Bob Iger Built Disney for Hollywood. Josh D'Amaro Is Building It for Main Street. Does D'Amaro's Vision Makes Disney a Buy Down 49% From Its All-Time High?

2 weeks ago 8

Rick Munarriz, The Motley Fool

Tue, August 11, 2026 astatine 9:27 AM CDT 5 min read

Many user tech companies are spending billions, tens of billions, and -- successful a fistful of cases -- hundreds of billions connected artificial quality (AI) this year. Disney (NYSE: DIS) isn't acrophobic of cutting large checks to bankroll its future, but AI isn't the apical priority.

It's been 2 years since Disney stunned the marketplace by committing to $60 cardinal successful superior expenditures for its experiences business, led by its taxable parks and cruise line. Sure, this volition beryllium dispersed retired implicit 10 years. It's inactive a important wager connected a precise important conception for the House of Mouse. It's a batch of money, and with Josh D'Amaro stepping up arsenic CEO earlier this year, this should beryllium a precise breathtaking week connected that front.

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Figment posing with friends astatine  Disney's Epcot Center.

Image source: Disney.

A privation is simply a imagination your bosom makes

Former CEO Bob Iger -- who led Disney from 2005 to 2020 earlier returning to the helm 2 years aboriginal -- handed the gig to D'Amaro successful March. Iger ne'er neglected the taxable parks. International enlargement and updated impermanent experiences served Disney's empire of gated attractions well.

However, Iger came from ABC. He served each of Disney good erstwhile helium made it to the country office, but determination is nary denying that the workplace conception was his priority. The 3 biggest deals helium orchestrated successful his tenure -- Pixar, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox -- were each media businesses. For a concern built connected princesses, contented ever seemed to beryllium king successful the eyes of Iger.

Iger was CEO erstwhile Disney announced the $60 cardinal buying spree. Half of it would spell to improving its taxable parks. Less than a 3rd of it would spell to improving the infrastructure of its experiences. The remainder would spell to gathering retired its fleet of cruise ships. However, erstwhile it came clip to denote details of the caller experiences coming to Disney's taxable parks -- 2 summers agone astatine the D23 instrumentality expo successful California -- it was D'Amaro taking halfway stage.

Disney banal is up conscionable 4% since D'Amaro became CEO little than 5 months ago. It whitethorn not look similar much, but Disney shares roseate a specified 8% successful the 40 months that Iger was the Big Cheese successful his 2nd tally astatine the top. In Iger's defense, Disney was a five-bagger successful his archetypal go-round arsenic CEO.

Carousel of advancement

D'Amaro had a beardown archetypal afloat 4th arsenic CEO, arsenic Disney announced past week. Revenue roseate conscionable 7%, but that was its strongest top-line leap successful much than 3 years. Adjusted net much than doubled that clip, rising a better-than-expected 15%.

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