Disney vs SpaceX: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Disney reported $94.4B of revenue in FY2025 and $12.4B of net income. SpaceX reported $18.7B of revenue in FY2025 and a net loss of $4.9B.
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.
SpaceX
SpaceX revenue grew from $10.387 billion in 2023 to $14.015 billion in 2024 and $18.674 billion in 2025, but heavy Starship, Starlink, and AI spending produced a $4.937 billion FY2025 net loss. In Q2 2026, its first quarter reported as a public company, revenue was $7.8 billion (up 92%), adjusted EBITDA was $3.5 billion, net loss was $541 million, and backlog was $47.5 billion. The IPO raised $85.7 billion and a $25 billion bond sale added more liquidity. In late September 2026 the stock traded near $145, for a market capitalization around $1.9 trillion.
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 |
SpaceX
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $18.7B | -$4.9B | -26.4% | +33.2% | Source |
| FY2024 | $14B | $18M | 0.1% | +34.9% | Source |
| FY2023 | $10.4B | -$4.6B | -44.6% | — | 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.
SpaceX
- Launch services
Not formally reported
Commercial, civil, and national-security launches priced by rocket, payload, orbit, and service type.
- Starlink consumer broadband
Not formally reported
Monthly subscriptions and terminals for residential and mobile broadband.
- Enterprise and government connectivity
Not formally reported
Starlink enterprise, aviation, maritime, backup connectivity, Starshield, and government services.
- AI infrastructure
Not formally reported
Compute and cloud services from SpaceX's AI segment, formed through the xAI combination; $2.6B revenue in Q2 2026.
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.
SpaceX
How it makes money
SpaceX earns money in three segments. Space sells launches on Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy, plus Dragon cargo and crew missions for NASA, the U.S. government, and commercial customers ($962 million in Q2 2026).
Growth strategy
SpaceX's growth plan has four parts: add Starlink subscribers and raise enterprise, aviation, and mobile revenue; launch higher-capacity Starlink V3 satellites on Starship; expand national-security work through Starshield and launch contracts (over $6 billion in U.S. government awards in Q2 2026); and scale AI compute capacity, which grew from 400 megawatts a year earlier to 1.4 gigawatts at the end of Q2 2026.
Competitive advantage
SpaceX's advantage is reusability combined with vertical integration. It builds its own engines, avionics, rockets, and satellites, and reflies Falcon 9 boosters many times, which lowers its marginal launch cost below rivals that still expend most hardware. Being its own largest launch customer lets it deploy Starlink at a cadence no other operator has matched, and Starlink revenue then funds Starship.
Questions about Disney vs SpaceX
Which company has higher revenue — The Walt Disney Company or SpaceX?
The Walt Disney Company reported $94.4B (FY2025), while SpaceX reported $18.7B (FY2025). By last reported revenue, The Walt Disney Company is the larger business, with SpaceX reporting a smaller revenue base.
What is the market cap of The Walt Disney Company vs SpaceX?
The Walt Disney Company's market capitalisation stands at $180.0B, while SpaceX's is $1.92T. SpaceX 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 SpaceX?
The Walt Disney Company generates $409k / employee in revenue per employee, while SpaceX generates $826k / employee. SpaceX 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 SpaceX make money?
The Walt Disney Company and SpaceX generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. The Walt Disney Company: Disney reports three segments. SpaceX: SpaceX earns money in three segments.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — The Walt Disney Company or SpaceX?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, The Walt Disney Company trades at 1.9x P/S and SpaceX at 102.8x P/S. SpaceX 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 SpaceX?
By last reported revenue, The Walt Disney Company ($94.4B (FY2025)) is the larger company compared to SpaceX ($18.7B (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 SpaceX overview