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Description of the Business and Segment Information
 12 Months Ended
Sep. 27, 2025
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Description of the Business and Segment Information Description of the Business and Segment Information
The Walt Disney Company, together with the subsidiaries through which businesses are conducted (the Company), is a diversified worldwide entertainment company with operations in three segments: Entertainment, Sports and Experiences.
The terms “Company”, “we”, “our” and “us” are used in this report to refer collectively to the parent company and the subsidiaries through which businesses are conducted.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS
Entertainment
The Entertainment segment generally encompasses the Company’s non-sports focused global film and television content production and distribution activities.
The lines of business within Entertainment along with their significant business activities include the following:
•Linear Networks
◦Domestic: ABC Television Network (ABC Network); Disney, Freeform, FX and National Geographic (owned 73% by the Company) branded television channels; and eight owned ABC television stations
◦International: Disney, FX and National Geographic (owned 73% by the Company) branded television channels
◦A 50% equity investment in A+E Global Media (formerly A+E Television Networks) (A+E), which develops and distributes content globally
•Direct-to-Consumer
◦Disney+: a global direct-to-consumer (DTC) service that primarily offers general entertainment and family programming. Subscribers to both Disney+ and one of the ESPN DTC plans (see Sports segment discussion) can also access certain sports content through Disney+.
◦Hulu: a U.S. DTC service that offers general entertainment programming and a virtual multi-channel video programming distributor (vMPVD) service that includes live linear streams of various cable and broadcast networks (Hulu Live TV service). Subscribers to both Hulu and one of the ESPN DTC plans can also access certain sports content through Hulu.
•Content Sales/Licensing
◦Theatrical distribution
◦Sale/licensing of film and episodic content to television and video-on-demand (TV/VOD) services
◦Home entertainment distribution: electronic home video licenses, video-on-demand rentals and licensing of physical (DVD/Blu-ray discs) distribution rights
◦Intersegment allocation of revenues from the Experiences segment, which is meant to reflect royalties on consumer products merchandise licensing revenues generated on intellectual property (IP) created by the Entertainment segment
◦Staging and licensing of live entertainment events on Broadway and around the world (Stage Plays)
◦Music distribution
◦Post-production services by Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound
Entertainment also includes the following activities that are reported with Content Sales/Licensing:
•National Geographic magazine and online business (owned 73% by the Company)
•A 30% ownership interest in Tata Play Limited, which operates a direct-to-home satellite distribution platform in India
The revenues of Entertainment are as follows:
•Subscription fees - Fees charged to customers/subscribers for our DTC streaming services, including fees charged to multi-channel video programming distributors (i.e. cable, satellite and telecommunications providers and vMVPDs) (MVPDs) and other distributors
•Advertising - Sales of advertising time/space
•Affiliate fees - Fees charged to MVPDs for the right to deliver our programming to their customers. Linear Networks also generates revenues from fees charged to television stations affiliated with ABC Network.
•Theatrical distribution - Rentals from licensing our films to theaters
•TV/VOD and home entertainment distribution
◦Licensing fees for the right to use our film and episodic content
◦Electronic sales and rentals of film and episodic content through distributors
◦Fees from the licensing of physical distribution rights
•Other revenue - Revenues from licensing our music, ticket sales from stage play performances, fees from licensing our IP for use in stage plays, sales of post-production services and the allocation of consumer products merchandise licensing revenues
The expenses of Entertainment are as follows:
•Operating expenses, consisting of the following:
◦Programming and production costs, which include:
▪Amortization of capitalized production costs
▪Amortization of the costs of licensed programming rights
▪Subscriber-based fees for programming our Hulu Live TV service, including fees paid by Hulu to ESPN and the Entertainment linear networks business for the right to air their linear networks on Hulu Live TV
▪Production costs related to live programming (primarily news)
▪Participations and residual expenses
▪Fees paid to ESPN to program certain sports content on ABC Network and Disney+
◦Other operating expenses, which include technology support costs and distribution costs
•Selling, general and administrative costs, including marketing costs
•Depreciation and amortization
Sports
The Sports segment generally encompasses the Company’s sports-focused global television and DTC video streaming content production and distribution activities.
The lines of business within Sports include the following:
•ESPN (generally owned 80% by the Company) (See Note 4 for further information on potential future changes in ESPN ownership)
◦Domestic:
▪ESPN-branded television channels
▪ESPN DTC
▪ESPN on ABC (sports programmed on the ABC Network by ESPN)
◦International: ESPN-branded channels outside of the U.S.
The revenues of Sports are as follows:
•Affiliate and subscription fees
•Advertising
•Other revenue - Fees from the following activities: pay-per-view events on the ESPN DTC services, sub-licensing of sports rights, programming ESPN on ABC and licensing the ESPN brand
The expenses of Sports are as follows:
•Operating expenses, consisting of programming and production costs and other operating expenses. Programming and production costs include amortization of licensed sports rights and production costs related to live sports and other sports-related programming. Other operating expenses include technology support costs and distribution costs.
