The Walt Disney Company is organised into three reporting segments, Entertainment, Sports and Experiences, each reviewed by the chief executive, who is the company’s chief operating decision maker. Josh D’Amaro, formerly Chairman of Disney Experiences, became CEO on 18 March 2026, succeeding Robert A. Iger. In fiscal 2025 (the year to 27 September 2025) Disney had revenues of $94.4 billion and about 231,000 employees.
It covers non-sports film and TV production, Disney+ and Hulu, ABC and the Disney, FX, Freeform and National Geographic channels. Revenue was $42.5 billion in fiscal 2025 and segment operating income $4.7 billion.
02
Sports runs ESPN
ESPN's channels and streaming service sit in their own segment. ESPN was generally 80% owned by Disney at the end of fiscal 2025; Sports earned $17.7 billion of revenue and $2.9 billion of segment operating income.
03
Experiences earns most of the profit
Parks, resorts, cruise ships and consumer products produced $36.2 billion of revenue and $10.0 billion of segment operating income, 57% of the $17.6 billion total in fiscal 2025 (our calculation).
04
The CEO allocates across all three
Disney's filings name the chief executive as the chief operating decision maker who reviews each segment's revenue and operating income to allocate resources.
What changed in 2025-26
A new chief executive
On 2 February 2026 the board appointed Josh D’Amaro, then Chairman of Disney Experiences, as CEO effective 18 March 2026, with Robert A. Iger becoming Senior Advisor, reporting to the board, and staying a director through 31 December 2026 (Disney Form 8-K, 2026).
ESPN takes in NFL media
On 31 January 2026 ESPN acquired NFL Network and other NFL media assets, including NFL RedZone’s pay-TV distribution, in exchange for a 10% noncontrolling interest in ESPN. In October 2025 Disney combined Hulu Live TV with Fubo, taking a 70% interest in Fubo.
Consumer Products moves
Disney has said that much of its Consumer Products business, now reported in Experiences, will come under the leadership of the Entertainment segment, with reporting under the new structure from fiscal 2027 (Disney Form 10-Q, 2026).
Licensing characters to generative AI
In December 2025 Disney agreed a three-year licence letting OpenAI’s Sora generate short videos with more than 200 animated, masked and creature characters, excluding talent likenesses and voices. Disney also agreed a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI and said it would become a major customer of its APIs.
Disney segments, fiscal 2025 (Form 10-K)
Entertainment
Revenue$42.5B
Segment operating income$4.7B
Sports
Revenue$17.7B
Segment operating income$2.9B
Experiences
Revenue$36.2B
Segment operating income$10.0B
Total (after eliminations)
Revenue$94.4B
Segment operating income$17.6B
What it means for you
Investors: read Experiences first; it produced 57% of segment operating income in fiscal 2025, so park demand moves the whole company.
Expect restated segment figures from fiscal 2027, when Consumer Products shifts towards Entertainment; adjust comparisons before then.
Operators: Disney's model is one IP library monetised through many doors; map which unit owns each customer touchpoint in your own business.
Builders in AI media: the Sora licence shows large IP owners will license characters under controls rather than only litigate.
Watch ESPN's ownership: with the NFL holding 10%, sports decisions now involve an outside partner.
The Business Engineer lens
Disney’s structure is built around owning characters and stories and selling them through parks, screens and products. The Business Engineer view: in AI media the scarce asset is licensed, trusted IP, and Disney’s Sora deal is an early attempt to price it rather than defend it.
Disney reports three segments, Entertainment, Sports and Experiences, under a chief executive who acts as the chief operating decision maker allocating resources across them.
Who is the CEO of Disney?
Josh D'Amaro has been CEO since 18 March 2026; he succeeded Robert A. Iger, who became Senior Advisor to the board.
Which Disney segment makes the most money?
Experiences: $10.0 billion of the $17.6 billion segment operating income in fiscal 2025, on $36.2 billion of revenue.
How many people work at Disney?
