the plan to make Disney+ a centerpiece of the company\u2019s strategy, writing that \u201cas we look to build Disney+ beyond a premium streaming video service, we are focused on making the platform more engaging, more personalized, and more central to how fans experience our brands. Recent efforts to revamp the user interface and improve personalization are contributing to an increase in engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat includes the Verts vertical video product, which recently launched. And in a notable move, they also noted the popularity of Disney\u2019s characters in Fortnite, affirming the relationship between those two companies.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd Disney reaffirmed the profitability of its streaming platforms in the quarter, with entertainment streaming operating income of $582 million.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd they expanded somewhat on how they see artificial intelligence being used within the company, noting that even with Sora shut down, \u201cwe continue to explore potential commercial opportunities with OpenAI and others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe view advanced technologies, including AI, as a meaningful long-term opportunity,\u201d they write. We see opportunities for AI to play a role across five areas of our business: content creation and production, monetization, workforce productivity, guest and consumer experiences, and enterprise operations. At the same time, we are committed to implementing AI in a way that keeps human creativity at the center of everything we do and respects creators and the value of our intellectual property.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Walt Disney Co. CEO Josh D\u2019Amaro is laying out his long-term vision for the company, using his first…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":627086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[28,3716,11523],"class_list":["post-627085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-disney","tag-the-walt-disney-company"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=627085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/627085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/627086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=627085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=627085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=627085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}