•Selling, general and administrative costs, including marketing costs
•Depreciation and amortization
Experiences
The lines of business within Experiences along with their significant business activities include the following:
•Parks & Experiences:
◦Domestic:
▪Theme parks and resorts:
•Walt Disney World Resort in Florida
•Disneyland Resort in California
▪Experiences
•Disney Cruise Line
•Disney Vacation Club, including Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii
•National Geographic Expeditions (owned 73% by the Company) and Adventures by Disney
◦International:
▪Theme parks and resorts:
•Disneyland Paris
•Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (48% ownership interest and consolidated in our financial results)
•Shanghai Disney Resort (43% ownership interest and consolidated in our financial results)
•In addition, the Company licenses its IP to a third party that owns and operates Tokyo Disney Resort
•Consumer Products:
◦Licensing of our trade names, characters, visual, literary and other IP to various manufacturers, game developers, publishers and retailers throughout the world, for use on merchandise, published materials and games
◦Sale of branded merchandise through online, retail and wholesale businesses, and development and publishing of books, comic books and magazines (except National Geographic magazine, which is reported in Entertainment)
The revenues of Experiences are as follows:
•Theme park admissions - Sales of tickets for admission to our theme parks and for premium access to certain attractions
•Resorts and vacations - Sales of room nights at hotels, sales of cruise and other vacations and sales and rentals of vacation club properties
•Parks & Experiences merchandise, food and beverage - Sales of merchandise, food and beverages at our theme parks and resorts and cruise ships
•Merchandise licensing and retail:
◦Merchandise licensing - Royalties from licensing our IP for use on consumer goods
◦Retail - Sales of merchandise through internet shopping sites, at The Disney Store and to wholesalers
•Parks licensing and other - Revenues from sponsorships and co-branding opportunities, real estate rent and sales and royalties earned on Tokyo Disney Resort revenues
The expenses of Experiences are as follows:
•Operating expenses, consisting of operating labor, infrastructure costs, costs of goods sold and distribution costs and other operating expenses. Infrastructure costs include technology support costs, repairs and maintenance, utilities and fuel, property taxes, retail occupancy costs, insurance and transportation. Other operating expenses include costs for such items as supplies, commissions and entertainment offerings.
•Selling, general and administrative costs, including marketing costs
•Depreciation and amortization
India Joint Venture
On November 14, 2024, the Company and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) formed a joint venture, JioStar India Private Limited, (the India joint venture) that combined the Company’s Star-branded and other general entertainment and sports television channels and Disney+ Hotstar direct-to-consumer service in India (Star India) with certain media and entertainment businesses controlled by RIL (the Star India Transaction). The Company owns 37% of the India joint venture and recognizes its share of the joint venture’s results in “Equity in the income of investees.” Star India results through November 14, 2024 were consolidated in the Company’s financial results and reported in the Entertainment and Sports segments. See Note 4 for additional information.
SEGMENT INFORMATION
Our operating segments report separate financial information, including segment revenues and operating income, which is evaluated regularly by the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Operating Decision Maker (CODM), to allocate resources and to assess performance by monitoring results against those set out in our planning processes. We do not present a measure of total assets for our reportable segments as this information is not used by the CODM to allocate resources and assess performance.
Segment operating results reflect earnings before corporate and unallocated shared expenses, restructuring and impairment charges, net other income, net interest expense, income taxes and noncontrolling interests. Segment operating income generally includes equity in the income of investees, except for our India joint venture, and acquisition accounting amortization of TFCF Corporation (TFCF) and Hulu assets (i.e. intangible assets and the fair value step-up for film and episodic costs) recognized in
connection with the TFCF acquisition in fiscal 2019 (TFCF and Hulu Acquisition Amortization). Corporate and unallocated shared expenses principally consist of corporate functions, executive management and certain unallocated administrative support functions.
Segment operating results include allocations of certain costs, including information technology, pension, legal and other shared services costs, which are allocated based on metrics designed to correlate with consumption.
Segment revenues, segment operating income and significant segment expenses are as follows:
202520242023
Revenues
Entertainment
Third parties
$42,018  $40,775  $40,258  
Amounts eliminated in consolidation
448  411  377  
42,466  41,186  40,635  
Sports
Third parties
16,251  16,435  16,091  
Amounts eliminated in consolidation
1,421  1,184  1,020  
17,672  17,619  17,111  
Experiences
36,156  34,151  32,549  
Eliminations
(1,869) (1,595) (1,397) 
Total revenues
$94,425  $91,361  $88,898  
Segment operating income (loss)
Entertainment
$4,674  $3,923  $1,444  
Sports
2,882  2,406  2,465  
Experiences
9,995  9,272  8,954  
Total segment operating income(1)
$17,551  $15,601  $12,863  
(1)Equity in the income of investees is included in segment operating income as follows:
202520242023
Entertainment
$439  $529  $685  
Sports
67  58  55  
Experiences
—  —  (2) 
Equity in the income of investees included in segment operating income506  587  738  
Equity in the loss of India joint venture
(202) —  —  
A+E Gain(a)
—  —  56  
Amortization of TFCF intangible assets related to equity investees
(9) (12) (12) 
Equity in the income of investees$295  $575  $782  
(a) Restructuring and impairment charges in fiscal 2023 include the impact of a content license agreement termination with A+E, which generated a gain at A+E. The Company’s 50% interest of this gain was $56 million (A+E gain).
