Disney vs IBM: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Disney reported $94.4B of revenue in FY2025 and $12.4B of net income. IBM reported $67.5B of revenue in FY2025 and $10.6B of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Disney
Disney's fiscal 2025 (ended September 27, 2025) revenue rose 3% to $94.4 billion, net income was $12.4 billion and adjusted EPS increased 19% to $5.93. Total segment operating income rose 12% to $17.6 billion, led by a record $10.0 billion from Experiences. Streaming became a reliable profit contributor after years of losses. In fiscal Q3 2026 (ended June 27, 2026), revenue grew 7% to $25.25 billion, Experiences revenue rose 10% to $9.97 billion, entertainment streaming revenue rose 11% to $5.53 billion, and adjusted EPS climbed to $2.06 from $1.61. Management guided to $9 billion of fiscal 2026 capital spending, about $24 billion of content investment and at least $9 billion of share repurchases.
IBM
IBM's reported revenue fell from about $80 billion in 2016-2018 to $57.4 billion in 2021, mostly because the Kyndryl spin-off and earlier divestitures removed low-margin services. Since then the slimmer company has grown each year: $60.5 billion in 2022, $61.9 billion in 2023, $62.8 billion in 2024, and $67.5 billion in 2025 (up 7.6%). FY2025 net income from continuing operations was $10.6 billion and free cash flow was $14.7 billion. In Q2 2026, revenue rose 1% to $17.16 billion: software grew 5% to $7.76 billion, consulting was flat at $5.33 billion, and infrastructure fell 7% to $3.84 billion as IBM Z sales lapped the z17 launch. Some large software deals slipped out of the quarter, so IBM cut its 2026 constant-currency revenue growth forecast to 4-5% while keeping its target of about $1 billion more free cash flow than in 2025.
Revenue and profit by year
Disney
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $94.4B | $12.4B | 13.1% | +3.4% | Source |
| FY2024 | $91.4B | — | 0.0% | +2.8% | Source |
| FY2023 | $88.9B | — | 0.0% | +7.5% | Source |
| FY2022 | $82.7B | — | 0.0% | +22.7% | Source |
| FY2021 | $67.4B | — | 0.0% | +3.1% | Source |
| FY2020 | $65.4B | — | 0.0% | -6.1% | Source |
| FY2019 | $69.6B | — | 0.0% | +17.1% | Source |
| FY2018 | $59.4B | — | 0.0% | +7.8% | Source |
| FY2017 | $55.1B | — | 0.0% | — | Source |
IBM
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $67.5B | $10.6B | 15.7% | +7.6% | Source |
| FY2024 | $62.8B | $6B | 9.6% | +1.4% | Source |
| FY2023 | $61.9B | $7.5B | 12.1% | +2.2% | Source |
| FY2022 | $60.5B | $1.6B | 2.7% | +5.5% | Source |
| FY2021 | $57.4B | $5.7B | 10.0% | +3.9% | Source |
| FY2020 | $55.2B | $5.6B | 10.1% | -4.4% | Source |
| FY2019 | $57.7B | $9.4B | 16.3% | -27.5% | Source |
| FY2018 | $79.6B | $8.7B | 11.0% | +0.6% | Source |
| FY2017 | $79.1B | $5.8B | 7.3% | -1.0% | Source |
| FY2016 | $79.9B | $11.9B | 14.9% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Disney
- Entertainment~44%
Disney+, Hulu, theatrical films, content licensing, ABC and cable networks: $42.5B FY2025 revenue.
- Experiences~38%
Theme parks, resorts, Disney Cruise Line and consumer products: $36.2B FY2025 revenue.
- Sports~18%
ESPN affiliate fees, advertising and direct-to-consumer subscriptions: $17.7B FY2025 revenue.
IBM
- Software~44%
Red Hat, automation, data and AI, transaction processing, security, and related software services.
- Consulting~31%
Technology consulting, business transformation, hybrid cloud implementation, and AI-enabled workflows.
- Infrastructure~23%
IBM Z, distributed infrastructure, storage, infrastructure software, maintenance, and related services.
- Financing~1%
Client financing and used equipment sales supporting enterprise technology deployments.
Business model and strategy
Disney
How it makes money
Disney reports three segments. Entertainment ($42.5B FY2025 revenue, $4.7B segment operating income) sells Disney+ and Hulu subscriptions and advertising, releases films theatrically, licenses content and runs ABC and cable networks. Sports ($17.7B revenue, $2.9B operating income) is mainly ESPN, which earns affiliate fees from pay-TV distributors, advertising and direct-to-consumer subscriptions.
Growth strategy
Under CEO Josh D'Amaro, Disney's plan centers on a 'One Disney' push to align its divisions around franchises, plus three investment priorities. First, streaming margins: Disney targeted a 10% operating margin for Entertainment DTC in fiscal 2026 through price increases, advertising tiers, password-sharing limits and the integrated Disney+ and Hulu app.
Competitive advantage
Disney owns a franchise library that few rivals can match, including Mickey Mouse, Disney Animation, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar and The Simpsons, and it can monetize the same story through box office, Disney+, parks, cruises and licensing. Its parks are hard to copy because they need decades of land, capital and Imagineering know-how; Walt Disney World alone spans about 25,000 acres.
IBM
How it makes money
IBM makes money from four segments. Software ($29.96 billion in FY2025, about 44% of revenue) includes Red Hat Enterprise Linux and OpenShift, HashiCorp Terraform and Vault, Confluent data streaming (from March 2026), watsonx AI, automation, security, and mainframe transaction-processing software, sold mostly as subscriptions and recurring licenses.
Growth strategy
IBM does not try to beat AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud at selling public cloud capacity. It sells the software layer that runs across all of them and across on-premises data centers.
Competitive advantage
IBM's main advantage is how deeply it is built into the core systems of large regulated organizations. Banks, card networks, insurers, and governments run high-volume transaction processing on IBM Z, and moving those workloads is slow, risky, and expensive.
Questions about Disney vs IBM
Which company has higher revenue — The Walt Disney Company or International Business Machines Corporation?
The Walt Disney Company reported $94.4B (FY2025), while International Business Machines Corporation reported $67.5B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, The Walt Disney Company is the larger business, with International Business Machines Corporation reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of The Walt Disney Company vs International Business Machines Corporation?
The Walt Disney Company's market capitalisation stands at $180.0B, while International Business Machines Corporation's is $216.3B. International Business Machines Corporation carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to The Walt Disney Company.
Which is more financially efficient — The Walt Disney Company or International Business Machines Corporation?
The Walt Disney Company generates $409k / employee in revenue per employee, while International Business Machines Corporation generates $256k / employee. The Walt Disney Company shows higher revenue efficiency per headcount, though this reflects business model differences — capital-light software companies routinely outperform labour-intensive manufacturers on this metric.
How do The Walt Disney Company and International Business Machines Corporation make money?
The Walt Disney Company and International Business Machines Corporation generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. The Walt Disney Company: Disney reports three segments. International Business Machines Corporation: IBM makes money from four segments.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — The Walt Disney Company or International Business Machines Corporation?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, The Walt Disney Company trades at 1.9x P/S and International Business Machines Corporation at 3.2x P/S. International Business Machines Corporation commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to The Walt Disney Company. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is The Walt Disney Company bigger than International Business Machines Corporation?
By last reported revenue, The Walt Disney Company ($94.4B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to International Business Machines Corporation ($67.5B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Disney vs IBM overview