Disney's solid third quarter was driven by a $1 billion box office haul from “Toy Story 5” and the strong draw of U.S. theme parks that helped to offset continued weakness from international tourism.
Disney also announced a global short-form content sharing deal with TikTok on Wednesday. The agreement will bring Disney-focused fan-created content from TikTok to the Disney+ app.
Shares climbed more than 4% in early morning trading on Wednesday.
The Walt Disney Co. cautioned earlier this year that its theme parks division would likely see modest growth due in part to declining tourism from abroad.
International tourism in the U.S. has waned for a number of reasons after President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, including tariffs, a crackdown on immigrants, and repeated jabs at alliednations.
The Experiences division, which includes Disney’s six global theme parks, its cruise line, merchandise and video game licensing, reported that operating income climbed 20% to $3.02 billion and revenue totaled $9.97 billion. Operating income rose 27% at domestic parks, while operating income declined 13% for international parks and Experiences.
Overall attendance at U.S. parks climbed 3% from a year ago on an increase in attendance from domestic tourists and annual passholders. The company said the performance was also helped by summer promotions and new experiences being offered at the parks.
CEO Josh D'Amaro, during a conference call after the first full quarter he has overseen since taking over for Bob Iger about five months ago, said that spending was also up at domestic parks despite the current economic uncertainty.
“The consistent investments that we’ve made over time, combined with the fact that the experience Disney provides to its fans, it’s truly differentiated and highly valued,” he said.
The growth in attendance at parks is being driven by U.S. residents, but Disney is also seeing more robust traffic at domestic parks from overseas visitors.
D’Amaro became the 9th CEO of the 100 plus-year-old company after overseeing Disney theme parks, cruises and resorts for about six years.
Disney got a substantial boost from “Toy Story 5” during the third quarter, which has already pulled in $1 billion at the box office globally. The film boosted interest in other Toy Story films on Disney+ as well, and Toy Story merchandise sales helped give the company its strongest quarter of year-over-year growth in consumer products revenue in 20 quarters. The company also noted the strong performance of “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” particularly overseas.
Revenue for the entertainment streaming business - which includes Disney+ and Hulu - climbed 11% to $5.53 billion. The results were helped by adding more subscribers, price increases and higher advertising revenue.
Disney earned $2.64 billion, or $1.51 per share, for the three months ended June 27. It earned $5.26 billion, or $2.92 per share, a year ago.
Removing one-time charges and benefits, earnings were $2.06 per share. That easily topped the $1.86 per share that analysts polled by FactSet predicted.
Revenue for the Burbank, California-based company rose 7% to $25.25 billion. Wall Street was looking for $25.39 billion.
Disney said it recorded an approximately $100 million tariff refund after the Supreme Court struck down some of President Donald Trump’s most sweeping levies on trade. The company said that it may receive additional refunds in future quarters, but that the monetary amounts are expected to be insignificant.
FILE - In this Nov. 13, 2019 file photo, a Disney logo forms part of a menu for the Disney Plus movie and entertainment streaming service on a computer screen in Walpole, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
LONDON (AP) — British children’s author and comedian David Walliams used his fame to groom girls and young women for sex, two British news outlets reported on Tuesday.
ITV News and the Guardian newspaper said their joint investigation featured interviews with multiple women who gave first-hand accounts of Walliams' conduct. One woman alleged he sexually assaulted her at his house when she was 15, while others accused him of grooming them when they were teens.
Walliams, 55, denied the allegations. He had sought a court injunction to bar ITV News and the Guardian from identifying him in their reporting. His lawyers claimed that publication of sexual misconduct allegations would lead him to take his own life.
A judge rejected his injunction request last week, but protected his identity until late Monday.
“I am not a sexual predator,” Walliams said, according to ITV. “I have not broken the law, but I am devastated that some of the women I met 10 to 20 years ago have now expressed hurt or anger towards me.”
“Whilst a power imbalance is inevitable when one party is famous, abusing that power is something else entirely and it is something that I never did,” he added.
Walliams’ lawyer, Sara Mansoori, earlier told the High Court that he had made a suicide attempt when he received letters from ITN and Guardian News and Media seeking his response to the allegations. He later made another attempt, she said, and he was recently admitted to the hospital for psychiatric care.
The case has drawn widespread attention in Britain because it highlighted questions over public figures’ right to privacy and what media can report on the basis of public interest.
Gavin Millar, representing the media companies, has said that the allegations were gathered after “a wide-ranging and rigorous investigation” and that there was a strong public interest in publishing them.
He told the court that the investigation involved speaking to more than 100 people, including 30 sources with first-hand accounts of his conduct.
“The defendants allege that, over a period of years, the claimant used his status and influence as a well-known public figure to establish contact with young women, some considerably younger than him, and that he engaged or sought to engage in seriously inappropriate conduct,” according to a summary of the court judgment.
Some of the alleged conduct could amount to criminal offenses if proven, it said.
Walliams was dropped last year by publisher HarperCollins after allegations were made of inappropriate behavior. Few details were published at the time, but the Guardian reported Tuesday that there were concerns about his behavior for years, including an allegation that he had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a junior female employee.
Walliams is best known for comedy sketches on “Little Britain," a hugely popular British TV show in the 2000s, but he's also a celebrated children's book author with some 40 published titles that sold more than 60 million copies worldwide, according to his website. Several of them, including “Gangsta Granny,” have been adapted into BBC comedy dramas and stage productions.
Walliams left his role as a judge on “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2022 after apologizing for making “disrespectful comments” about auditioning contestants.
In dismissing the injunction bid, Justice Matthew Nicklin said such a legal measure would mean “an exceptionally serious interference” with the rights of the media companies.
He noted that Walliams had a “serious and longstanding psychiatric vulnerability” which must be taken seriously, and said a decision allowing the allegations to be published will substantially increase his risk of suicide. However, he added that the evidence did not “establish that suicide is inevitable.”
FILE - The Royal Courts of Justice are seen in London, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - David Walliams poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film "The Choral " during the London film festival in London, on Oct. 12, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)