About 231,000 at the end of fiscal 2025, roughly 172,000 in the US and 59,000 elsewhere.
The complete explainer, cleaned up and reformatted for mobile.
In short
Disney is led by CEO Josh DโAmaro, who succeeded Robert A. Iger on March 18, 2026, and reports three segments: Entertainment ($42.5B of revenue in fiscal 2025), Experiences ($36.2B) and Sports ($17.7B). Experiences earned $10.0B of the $17.6B segment operating income. Disney employed about 231,000 people.
How we source: figures on this page come from the company’s own filings (SEC 10-K, 10-Q and earnings releases, or its annual report), with the period stated next to each number. Last refreshed October 2026. Our methodology.
Disney’s structure at a glance
Disneyโs structure: one IP library, three segments. Source: Disney Form 10-K, fiscal 2025 (year to 27 Sep 2025), SEC EDGAR: segment descriptions and results; Disney Form 8-K (2 Feb 2026): CEO succession, effective 18 Mar 2026; Q3 FY2026 Form 10-Q (quarter to 27 Jun 2026): segment reporting, chief operating decision maker, Consumer Products realignment. Shares calculated. Bars to scale. Analysis by The Business Engineer.
Three businesses under one CEO. Entertainment (networks, Disney+, Hulu and the studios), Experiences (parks, cruises, consumer products) and Sports (ESPN) each report their own results.
Profit is concentrated. Experiences earned 57% of segment operating income in fiscal 2025; Entertainment’s rose to $4.7B as streaming turned profitable (10-K).
Earlier analysis and background (pre-2026 figures)
The text below is the earlier version of this page. Its figures refer to earlier periods and some were corrected above; the current, sourced figures are in the sections above.
Type ยท Description ยท Implementation
Matrix Structure
Description: Combines functional and divisional structures, allowing for both expertise-based departments and cross-functional teams.
Divisional Structure
Description: Organizes different business units or divisions based on products, services, or geographical regions.
Implementation: Disney’s Parks, Experiences, and Products segment operates with a divisional structure. This segment oversees Disney’s theme parks, resorts, consumer products, and more. Each theme park, such as Disneyland or Walt Disney World, functions as a division under this structure.
Functional Structure
Description: Groups employees based on their expertise and functional areas, promoting specialization.
Introduction
Disney, formally known as The Walt Disney Company, is an American entertainment and media conglomerate that was founded by brothers Walt and Roy Disney in 1923.
Disney has a multidivisional (M-form) organizational structure which is common in diversified companies with many interests.
In the following sections, letโs delve into this structure in more detail in addition to some secondary characteristics of Disneyโs structure.
Business-type segments or divisions
Critical to Disneyโs organizational structure are segments or divisions arranged that focus on specific business types or industries. Each segment is managed by centralized corporate management and leverages the companyโs brand equity as a competitive advantage.
This structure allows Disney to focus on specific entertainment sectors while maintaining corporate functions that support the entire organization.
Comparison with Other Entertainment Giants
Hereโs how Disney’s organizational structure compares to other major companies in the entertainment industry like WarnerMedia, Universal Studios, and Netflix:
Comparison with WarnerMedia
Similarities: Both Disney and WarnerMedia use a matrix structure that includes both functional and divisional components, allowing for specialized management of diverse entertainment portfolios.
Differences: WarnerMedia tends to have a more integrated approach within its divisions, especially after merging with AT&T, focusing more on synergies across telecommunications and media. Disney maintains a clearer separation between its divisions, particularly with its direct-to-consumer strategies.
Implications: Disneyโs approach allows for strong brand identity within each division, enhancing consumer loyalty and brand strength. WarnerMediaโs integrated strategy may offer better resource utilization and cross-promotion across platforms.
Comparison with Universal Studios
Similarities: Like Disney, Universal Studios operates with divisional structures that separate theme parks and entertainment production.
Differences: Universal Studios, a part of Comcast NBCUniversal, integrates more closely with its parent companyโs cable and digital services, whereas Disneyโs divisions operate more autonomously under the broader corporate umbrella.
