By George Glover

Walt Disney stock was rising on Wednesday after Toy Story 5 and a surge in theme-park footfall helped the entertainment company to beat analysts' third-quarter earnings target.

Shares jumped 4.7% to $102.80 ahead of the opening bell. Futures tracking the S&P 500 were 0.4% higher, putting the benchmark index on course for another record high.

The gains came after Disney reported adjusted earnings of $2.06 a share, as revenue rose 7% from a year ago to $25.2 billion. Wall Street was looking for earnings of $1.86 a share on revenue of $25.4 billion, according to a FactSet poll.

Operating income for the all-important experiences division, which includes theme parks and cruises, jumped 20% from a year ago to $3.02 billion, easing investors' fears about the war in Iran disrupting travel.

Operating income for Disney's entertainment segment surged 64% to $1.68 billion, which the company said was down to the performance of box-office hits including Toy Story 5 and The Devil Wears Prada 2 .

This is breaking news. Read a preview of Disney's earnings below and check back for more analysis soon.

Walt Disney made efforts to cut costs in its fiscal third quarter -- but it will take more than that to revive the entertainment company's battered shares.

The House of Mouse is set to report Wednesday morning ahead of the opening bell. Analysts are expecting adjusted earnings of $1.86 a share on revenue of $25.4 billion, according to a FactSet poll. A year ago, Disney posted earnings of $1.61 a share on revenue of $23.7 billion.

Disney shares were down almost 14% since January through Monday's close.

Benchmark analyst Mike Hickey said in a research note on Monday that this is a "high burden-of-proof quarter." He rates the stock at Buy with a $115 price target, which implies upside of 17%.

"Disney must demonstrate that adjusted profit growth is increasingly being driven by revenue, engagement, scale and returns on recent investment, rather than headcount reductions, lower discretionary spending and share repurchases," he added.

Cost reductions haven't done much for the faltering stock, which has struggled for more than a decade due to cord-cutting, an expensive pivot into streaming, and leadership uncertainty.

Disney's theme-parks segment emerged as its main moneymaker over that period, so investors are counting on Wednesday's results to show strength in that business despite higher inflation and the war in Iran.

For the experiences segment, which covers both parks and cruises, Wall Street is looking for operating income of $2.78 billion on revenue of $9.76 billion.

Write to George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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August 05, 2026 07:01 ET (11:01 GMT)