Here's a letter to shareholders from Bob Iger:
Dear Fellow Shareholders,
Fiscal 2025 was a year of great progress for The Walt Disney Company as we advanced our strategic priorities and charted a path for the future. We continued our focus on delivering the very best in entertainment for consumers and creating value for shareholders. Throughout the year, our results reflected the strength and global appeal of our Entertainment, Sports and Experiences businesses, as well as the tremendous talent and dedication of our people across the company. During the fiscal year:
- We elevated our creative output, with content reflecting our commitment to quality and world-class storytelling. Over the past two years, the Company delivered six hit franchise films that each generated more than $1 billion at the global box office. Over this same period, no other Hollywood studio achieved even one release surpassing the $1 billion mark. For calendar 2025, this included our release of three films that each exceeded the $1 billion milestone and contributed to total global box office receipts for the Company of more than $6.5 billion — the biggest box office year for any studio since 2019. Our theatrical successes demonstrate the cross-generational appeal of Disney’s storytelling and IP worldwide, reinforcing our optimism in our creative direction. Looking ahead, we are excited about our upcoming film slate, including numerous highly anticipated titles such as The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Mandalorian and Grogu, Toy Story 5, live action Moana and Avengers: Doomsday.
- We increased the profitability of our streaming business. In fiscal 2025, our Entertainment DTC business generated $1.3 billion in operating income, representing a remarkable improvement of nearly $5 billion in just three years. Looking ahead, we are focused on delivering strong growth as we continue to enhance our product with an ongoing pipeline of high-quality content; integrating Disney+ and Hulu into a unified one-app experience—an offering no other company can match and one that enhances convenience, personalization and long-term subscriber value; expanding our international reach by strategically investing in local content; and improving the user experience through greater personalization, advanced recommendation engines and more intuitive navigation.
- We continued ESPN’s evolution as the preeminent digital sports platform. This past year, we ushered in a new era for sports fans with the launch of ESPN’s full direct-to-consumer service and enhanced ESPN app, making ESPN’s complete suite of networks and services available directly to consumers for the first time. This brings our deep portfolio of sports properties to an ever-broader array of audiences, reinforcing ESPN’s strong position as a leader in sports and fulfilling our mission to serve sports fans anytime, anywhere.
- We advanced our ambitious investment plans across our Experiences segment. We have more expansion projects underway at each of our theme parks globally than ever before, including the largest expansion ever of Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, as well as five additional cruise ships scheduled for launch beyond fiscal 2026 and a new theme park planned for development in Abu Dhabi. These strategic investments will strengthen our best-in-class experiential offerings and fuel our ability to continue appealing to new and global audiences.
Our achievements reflect the work we have done to successfully navigate a period of intense industry disruption, further establish a strong foundation for growth and solidify our businesses for the future. Strategic success across these initiatives drove financial results in fiscal 2025, leading to Diluted EPS growth of 152% and Adjusted EPS growth of 19% compared to the prior year. We also delivered meaningful growth in shareholder returns, including a 50% increase in our dividend to $1.50 and a 100% increase in our target share repurchase in fiscal 2026. Looking forward, we are confident in our ability to leverage our unrivaled portfolio of beloved brands and franchises and deepen engagement with our global fan base.
As I reflect on all that we’ve accomplished, both in fiscal 2025 and since I returned to the company in 2022, I am inspired and energized by the opportunities before us. Through our strategic vision and unmatched collection of businesses, we continue to tell great stories that are reaching more people, in more places, in more ways than ever before. I am grateful to our leadership team for their dedication and vision during this transformative period, and I’m grateful to you, our shareholders, for your continued support of this remarkable company.
Sincerely,
Robert A. Iger
Chief Executive Officer
