Disney’s CEO Choice Reflects Entertainment’s Decline

It’s CEO replacement time. Both Walt Disney Co. and PayPal named new chief executives on Tuesday, with each appointment symbolizing major business shifts. Disney named parks chief Josh D’Amaro to succeed longtime CEO Bob Iger, who turns 75 next week (D’Amaro is Iger’s second successor, after the first one flopped so badly Iger had to return to save the day.) Disney’s announcement was long expected. PayPal, in contrast, made a more abrupt change, replacing relatively recent CEO appointee Alex Chriss with Enrique Lores, who until Monday was CEO of HP. For more on that, see below.

Disney’s appointment of D’Amaro reflects the fact that it is now primarily a parks business rather than an entertainment company. You might not realize that from the Hollywood-obsessed news coverage of Disney, but its financial performance proves it. In fiscal 2025, the experiences segment, comprising parks, cruise ships and consumer products, generated about $10 billion in operating income, while entertainment and sports together generated $7.6 billion. In Disney’s first fiscal quarter, which it reported this week, experiences brought in three times as much operating income as entertainment and sports. This is an enormous shift for Disney. Back in 2010, entertainment generated close to 75% of its operating income. Even in 2019, entertainment businesses including the film studio and sports channels made more money than parks and cruise ships, although not by as wide a margin as previously.