Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) is one of the most powerful IP businesses ever assembled — but for income-focused investors, there’s a quieter category of stock worth knowing alongside it. Our colleague Robert Rapier of Utility Forecaster has spent years identifying essential-service companies that deliver something most investors are told to choose between: safety, income, and growth in a single position. See the companies he’s building portfolios around →

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… for Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) superfans.

Every other August, tens of thousands of Disneyphiles from around the globe gather in Anaheim for the star-studded D23 extravaganza. The three-day event is chock full of splashy exhibits, panels, performances and celebrity appearances.

Most importantly, it’s when Disney “Imagineers” showcase their most magical upcoming projects.

In August 2024, Disney stock was languishing in the mid-$80s. High-profile boardroom power struggles, lengthy carriage disputes and a string of costly box office flops were all weighing on investor sentiment at the time. That year’s gala was a welcome distraction.

Festival attendees got a firsthand look at $60 billion in planned theme-park expansions:

Billy Crystal (aka Mike Wazowski) was on hand to introduce a new Monstropolis addition to Hollywood Studios. Lightning McQueen fans got their first look at an immersive Cars-themed off-road wilderness racing attraction breaking ground in the Frontierland section of the Magic Kingdom. Presenters also dazzled the crowd with plans for a new Avengers simulator ride on the Disneyland campus where guests will be transported across the multiverse to battle Thanos.

I expected the ambitious project slate to help “re-energize” the sluggish stock. Three months later, it was firmly back in triple-digit territory.

Could we get a similar bounce this time? That’s what some investors have been asking since the 2026 expo wrapped on August 16. The stock has since rallied close to a 52-week high, and fans are still buzzing over the latest project announcements.

Here are a few of the highlights.

— Kristen Bell (Anna), Idina Menzel (Elsa) and Josh Gad (Olaf) all appeared on stage to share updates for Frozen 3.
— Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige introduced the new X-Men cast. A reboot is planned for May 2028, the first theatrical release since the franchise was acquired from Fox.
— Pixar’s Incredibles 3 will be in cinemas the following month, with the story arc pivoting towards children Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack.
— We return to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars: Starfighter. Ryan Gosling plays the titular role in the film, which is set a few years after the conclusion of the Skywalker saga.
— Robert Downey Jr. and several other Avengers cast members assembled to promote their next tentpole, Doomsday. This is the long-awaited follow-up to a climactic blockbuster that hauled in $2.8 billion worldwide. The trailer was viewed 503 million times within 24 hours of its release.

This all looks to be box office gold for Disney/Pixar/Marvel/Lucasfilm Studios.

Meanwhile, Disney is also investing heavily in new television streaming content. The next season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians drops in a few months on November 20. The second round of Star Wars: Ahsoka follows close behind in January.

As for outdoor entertainment, festivalgoers got a sneak peak of flashy new additions coming to international parks in Paris, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. These expansions include a 30,000 square-meter Lion King savanna and log flume ride, as well as a Wreck-it-Ralph-inspired interactive attraction called Sugar Rush Rescue.

If that wasn’t enough, Disney also shared designs and concept art for several new cruise ships slated to launch over the next two years. The largest is the Disney Believe, currently under construction at a German shipyard. Once complete, the whimsical 1,119-foot vessel will have the capacity to carry 5,500 passengers and crew.

From just a single ship in 1998, the Disney fleet is expanding to 13 vessels visiting exotic ports from the Bahamas to the Greek Isles. Expect to see this added capacity facilitate numerous additional land-and-sea package itineraries… many of which include stops at Disney’s private Caribbean island Castaway Cay.

Clearly, Disney is engaged in an all-out effort to leverage and monetize its valuable brands, franchises and intellectual property (IP) assets.

These investments have already translated into record theme park traffic, with per-capita guest spending up another 4% last quarter. Ticket prices now start at $119-$139 per day to get through the turnstiles. And don’t forget about souvenirs and merchandise… enough Buzz, Woody and Grogu action figures were bagged for the consumer products division to post its strongest revenue growth since 2021.

In the larger direct-to-consumer (DTC) digital entertainment segment, there are now nearly 200 million Disney+ and Hulu subscribers worldwide. They have streamed over 2 billion hours of Toy Story movies alone. Between subscriptions and advertising, streaming income is outpacing programming costs and profits continue to scale nicely, spiking more than 100% over the past year.

Did I mention that ESPN drew 230 million viewers in June – its best month ever.

Put it all together, and this unique collection of iconic media and entertainment operations brought in $25 billion in revenue last quarter, a healthy 7% increase. Earnings grew at four times that pace, increasing 28% to $2.06 per share.

Disney is aiming for $19 billion in operating income this year, $9 billion of which will be funneled into capital expenditures – leaving $10 billion in pure free cash flow (FCF). All of that will be returned to shareholders via dividends and stock buybacks. Management contends DIS stock is undervalued and is backing that contention with $9 billion in share repurchases.

By the time the next D23 conference convenes, I think we’ll look back on today’s price with a sense of nostalgia.

Disney has reminded investors what it looks like when a business fully monetizes its competitive moats — strong free cash flow, a growing subscriber base, and management willing to return capital at scale. If that kind of compounding appeals to you, it’s worth knowing that our colleague Robert Rapier of Utility Forecaster has built two actively managed portfolios around a similar idea in a very different corner of the market. His specialty is essential-service companies — the regulated businesses that generate mandatory demand and reliable income regardless of what’s happening in Hollywood or on Wall Street. His Income Portfolio returned 10.7% last year with a 4.8% yield while his Growth Portfolio returned 16.5%, both while moving at a fraction of the market’s volatility. See how he puts safety, income, and growth in the same position →