Supplemental information about significant segment expenses202520242023
Entertainment
Programming and production costs$22,273  $22,385  $23,912  
Other segment operating expenses(1)
5,400  5,347  5,804  
Selling, general, administrative and other9,733  9,326  9,404  
Depreciation and amortization825  734  756  
Total Entertainment costs and expenses38,231  37,792  39,876  
Sports
Programming and production costs12,492  12,983  12,373  
Other segment operating expenses(2)
986  951  941  
Selling, general, administrative and other1,331  1,298  1,314  
Depreciation and amortization48  39  73  
Total Sports costs and expenses14,857  15,271  14,701  
Experiences
Operating labor8,948  8,392  7,550  
Infrastructure costs3,511  3,363  3,127  
Costs of goods sold and distribution costs3,253  3,319  3,357  
Other segment operating expenses(3)
3,512  3,282  3,095  
Selling, general, administrative and other4,114  3,944  3,675  
Depreciation and amortization2,823  2,579  2,789  
Total Experiences costs and expenses26,161  24,879  23,593  
Eliminations(4)
(1,869) (1,595) (1,397) 
Corporate and unallocated shared expenses1,646  1,435  1,147  
TFCF and Hulu acquisition amortization(5)
1,567  1,665  1,986  
Total costs and expenses$80,593  $79,447  $79,906  
(1)Other operating expenses of Entertainment include technology support costs, distribution costs and costs of goods sold.
(2)Other operating expenses of Sports include technology support costs and distribution costs.
(3)Other operating expenses of Experiences include costs for supplies, commissions and entertainment offerings.
(4)Reflects fees paid by (a) Hulu to ESPN and the Entertainment linear networks business for the right to air their networks on Hulu Live TV and (b) ABC Network and Disney+ to ESPN to program certain sports content on ABC Network and Disney+. The offset is included in Entertainment programming and production costs.
(5)Excludes amortization of TFCF intangible assets related to equity investees.
A reconciliation of segment operating income to income before income taxes is as follows:
202520242023
Segment operating income$17,551  $15,601  $12,863  
Corporate and unallocated shared expenses(1,646) (1,435) (1,147) 
Equity in the loss of India joint venture
(202) —  —  
Restructuring and impairment charges(1)
(819) (3,595) (3,836) 
Other income (expense), net(2)
—  (65) 96  
Interest expense, net(1,305) (1,260) (1,209) 
TFCF and Hulu acquisition amortization(3)
(1,576) (1,677) (1,998) 
Income before income taxes
$12,003  $7,569  $4,769  
(1)Net of the A+E Gain in fiscal 2023.
(2)“Other income (expense), net” for fiscal 2024 and 2023 includes charges related to a legal ruling of $65 million and $101 million, respectively. Fiscal 2023 includes a gain of $169 million to adjust our investment in DraftKings, Inc. to fair value. The Company sold the DraftKings investment in fiscal 2023.
(3)TFCF and Hulu acquisition amortization is as follows:
202520242023
Amortization of intangible assets
$1,307  $1,394  $1,547  
Step-up of film and episodic costs
260 271 439 
Intangibles related to TFCF equity investees
9 12 12 
$1,576 $1,677 $1,998 
Capital expenditures, depreciation expense and amortization of intangible assets are as follows:
Capital expenditures202520242023
Entertainment
$1,155  $977  $1,032  
Sports
3  10  15  
Experiences
Domestic5,271  2,710  2,203  
International1,158  949  822  
Corporate437  766  897  
Total capital expenditures$8,024  $5,412  $4,969  
Depreciation expense
Entertainment
$773  $681  $669  
Sports
48  39  73 
Experiences
Domestic1,933  1,744  2,011  
International782  726  669  
Amounts included in segment operating income2,715  2,470  2,680  
Corporate323  244  204  
Total depreciation expense$3,859  $3,434  $3,626  
Amortization of intangible assets
Entertainment
$52  $53  $87  
Experiences
108  109  109  
Amounts included in segment operating income160  162  196  
TFCF and Hulu1,307  1,394  1,547  
Total amortization of intangible assets$1,467  $1,556  $1,743  
Long-lived assets(1) by geographical markets are as follows:
September 27, 2025September 28, 2024
Americas$61,888  $62,107  
Europe13,227  10,299  
Asia Pacific10,799  6,535  
$85,914  $78,941  
(1)Long-lived assets are primarily parks, resorts and other property, produced and licensed content costs, right-of-use lease assets, equity method investments and benefit plans in a net asset position.