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23h ago

Jefferies Upgrades Disney to Buy on Parks Resilience and Streaming Margin Gains

Jefferies highlighted a resilient parks business alongside expanding streaming margins as evidence that Disney’s long-dormant profitability is poised to recover.

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Overview

  • Jefferies analyst James Heaney raised Disney’s rating to Buy from Hold and set a $144 price target implying roughly 18% upside from current levels.
  • Heaney cited four drivers for his upgrade: limited risk of a second-half parks slowdown, more than $1 billion in projected cruise revenue uplift for fiscal 2026, streaming margin expansion from 0% in FY24 to over 13% by FY28, and a strong content slate.
  • Disney shares rose about 2% in Monday premarket trading and are up 10% year-to-date, outperforming the 4% gain in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
  • Heaney anticipates a reversal of the flat operating income trend that persisted from FY2016 through FY2024 as multiple segments strengthen.
  • Upcoming launches—including ESPN’s direct-to-consumer service, Zootopia 2 and Avatar 3—underpin the refreshed content pipeline driving analyst optimism.