Disney CEO Bob Iger No clues have been given as to his possible successor; He touted the stability of the company’s intellectual property during a generally solid earnings call on Monday, telling analysts that the company is not considering any new acquisitions in light of the ongoing sale of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
“If anything, the fight for control of Warner Bros. Discovery should highlight or make investors realize the tremendous value of our assets, especially our intellectual property,” Iger said when asked by an analyst for his thoughts on the WBD scandal.
He continued, “We’re in great hands. We don’t really feel like we need to buy any more IP. We just keep creating our own IP. And we have a foundation of incredible stories that are already being told to grow from there.”
The executive praised Disney’s $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets in 2019, adding that it was “ahead of its time” and “very affordable given what’s on offer for Warner Bros.’ Discovery assets.” Disney’s intellectual property acquisitions under Mr. Iger include Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm.
In the past two years, six releases have each grossed more than $1 billion, and most recently zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash, Both opened this quarter.
The two films were highlights for theaters in a generally strong first-quarter earnings report, with overall revenue for the period ended Dec. 27, 2025, up 5% year-over-year to $25.9 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $1.63 on operating income of $4.6 billion. All three metrics beat Wall Street expectations.
CEO successor
Mr. Iger spoke nostalgically while answering questions. Current thinking in Hollywood is that he will step down in the coming months and be replaced by Josh D’Amaro, Disney’s head of parks, experiences and products. According to some reports, Disney’s board of directors could meet as early as this week to decide on a successor. Dana Walden, head of entertainment and news, is also in the running.
“The good news is that we’ve made a lot of adjustments and the company is in much better shape today than it was three years ago,” Iger said, adding, “[My successor]will be in good hands in terms of the strength of the company.” D’Amaro’s Experience Division’s quarterly sales exceeded $10 billion for the first time.
Uncertainty surrounding Mr. Iger’s replacement and rising costs caused Disney shares to fall 7.4% by the close of trading.
The entertainment division’s revenue increased 7% year-on-year to $11.6 billion, but operating profit was reported to decline 35% to $1.1 billion due to higher release costs. Zootopia 2, Avatar: Fire and Ash, Predator: Badlands, Tron: Ares – Double the number of movies released in the same period last year – Similarly, Fubo is integrated into Hulu+ Live; And technology costs will also be higher.
The growth of streaming
Streaming revenue for the quarter rose 11% to $5.3 billion, including $4.4 billion in subscription fees and $922 million in advertising and other revenue. Profits were $450 million, up 72% year over year, and are expected to reach $500 million in the second quarter.
Although Disney has stopped reporting membership numbers, the company noted that membership numbers continue to grow, and Iger said, without elaborating, “We expect to see results from our investments in local content.”
The CEO added that he expects Hulu to be fully integrated into Disney+ by the end of 2026. He added that customers will still be able to purchase Disney+ and Hulu separately, although companies prefer bundles because of lower churn rates.
But the company’s sports division suffered a $110 million loss due to a 15-day shipping dispute with YouTube that caused a blackout of ABC, ESPN and other Disney-owned channels.
sister hill
Asked to elaborate on Disney’s three-year licensing agreement with OpenAI, Iger said users can prompt the Sora app, a text-to-video conversion app, to create 30-second videos of about 250 Disney characters “without human voices or faces.”
Disney will curate videos on Disney+, and Iger said the deal will allow the company to boost short-form videos on the platform.
“We think AI has a lot of benefits,” he said, adding that the first batch of videos will likely be published in fiscal 2026 and there are no immediate plans to increase video length. “One is as a tool to support the creative process. The other is productivity, being more efficient. The third is to build a closer relationship with the consumer.”
(Tag Translation)Disney+
