On Monday Jefferies upgraded Disney shares from "hold" to "buy," with a target price significantly increased from $100 to $144.
The US broker said it was less concerned about the impact of the economic slowdown and the opening of Epic Universe, Universal's new complex in Orlando, on the entertainment giant's theme park business.
It adds that the arrival of two new ships in early 2026 should enable the group's cruise division to generate between $1bn and $1.5bn p.a. in additional revenue.
In addition, the broker expects the streaming business to continue improving its margins, which it expects will rise from 0% in 2024 to over 13% by 2028.
Finally, Jefferies is optimistic about the release schedule for the next six months, which includes the launch of the ESPN DTC sports platform and the films 'Zootopia 2' and 'Avatar 3'.
Disney has failed to grow its operating profit over 2016 to 2024, although analysts believe that this momentum is set to change, it concludes.
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The Walt Disney Company is a media and entertainment group. Net sales (including intragroup) break down by activity as follows:
- entertainment and audiovisual production (44.1%): TV broadcasting and video streaming (58% of net sales; Disney+, Disney+ Hotstar and Hulu), operation of TV channels and radio stations (22%; ABC Television Network, Disney, Freeform, FX and National Geographic) and other (20%; production and distribution of audiovisual content, film licensing, etc.);
- operation of theme parks and hotel resorts (37.5%): operation, as of 27/09/2025, of 74 theme parks (39 hotels) located in the United States (Walt Disney World, Magic Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, etc.; 42 theme parks and 21 hotels), France (Disneyland Paris; 9 theme parks and 7 hotels), Hong Kong (Hong Kong Disneyland; 8 theme parks and 3 hotels), China (Shanghai Disney Resort; 8 theme parks and 2 hotels) and Japan (Tokyo Disney Resort; 7 theme parks and 6 hotels). The group is also involved in cruise sales (Disney Cruise Line), travel organization (Disney Vacation Club and Adventures By Disney), design and development of parks and other real estate properties, and sale of consumer products (children's books, toys, game software, films, etc.);
- production and distribution of TV and video streaming programmes focusing on sport (18.4%): ESPN and ESPN+.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: the Americas (81%), Europe (11.7%) and Asia/Pacific (7.3%).
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