Implications: Disneyโs structure might promote more innovation and tailored experiences in its divisions, potentially leading to higher creativity and divisional success. Universalโs tighter integration can streamline operations and marketing strategies but may limit individual divisional autonomy.
Comparison with Netflix
Similarities: Both companies focus heavily on direct-to-consumer platforms, especially with Disney+ and Netflixโs streaming service.
Differences: Netflix operates under a more functional structure with a global focus on streaming, without the divisional separations found in Disney. Disneyโs structure supports a wider range of product lines and geographical markets.
Implications: Disneyโs diversified structure allows for significant cross-promotion and monetization across different platforms and products, enhancing revenue streams. Netflix benefits from its singular focus, which may lead to greater efficiency and agility in the streaming market.
Strategic Insights
Disneyโs matrix organizational structure allows it to leverage its massive and diverse portfolio effectively, promoting operational efficiency and innovation across its various business segments. Compared to its peers, Disney’s ability to maintain distinct brand identities while benefiting from cross-divisional synergies provides a competitive advantage in both content creation and global market penetration. The balance of divisional independence with functional support helps Disney adapt to market changes and consumer preferences more fluidly than companies with more rigid structures. This flexibility is critical in the rapidly evolving entertainment industry.
Key Highlights
Multidivisional Structure (M-Form): Disney employs a multidivisional organizational structure, which is common among diversified companies with varied interests. This structure helps the company manage its diverse operations effectively.
Business-Type Segments:
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products: Manages theme parks, resorts, merchandise, and publishing.
Centralized Corporate Management: The coordination between different segments is managed by centralized corporate leadership, facilitating effective collaboration and leveraging the strengths of each division. Groups like Corporate Affairs, Enterprise Technology, Compliance, and Global Communications play a role in this coordination.
Leveraging Brand Equity: Disney’s strong brand equity is a competitive advantage that’s leveraged across all segments, enhancing the appeal of its products, services, and experiences.
Holistic Approach: Disney’s structure demonstrates a holistic approach to managing its diverse operations, ensuring that its various business segments work together to maximize their collective impact.
It would be hard to argue for a more recognizable entertainment brand than Disney. Disney is, of course, synonymous with Walt Disney, but it was Walt and his brother Roy who started the company in 1923 in Burbank, California. Disney content is now broadcast on over 100 channels in 34 different languages across the globe.
In a functional organizational structure, groups and teams are organized based on function. Therefore, this organization follows a top-down structure, where most decision flows from top management to bottom. Thus, the bottom of the organization mostly follows the strategy detailed by the top of the organization.
In a flat organizational structure, there is little to no middle management between employees and executives. Therefore it reduces the space between employees and executives to enable an effective communication flow within the organization, thus being faster and leaner.
Project portfolio management (PPM) is a systematic approach to selecting and managing a collection of projects aligned with organizational objectives. That is a business process of managing multiple projects which can be identified, prioritized, and managed within the organization. PPM helps organizations optimize their investments by allocating resources efficiently across all initiatives.
Harvard Business School professor Dr. John Kotter has been a thought-leader on organizational change, and he developed Kotter’s 8-step change model, which helps business managers deal with organizational change. Kotter created the 8-step model to drive organizational transformation.
The Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model was created by David Nadler and Michael Tushman at Columbia University. The Nadler-Tushman Congruence Model is a diagnostic tool that identifies problem areas within a company. In the context of business, congruence occurs when the goals of different people or interest groups coincide.
McKinseyโs Seven Degrees of Freedom for Growth is a strategy tool. Developed by partners at McKinsey and Company, the tool helps businesses understand which opportunities will contribute to expansion, and therefore it helps to prioritize those initiatives.
Mintzberg’s 5Ps of Strategy is a strategy development model that examines five different perspectives (plan, ploy, pattern, position, perspective) to develop a successful business strategy. A sixth perspective has been developed over the years, called Practice, which was created to help businesses execute their strategies.
