Disney Reports 72% Increase in SVOD Quarterly Operating Income

Disney has recently seen a significant increase of 72% in their subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) operating income, amounting to $450 million in the first quarter that ended on December 27, 2025, with a total revenue of $5.34 billion. This is a substantial growth from the previous year’s operating income of $261 million from $4.8 billion in revenue.

Under Disney’s direct-to-consumer umbrella, now referred to as SVOD, platforms like Disney+, Hulu, Hulu + Live TV, as well as majority-owned Fubo TV are included. While Disney as a whole no longer reports individual subscriber numbers or revenues for these services, they noted having a combined 196 million subscribers between Disney+ and Hulu as of September 30, 2025.

Subscription fees saw a 13% increase from $3.9 billion to $4.42 billion, attributed to higher prices and bundled offerings involving Disney+, Hulu, and other third-party providers. Advertising income from ad-supported pricing tiers increased by 4% to $922 million, up from $888 million in the preceding year.

Streaming-related expenses have factored into this growth, with costs related to programming and production increasing 7% to $2.63 billion from $2.5 billion. Additionally, other expenses rose by 9% to $2.3 billion from $2 billion.

During a recent fiscal call, Disney CEO Bob Iger mentioned plans for Disney+ to introduce a feature allowing users to create AI-generated content for 30-second video placements based on Disney’s intellectual properties.

These are exciting developments happening at Disney as they continue to see growth and adapt to the evolving streaming landscape.