New York, July 4, 2026, 13:03 EDT
- Disney climbed 3.96% in the last U.S. trading day before the holiday break on Thursday, but finished the week up just 0.7%.
- S&P 500 climbed 1.8% in those four sessions. Disney lagged, with Netflix and Comcast both topping its performance.
- “Toy Story 5” took in $623.1 million global box office, but Disney’s parks unit remains the clearer play for stock pickers. Box Office Mojo
Disney NYSE:DIS closed at $99.50 on Thursday, up 3.96% in the final session before the holiday break. But for the week, shares were only up 0.7%, lagging the S&P 500 as traders looked for signs that parks demand and a hit from Pixar might be enough to boost earnings.
The NYSE was closed for Independence Day on Friday, July 3, after the 2026 holiday calendar scheduled the break then. As a result, the last trading day before the holiday weekend fell on Thursday.
| Name | July 2 close | Day change | Week change vs June 26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Walt Disney Company NYSE:DIS | $99.50 | up 3.96% | up 0.7% |
| S&P 500 | 7,483.24 | flat | up 1.8% |
| Netflix Inc NASDAQ:NFLX | $77.65 | up 4.66% | up 5.2% |
| Comcast Corp NASDAQ:CMCSA | $23.79 | up 0.25% | up 2.7% |
Closing prices are from July 2 and June 26. Weekly moves are based on those closes.
Disney’s key demand signal this week isn’t limited to box office. Parks are in focus, too. In the March quarter, Experiences made up 56.8% of segment operating income and 37.7% of revenue, the company said. The margin difference is what drives the equity story.
| Disney segment, fiscal Q2 | Revenue | Operating income | Operating margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entertainment | $11.72 bln | $1.34 bln | 11.4% |
| Sports | $4.61 bln | $0.65 bln | 14.1% |
| Experiences | $9.49 bln | $2.62 bln | 27.6% |
Disney said in its May shareholder letter that “Current demand at our domestic parks and resorts is healthy. However, we are mindful of the macroeconomic uncertainty consumers are facing today,” with Chief Executive Josh D’Amaro and CFO Hugh Johnston signing off. The company also reported its Entertainment SVOD saw its first double-digit operating margin in Q2, and is looking to at least 10% for fiscal 2026. SEC
Disney has kept its focus on both parks and streaming this week. On July 2, the company said “Disney Celebrates America” will take place at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and on a 24-hour broadcast across its TV and streaming services. The next day, Disney announced that Disneyland Resort hit the honorary milestone of its one billionth guest. The Walt Disney Company
Box Office Mojo shows Toy Story 5 has made $335.3 million in the US and $623.1 million worldwide so far. It sits at No. 4 for domestic and No. 6 for global ticket sales among 2026 films. Disney previously said the movie launched with $312 million worldwide and the first four entries had more than 60 million hours watched on Disney+ before this one hit.
July’s box office numbers are messy. Universal’s Minions & Monsters leads the July-on record at $25.0 million in domestic sales, according to Box Office Mojo’s month-to-date table. That puts it ahead of Toy Story 5, which has $16.5 million so far this month and is already well into its release.
Raymond James kept its “outperform” on Disney but cut the price target to $111 from $119 on July 2, MarketBeat reported. That still points to around 15.4% upside from Disney’s last close. Street caution remains. MarketBeat
The cut was made as the company targeted about 12% fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS growth, not counting the 53rd week, and planned at least $8 billion in buybacks. The stock closed at $99.50 on Thursday, still just under the $100 mark. Disney is set to release its live-action Moana in the U.S. on July 10.
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