Bob Iger, who steered Disney through two separate stints as chief executive, handed the reins of the entertainment giant to Josh D'Amaro in March, closing a chapter defined by blockbuster studio acquisitions and opening a new one centered on theme parks, cruise ships and artificial intelligence, according to Yahoo Finance.
Iger led Disney from 2005 to 2020 and then returned for a second run before stepping aside earlier this year. Across both tenures, Iger's signature moves were studio deals: Pixar, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox, all media businesses that reflected his roots at ABC and his belief that content was central to Disney's identity, Yahoo Finance reported. Theme parks were never neglected under Iger, who oversaw international expansion and upgraded guest experiences, but the studio side consistently drew the spotlight during his time atop the company.
That balance appears to be shifting under D'Amaro. Disney committed two years ago, while Iger was still CEO, to spend $60 billion over a decade on its experiences business, which includes theme parks and the cruise line, Yahoo Finance noted. Roughly half of that sum is earmarked for improving theme parks, less than a third for experiences infrastructure, and the remainder for expanding Disney's fleet of cruise ships. Yet when Disney unveiled details of new theme park attractions at the D23 fan expo in California two summers ago, it was D'Amaro, not Iger, who took center stage to present them, a sign of where the company's public-facing priorities were already heading before the formal leadership change.
Since D'Amaro became CEO in March, Disney shares have risen about 4 percent, according to Yahoo Finance. By comparison, the outlet noted that Disney stock climbed roughly 8 percent during the 40 months of Iger's second stint as CEO, a run that came after Disney shares had multiplied roughly fivefold during Iger's original tenure from 2005 to 2020. Those figures offer an early, if limited, scorecard for investors trying to gauge whether D'Amaro's approach is paying off.
D'Amaro's first full quarter as CEO gave some encouraging signals. Disney reported revenue growth of 7 percent, which Yahoo Finance described as the company's strongest top-line increase in more than three years. Adjusted earnings rose 15 percent, outpacing revenue growth and beating expectations, the outlet reported.
Beyond the financial results, D'Amaro used Disney's recent earnings call to lay out, in more detail than the company has previously offered, how artificial intelligence is being woven into nearly every division of the business, according to Mickey Visit. He framed the technology as a complement to human creativity rather than a replacement for it. Our company was founded on the convergence of breakthrough technology, and continuing that tradition is a priority for me and this leadership team, D'Amaro said on the call, adding that Disney is leveraging AI to bring the most innovative tools to its storytellers. He emphasized that AI is about enhancing a creative process that will always be human centered, artist driven and creator led, and said the technology lets the company work faster and smarter.
At Disney's film studio, D'Amaro pointed to AI's growing role in both pre-production and post-production, an approach echoed in earlier comments from director Jon Favreau, who has spoken about using AI tools to improve production planning, Mickey Visit reported. D'Amaro also noted that AI is helping Disney show more films in 3D at lower cost, expand the use of visual effects across more shots, and speed up rendering and denoising work.
In streaming, Disney is looking to AI to sharpen its personalization engine and customize the app experience for individual viewers, while also exploring generative AI tools that advertising partners could use in their campaigns, according to Mickey Visit. At ESPN, D'Amaro highlighted AI's role in fan engagement, citing early success with a customized SportsCenter for You product, along with new advertising formats and productivity gains from AI-assisted live captioning and highlight clipping.
Within Disney Experiences, the division that includes theme parks, D'Amaro said the goal is to use AI to reduce complexity in the guest experience, particularly around planning and booking, which he acknowledged can be cumbersome for visitors. He also said new technologies, AI among them, are letting Disney's Imagineers design more ambitious park projects more quickly than before, Mickey Visit reported.
D'Amaro tied these AI efforts to a broader push to unify customer data across Disney's businesses. He said the company currently has disparate data sets across parks, streaming and studios that do not communicate with one another, and that connecting them would let Disney serve fans better and increase their lifetime value. No one else can connect the fan experience the way that we can, D'Amaro said, according to Mickey Visit. Connecting all the data lets us use it.
Mickey Visit also noted that Disney previously invested in OpenAI's Sora generative video platform before Sora was shut down, evidence, the outlet said, that Disney has been actively positioning itself within the broader AI landscape even as its public messaging keeps human creators at the center of the story.
D'Amaro closed his remarks on technology by saying Disney wants to become a more effective and agile company than it is today, arguing that efficiency gains from AI would free up capital to reinvest in the areas that drive the most value for the business, per Mickey Visit.
Taken together, the two developments, Iger's departure after shaping Disney around Hollywood dealmaking and D'Amaro's early emphasis on parks, cruises and AI-driven efficiency, mark a distinct pivot in strategy for a company built, as D'Amaro himself put it, on the convergence of breakthrough technology and storytelling. Whether that pivot translates into stronger returns than Iger delivered in his final stretch remains an open question that only a few more quarters of results will begin to answer.
