The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) is back in focus on Thursday, December 18, 2025, as a fresh wave of analyst optimism collides with big shifts in the media landscape—from the Oscars’ long-term move away from ABC to YouTube, to Disney’s push into generative AI and short-form video tools. [1]
Disney stock price today: DIS trades higher amid an analyst-driven reset for 2026
Disney shares were trading around $112.06, up roughly 1.29% on the day at the time of writing, after opening near $110.53 and moving between about $110.44 and $112.80 in the session. Trading volume was roughly 7.7 million shares at that point.
Disney’s 52-week range has been roughly $80.10 to $124.69, and the company’s market capitalization is roughly $198 billion (figures vary slightly by data vendor and intraday movement). [2]
What’s powering the move?
Three forces stand out in today’s Disney stock conversation:
- A headline bullish call from Wells Fargo that elevates Disney as a top media pick going into 2026. [3]
- A broader market bid after a softer-than-expected inflation read, which helped lift risk assets across Wall Street. [4]
- Investors reframing Disney’s mix—less as a legacy TV story and more as a high-cash-flow “experiences + streaming + IP flywheel” business with multiple 2026 catalysts. [5]
Analyst spotlight: Wells Fargo names Disney its top media pick for 2026
In a note circulated on December 18, Wells Fargo elevated Disney to its “Media top pick,” replacing Spotify, and pointed to a combination of valuation and catalysts. The firm said it does not believe in a parks recession and sees EPS upside driven by per-cap spending, direct-to-consumer (DTC) margin expansion, and box office performance. Wells Fargo reiterated an Overweight rating and cited a $152 price target. [6]
Barron’s coverage of the call framed it as a “bounce back” setup into 2026, noting the tension Disney has been navigating—linear TV pressure and intensifying theme park competition—while also highlighting the reasons bulls think the setup looks better than it did a year ago. [7]
Why parks and cruises matter so much for DIS stock
The market’s willingness to “pay up” for Disney historically has been tied to confidence that its experiences segment (parks, resorts, cruises) can compound cash flow even when content cycles swing.
Barron’s notes pointed to Disney’s experiences operating income rising 13% to about $1.89 billion in a recent quarter, while also referencing Disney’s ongoing cruise expansion (including the Treasure and Destiny launches). [8]
That matters because—even in a world where streaming is the growth narrative—parks and cruises are still the cash engine that can fund content, technology, and shareholder returns.
Streaming and sports: profitability progress, ESPN’s next chapter, and the “new bundle” thesis
Disney’s streaming story has shifted from “subscriber growth at any cost” to “profits plus smart bundling.”
In its November earnings coverage, Reuters reported that Disney’s streaming unit profit rose 39% as Disney+ and Hulu added 12.5 million subscribers, bringing the combined total to 196 million. [9]
The same Reuters report also underscored a key strategic point for DIS investors: Disney is building a model where the bundle (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN) and distribution partnerships can support both retention and monetization—even as traditional pay-TV shrinks. [10]
The ESPN catalyst investors keep circling
Analysts continue to frame ESPN’s transition as one of Disney’s most important medium-term catalysts. Barron’s referenced expectations around a new ESPN app launch in August as part of the 2026 setup. [11]
Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley commentary (as summarized by Investing.com) highlighted “experiential media” and a potential market re-rating narrative into 2026, including an Overweight stance and a $137 target price mentioned in that write-up. [12]
Big media headline: Oscars to move from ABC to YouTube starting in 2029
One of the biggest Disney-adjacent media headlines this week is not about Disney+—it’s about ABC.
Reuters reported that the Oscars telecast will move off Disney-owned ABC to stream live on YouTube starting in 2029, with the agreement running through 2033. ABC will still air the Academy Awards in the U.S. in 2026, 2027, and 2028 (the 100th anniversary year). [13]
The shift is symbolic of the industry’s center of gravity moving toward streaming platforms. Reuters noted that the 2025 Oscars drew 19.7 million U.S. viewers, a five-year high but far below the 57 million peak in 1998, and that the 2025 ceremony also streamed live on Hulu. [14]
For Disney shareholders, the near-term financial impact is likely limited (the switch is years away), but strategically it reinforces a core investor question:
How much premium content—and premium advertising—will keep migrating away from traditional broadcast TV, and how effectively can Disney replace that value across streaming and experiences? [15]
AI and Disney stock: the $1 billion OpenAI investment and what it signals
Disney’s most attention-grabbing corporate move this month may be its decision to go directly at the intersection of IP and generative AI.
Reuters reported Disney is investing $1 billion in OpenAI and licensing characters (including from Star Wars, Pixar, and Marvel) for use in OpenAI’s Sora video tool. The agreement is described as a three-year partnership, and Reuters reported that Sora and ChatGPT Images would begin generating videos using licensed Disney characters starting early next year, while excluding talent likenesses or voices. [16]
Disney CEO Bob Iger described the partnership as a way to extend storytelling “thoughtfully and responsibly,” and Reuters noted that Hollywood unions reacted cautiously, raising compensation and labor concerns tied to AI-driven content creation. [17]
For DIS stock watchers, the AI angle cuts both ways:
- Bull case: New creative tooling, personalization, and short-form ecosystems could increase Disney+ engagement and monetization. [18]
- Risk case: AI-related labor disputes, IP governance, and reputational risk could create friction or added cost. [19]
Studio pipeline and box office: Zootopia 2 momentum and Avatar 3’s headline risk
Disney’s content engine still matters, especially when it creates multiplier effects across consumer products, theme parks, and streaming.
