Disney had good profits and revenue in the second quarter because its theme parks in the US did very well and the company got over a million new people to subscribe to its streaming service.

The company also increased its expected profit for the year, which caused its shares to go up by 11% on Wednesday.

Disney also said it will build a seventh theme park in Abu Dhabi.

In the first three months of the year, until March 30, Disney made $3.28 billion, which was $1.81 for each share. One year before, the company, based in Burbank, California, lost $20 million, or one cent for each share.

If you don't include one-time costs or gains, the company made $1.45 for each share. This was more than the $1.18 that experts thought they would make, according to a survey.

Sales went up by 7% to $23.62 billion, which was also more than expected.

Disney's entertainment business, which includes their movies and streaming, made 9% more money. Their parks business also made 6% more money.

Recent successful movies include “Moana 2” and “Mufasa: The Lion King.” Their newest film, “Thunderbolts,” is currently number one at the box office. CEO Bob Iger and Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston stated that they are sure about the movies coming out this year, such as “Lilo & Stitch,” “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”

However, Disney might have problems because of the trade war started by President Donald Trump.

Disney's online streaming services are making more money now. Their direct services for customers, like Disney+ and Hulu, made $336 million in profit this quarter. Last year, in the same period, they made only $47 million. Also, their income went up by 8%.

Disney+ streaming service saw a 2% rise in paid customers in the U.S. and Canada. Internationally, not including Disney+ HotStar, there was a 1% increase.

The number of people paying for Disney+ rose slightly to 126 million this quarter, a small increase from 124.6 million last quarter.

The total number of people who subscribe to Disney+ and Hulu was 180.7 million. This is 2.5 million more than in the first three months of the year.

Mike Proulx, a director at Forrester, said that a great mix of content helped Disney have a surprisingly good financial period. He explained that Disney's online streaming service is making more money. Proulx added that Disney is planning to invest in making local shows and films in other countries. This might mean they are trying to compete more directly with Netflix, which is famous for having many international shows and films.

Disney has benefited in two ways from successful movies, because these films also become content for its growing streaming service.

"Moana 2" has been watched for over 139 million hours on Disney+ since it came out on March 12. This makes it the most successful start for a Walt Disney Animation Studios film on the platform since "Encanto," according to Iger and Johnston. The first "Moana" movie is still the most popular film on Disney+, with over 1.4 billion hours watched.

The part of the company with theme parks, cruise ships, products, and video games made 9% more money, totaling $2.5 billion. Parks in the home country made 13% more. However, parks outside the home country and other areas made 23% less, mostly because of lower profits at the parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

While Disney is good at managing all the different parts of its business, it is also still looking for a new leader to replace Iger, who has been the main person at Disney for almost twenty years.

Disney started a committee in 2023 to plan for a new leader, but they began searching seriously last year when they asked James Gorman from Morgan Stanley to lead the search.

Disney has some time because Iger agreed to continue working at the company until the end of 2026.

Disney is looking at people from inside and outside the company for the job. People think that the internal candidates are Jimmy Pitaro, who leads ESPN (a company owned by Disney), Josh D’Amaro, who leads Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, and Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, who lead Disney Entertainment.

Disney thinks it will earn $5.75 for each share this year. This is more than the $5.43 per share that experts thought they would earn. Before, the company expected earnings to grow by a high single-digit percentage in 2025.