Five months into the job, Josh D’Amaro just sat down for his first CNBC interview as Disney CEO…
…and he had a lot to say about where the company (and Disney World specifically) is headed next!
The interview happened on the sidelines of D23, with CNBC’s Julia Boorstin pressing D’Amaro on everything from parks growth to streaming strategy to his overall plan for running Disney as one unified business. And the headline takeaway is pretty simple: D’Amaro says he’s feeling good, but he’s not satisfied.
On the stock side, he didn’t dodge the tension at all. D’Amaro directly acknowledged that he’s “not happy with where the stock stands right now,” adding that investors share that frustration. But he followed that up by pointing to Disney’s underlying strength…specifically calling out the company’s IP, scale, and fanbase as a genuinely powerful combination heading into this next stretch.
As for the parks specifically, D’Amaro didn’t hold back on how well they’ve been performing. He described the parks division as a “big surprise” to people last quarter, with strong revenue and earnings growth and expanding margins. Considering how central Walt Disney World and the rest of the parks portfolio are to Disney’s overall business right now, that’s a pretty significant vote of confidence heading into the next chapter.
He also laid out a broader vision for what that next chapter actually looks like. According to D’Amaro, the plan centers on telling great stories first, while moving with more speed and urgency than the company has in the past and embracing technology more aggressively than before. On the streaming side specifically, he reiterated that he wants streaming to become the digital centerpiece of the company…essentially unifying data and guest relationships across parks and streaming so Disney can speak to fans with one consistent voice, boosting lifetime value for both fans and shareholders in the process.
D’Amaro also addressed a couple of hot-button questions directly: he confirmed he’s not interested in spinning off ESPN into its own separate company, and he touched on the current political tensions with the Trump administration, though details on that particular exchange stayed fairly brief.
Stepping into the CEO role back in March after succeeding Bob Iger, D’Amaro’s résumé gives this interview some extra weight — he previously served as Chairman of Disney Experiences, the division overseeing theme parks, cruise lines, and consumer products, and the one most directly responsible for driving the company’s profitability. So when he talks about parks strategy specifically, it’s coming from someone who was running that exact business until very recently.
Nearly six months into the role, D’Amaro’s message boils down to this: strong quarter, clear direction, and a parks division that keeps outperforming expectations — even while the stock price still has some catching up to do.
What do you think of D’Amaro’s vision for Disney’s next chapter? Let me know your thoughts on where the parks are headed!
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