Disney’s shares spike on Q2 beat

Today’s headlines

What’s happening: Shares of Walt Disney Co surged on Wednesday after the company released its fiscal second-quarter results.

What happened: The company reported better-than-expected sales and earnings for its latest quarter.

Disney guided to growth accelerating in the second half of fiscal 2026 and announced an increase in its share repurchase target.

How were the results: The Burbank, California-based company reported single-digit sales growth for the fiscal second quarter.

• Revenues rose 7% year-over-year to $25.17 billion, topping consensus estimates of $24.76 billion.
• Adjusted earnings came in at $1.57 per share, ahead of Wall Street expectations of $1.49 per share.

Why it matters: Revenues from Disney’s entertainment segment grew 10% year-over-year to $11.72 billion, while from the sports segment rose 2% to $4.61 billion.

Revenues from the experiences segment climbed 7% to $9.49 billion. Domestic parks and resorts revenue rose 6% to $6.92 billion last quarter, while international parks revenue jumped 11% to $1.6 billion.

The new CEO Josh D’Amaro, who succeeded Bob Iger in mid-March, announced his strategy for the company on Wednesday. He said he is looking to strengthen the company’s streaming business and continue investing in theme parks and cruise lines.

Disney is facing a tough environment due to pressures on the global economy from higher crude oil prices and fewer visits by international tourists to its theme parks. CFO Hugh Johnston said that another significant surge in gas prices might trigger changes in consumer behaviour.

The company increased its share repurchase target to $8 billion for fiscal 2026, up from the prior $7 billion.

Management guided to growth accelerating during the second half of the year, driven by increased streaming investments and continued growth within Disney Experiences.

For fiscal 2026, Disney guided to adjusted earnings growth of around 16%, including the additional week in the year.

How shares responded: Disney’s shares jumped 7.5% to close at $108.06 on Wednesday following the release of quarterly results. The stock has added more than 12% over the past month.

What to watch: Investors will continue monitoring rising oil prices and Disney’s investments to grow its theme park business.

The markets today

The euro in focus today ahead of retail sales data

Context: The euro rose versus the US dollar this morning as investors digested the latest economic reports.

Details: Data released on Wednesday showed that Eurozone producer prices climbed 3.4% in March following a 0.6% decline in February. The figure came in slightly higher than market estimates of 3.3%. The latest reading marked the steepest monthly rise since August 2022, following an 11.1% jump in energy prices due to the Iran war.

The S&P Global Eurozone composite PMI declined to 48.8 in April from 50.7 in March, representing the first contraction in private sector activity in 16 months. The latest figure was still higher than the preliminary reading of 48.6. Eurozone’s services PMI was revised higher to 47.6 in April from 47.4 but was lower than the previous month’s 50.2.

The safe-haven appeal for the US dollar weakened following rising prospects of a deal with Iran, which lent further support to the EUR/USD pair this morning. The US and Iran indicated that they are inching closer to a deal on a one-page memorandum for formally ending the war.

The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, fell around 0.1% to 97.96.

The EUR/USD forex pair rose around 0.1% to 1.1757, while the EUR/GBP pair slipped to 0.8642 this morning.

What to watch: Investors will continue monitoring talks between the US and Iran to end the conflict.

Data on Eurozone’s retail sales (1300 UAE Time) will be released today. Eurozone’s retail sales, which declined by 0.2% in February following a flat reading in the previous month, are expected to contract by 0.3% in March. Analysts expect Eurozone’s retail trade growth to ease to 1% year-over-year in March from 1.7% in February.

Other Markets: Asian indices traded higher this morning, with Japan’s Nikkei 225, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and China’s CSI 300 Index up by 5.72%, 1.37% and 0.03%, respectively.

The news shaping the markets

Russia fired several drones at Ukraine last night, brushing off a unilateral ceasefire announced by Kyiv. The news sent the USD/RUB pair lower in forex trading this morning.

Philippines’ GDP grew by 2.8% year-over-year in the first quarter, easing from a 3% expansion in the previous quarter. The latest figure missing market expectations of 3.5% growth lent support to the USD/PHP forex pair.

Thailand’s business sentiment index declined to 43.5 in April from 47.7 in the previous month. The region’s business morale falling to the lowest level since September 2021 sent the USD/THB pair higher in forex trading this morning.

UK’s S&P Global composite PMI surged to 52.6 in April from 50.3 in the previous month. The latest reading coming in higher than market estimates of 49.8 lent support to the GBP/USD forex pair.

Australia unexpectedly recorded a goods trade deficit of A$1.84 billion in March, compared to a A$5.03 billion surplus in February. However, the AUD/USD pair rose slightly in forex trading this morning.

What else to watch today

UK’s S&P Global construction PMI (1230 UAE Time), Singapore’s foreign exchange reserves (1300 UAE Time), Turkey’s foreign exchange reserves (1530 UAE Time), US Challenger job cuts (1530 UAE Time), initial jobless claims (1630 UAE Time), continuing jobless claims (1630 UAE Time), construction spending (1800 UAE Time), EIA natural gas stocks change (1830 UAE Time), consumer inflation expectations (1900 UAE Time) and consumer credit change (2300 UAE Time), Brazil’s industrial production (1600 UAE Time) and balance of trade (2200 UAE Time), Mexico’s inflation rate (1600 UAE Time) and interest rate decision (2300 UAE Time) as well as Argentina’s industrial production (2300 UAE Time).