Reuters reported that “Zootopia 2” is set to surpass $1 billion at the global box office, with unusually strong performance noted in markets including China (where it became the biggest Hollywood film of the year there at the time of the report). [20]
At the same time, Reuters reported Disney and director James Cameron were hit with a copyright lawsuit tied to Avatar: The Way of Water. The plaintiff sought at least $500 million in damages and requested a court order blocking release of the third film, “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” which Reuters said is scheduled for U.S. release on Friday. [21]
Investors will likely treat the lawsuit as a legal overhang rather than a base-case financial event—unless the litigation accelerates in a way that tangibly disrupts release plans or economics. [22]
Legal headlines: Lucasfilm wins UK case tied to “Rogue One” character effects
Disney also picked up a legal win in the UK.
Reuters reported that Disney unit Lucasfilm won a bid to throw out a London lawsuit related to the use of the likeness of actor Peter Cushing (who died in 1994) in the 2016 film “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” The Court of Appeal ruled in Lucasfilm’s favor, with the judge saying it was impossible to identify anything that belonged to the plaintiff that could be said to have been transferred to Lucasfilm or another Disney subsidiary. [23]
This is not a thesis-changing item for DIS stock, but it underscores how frequently Disney’s IP scale intersects with litigation risk—especially as technology makes digital reuse and creation easier. [24]
Forecasts and valuation: where analysts see Disney stock heading
Consensus price targets and ratings
Forecast aggregates generally remain constructive on Disney, though details vary by platform and methodology.
MarketBeat shows Disney with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating based on 27 analyst ratings (19 buys, 7 holds, 1 sell) and an average 12‑month price target of $134.41, with a high of $152 and a low of $110. [25]
StockAnalysis similarly lists a consensus rating of “Strong Buy” and an average price target around the mid‑$130s (with a high target of $152 and low near $110), reflecting the same general range seen across many sell-side models. [26]
The valuation argument bulls keep making
One reason Disney keeps resurfacing in “2026 rebound” narratives: valuation looks less demanding than some media and streaming peers.
Barron’s summarized the Wells Fargo view by noting Disney trades at roughly 16.6x expected earnings, below its five-year average and far below Netflix’s valuation multiples (as referenced in the piece). [27]
Technical view: momentum has improved, but investors still see a “prove it” chart
From a technical standpoint, Investing.com’s daily indicators and moving averages flashed a “Strong Buy” summary, with a 14‑day RSI around 58.5, and key moving averages such as the 50‑day near 110.77 and the 200‑day near 107.72. [28]
With Disney still below its 52‑week high (around $124.69), many traders will likely watch whether DIS can hold above key moving averages on pullbacks and whether it can build sustained momentum into early 2026 as catalysts become clearer. [29]
Macro backdrop: a softer inflation print helped lift sentiment
Disney stock’s day-to-day moves are often driven by company specifics, but today’s broader market tone is also supportive.
Reuters reported that November CPI came in below expectations (2.7% year-on-year versus a 3.1% forecast in one Reuters summary), helping fuel expectations that the Fed could cut rates in early 2026. Reuters also described Wall Street gaining on the day as markets “took easing inflation in stride,” with tech leadership helping drive the rally. [30]
Lower rate expectations can matter for consumer-facing names like Disney because it can affect everything from discretionary spending sentiment to valuation multiples investors are willing to assign. [31]
What to watch next for Disney stock
Here are the near-term items that could shape the next leg for DIS stock:
- Box office and franchise momentum: the market will be watching how major releases perform—both financially and as cross-platform IP drivers. [32]
- ESPN’s direct-to-consumer trajectory: any concrete updates on product timing, bundling economics, and subscriber/ARPU expectations could move the narrative quickly. [33]
- Streaming profitability durability: Disney has made progress on profits; investors want consistency and evidence that price hikes and bundling won’t create churn. [34]
- Parks and cruises demand: per-cap spending trends and booking strength are central to the bull case (and to Wells Fargo’s stance). [35]
- AI governance and labor friction: Disney’s OpenAI deal is a strategic bet, but the guardrails—creative, legal, and reputational—will matter. [36]
- Linear TV erosion and marquee rights: the Oscars’ longer-term move to YouTube is another signal that premium attention is migrating. [37]
Bottom line: Disney stock is trying to re-rate on “experiences + profitable streaming + new tech,” not on legacy TV
As of December 18, 2025, Disney stock is being pulled by two competing realities:
- Headwinds remain real—linear TV decline, shifting media rights economics, and high expectations for ESPN’s next chapter. [38]
- But the bull case is getting louder: analysts are increasingly framing Disney as a cash-generating experiences business plus a streaming platform that is moving toward profitability—with optionality from AI-enabled formats and franchised IP. [39]
That’s why a call like Wells Fargo’s—explicitly arguing Disney is a top media pick for 2026—can have outsized influence: it crystallizes the view that Disney’s “next act” may be about execution and margin expansion, not just subscriber growth. [40]
References
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