Disney Q1 2026 Earnings No Longer Report Disney+, Hulu Sub Numbers

Disney beat Wall Street expectations with a 5% lift in revenue for the December 2025 quarter, and its streaming biz continued its up-and-to-the-right trajectory — but the company is no longer reporting Disney+ and Hulu subscriber totals.

The Mouse House’s total revenue came in at $25.98 billion for the three months ended Dec. 27, 2025, the first quarter of Disney’s 2026 fiscal year. Net income before income taxes was $3.69 billion, roughly in line with the year-prior quarter, and adjusted earnings per share declined 7% to $1.63.

Entertainment segment revenue increased 7%, thanks to box-office blockbuster “Zootopia 2” — which has become the highest-grossing animated film ever — plus the strong performance of James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” as well as higher revenue from Disney+ and Hulu after price hikes that took effect in the quarter. Disney’s theme parks and products biz hit a record $10 billion in revenue (up 6%) in the year-end quarter and operating income rose 6% to $3.3 billion.

However, overall company operating income decreased 9% for the quarter, to $4.6 billion. Disney’s entertainment business was hurt by higher content and production costs; it also spent more on theatrical marketing (with nine releases in the quarter, vs. four the year earlier) and marketing for Disney+ and Hulu. In addition, ESPN’s operating income took a $110 million hit because of last fall’s two-week YouTube TV blackout.

Disney chief Bob Iger said in prepared remarks: “We are pleased with the start to our fiscal year, and our achievements reflect the tremendous progress we’ve made. We delivered strong box-office performance in calendar year 2025 with billion-dollar hits like ‘Zootopia 2’ and ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash,’ franchises that generate value across many of our businesses. As we continue to manage our company for the future, I am incredibly proud of all that we’ve accomplished over the past three years.”

The company’s board is expected to announce Iger’s successor as the next Disney CEO as soon as this week. Iger is reportedly planning to step down in 2026 before his contract officially expires at the end of the year. The board is “aligning” around selecting Josh D’Amaro, chairman of the Disney Experiences theme parks, cruises and products division, per Bloomberg.

Streaming again shone in the quarter: Total revenue for Disney+ and Hulu was $5.35 billion, up 11%, and operating income zoomed 72% to $450 million. That represented operating margin of 8.4% for the period, and Disney reiterated that it expects entertainment streaming to see operating margin of 10% for full-year fiscal 2026.

Going forward, investors will have to track Disney’s streaming progress without knowing subscriber numbers for Disney+, Hulu or Hulu + Live TV. The company had announced in August that it would no longer report subscribers or revenue for Disney+ or Hulu, saying those metrics have become “less meaningful to evaluating the performance of our businesses.” The move follows the lead of Netflix, which discontinued regularly reporting sub numbers in Q1 of 2025, citing the same rationale.

On Oct. 29, 2025, Disney merged its Hulu + Live TV assets with Fubo, and Disney now owns a 70% interest in the combined business. In the quarter, Disney took a $307 million non-cash tax charge for the Fubo transaction.

Meanwhile, Disney also is no longer breaking out revenue or operating income for its linear TV business, which includes ABC and entertainment cable networks like FX and Disney Channel. Along with the rest of the industry, Disney’s linear TV operations have seen a steady decline amid cord-cutting and the rise of streaming. TV ad revenue declined in the quarter, according to Disney, in part because of lower political ad spending compared with 2024. ABC and Disney’s entertainment cablers also suffered a revenue drop from the YouTube TV blackout (but the company didn’t quantify that).