In a reversal, Disney's media assets are starting to generate more excitement than its parks

Here's a surprise: Disney's media business isn't weighing down the company anymore.

The primary Disney investor narrative since 2022 has been how streaming losses, combined with a declining traditional pay TV business and a string of box office failures, have been anchoring surging sales and profits at the company's theme parks and resorts. The result has been a company whose shares have fallen about 24% in the past two years, while the S&P 500 has gained 28% in the same period.

The company's second-quarter results suggest a shift is happening. Disney's combined streaming businesses — Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ — turned a quarterly profit for the first time ever, making $47 million. That's a significant improvement from losing $512 million in the same quarter a year ago.

Disney's theatrical unit is also on a hot streak. "Inside Out 2" became the highest-grossing animated film of all time in recent weeks. "Deadpool & Wolverine" has taken in $824 million after two weeks of global release. Disney has become the first studio in 2024 to top $3 billion in worldwide ticket sales.

Meanwhile, Disney saw a "moderation of consumer demand towards the end of [fiscal] Q3 that exceeded our previous expectations" for its theme parks division. That caused shares to slump about 3% in early trading.

Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said during his company's earnings conference call that he expects the momentum for the media business will only gain steam. That's music to the ears of Wall Street, which wants both growth and profitability.

"We feel very bullish about the future of this business," Iger said in reference to streaming. "You can expect that it's going to grow nicely in fiscal 2025."

Iger referenced a planned crackdown on password