The COSO framework is a means of designing, implementing, and evaluating control within an organization. The COSO framework’s five components are control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring activities. As a fraud risk management tool, businesses can design, implement, and evaluate internal control procedures.
The TOWS Matrix is an acronym for Threats, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Strengths. The matrix is a variation on the SWOT Analysis, and it seeks to address criticisms of the SWOT Analysis regarding its inability to show relationships between the various categories.
Lewin’s change management model helps businesses manage the uncertainty and resistance associated with change. Kurt Lewin, one of the first academics to focus his research on group dynamics, developed a three-stage model. He proposed that the behavior of individuals happened as a function of group behavior.
OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research laboratory that transitioned into a for-profit organization in 2019. The corporate structure is organized around two entities: OpenAI, Inc., which is a single-member Delaware LLC controlled by OpenAI non-profit, And OpenAI LP, which is a capped, for-profit organization. The OpenAI LP is governed by the board of OpenAI, Inc (the foundation), which acts as a General Partner. At the same time, Limited Partners comprise employees of the LP, some of the board members, and other investors like Reid Hoffmanโs charitable foundation, Khosla Ventures, and Microsoft, the leading investor in the LP.
Airbnb follows a holacracy model, or a sort of flat organizational structure, where teams are organized for projects, to move quickly and iterate fast, thus keeping a lean and flexible approach. Airbnb also moved to a hybrid model where employees can work from anywhere and meet on a quarterly basis to plan ahead, and connect to each other.
The Amazon organizational structure is predominantly hierarchical with elements of function-based structure and geographic divisions. While Amazon started as a lean, flat organization in its early years, it transitioned into a hierarchical organization with its jobs and functions clearly defined as it scaled.
The Coca-Cola Company has a somewhat complex matrix organizational structure with geographic divisions, product divisions, business-type units, and functional groups.
Costco has a matrix organizational structure, which can simply be defined as any structure that combines two or more different types. In this case, a predominant functional structure exists with a more secondary divisional structure.
Costcoโs geographic divisions reflect its strong presence in the United States combined with its expanding global presence. There are six divisions in the country alone to reflect its standing as the source of most company revenue.
Compared to competitor Walmart, for example, Costco takes more a decentralized approach to management, decision-making, and autonomy. This allows the companyโs stores and divisions to more flexibly respond to local market conditions.
Dell has a functional organizational structure with some degree of decentralization. This means functional departments share information, contribute ideas to the success of the organization and have some degree of decision-making power.
eBay was until recently a multi-divisional (M-form) organization with semi-autonomous units grouped according to the services they provided. Today, eBay has a single division called Marketplace, which includes eBay and its international iterations.
Facebook is characterized by a multi-faceted matrix organizational structure. The company utilizes a flat organizational structure in combination with corporate function-based teams and product-based or geographic divisions. The flat organization structure is organized around the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg, and the key executives around him. On the other hand, the function-based teams are based on the main corporate functions (like HR, product management, investor relations, and so on).
Goldman Sachs has a hierarchical structure with a clear chain of command and defined career advancement process. The structure is also underpinned by business-type divisions and function-based groups.
Google (Alphabet) has a cross-functional (team-based) organizational structure known as a matrix structure with some degree of flatness. Over the years, as the company scaled and it became a tech giant, its organizational structure is morphing more into a centralized organization.
IBM has an organizational structure characterized by product-based divisions, enabling its strategy to develop innovative and competitive products in multiple markets. IBM is also characterized by function-based segments that support product development and innovation for each product-based division, which include Global Markets, Integrated Supply Chain, Research, Development, and Intellectual Property.
McDonaldโs has a divisional organizational structure where each division โ based on geographical location โ is assigned operational responsibilities and strategic objectives. The main geographical divisions are the US, internationally operated markets, and international developmental licensed markets. And on the other hand, the hierarchical leadership structure is organized around regional and functional divisions.
McKinsey & Company has a decentralized organizational structure with mostly self-managing offices, committees, and employees. There are also functional groups and geographic divisions with proprietary names.
Microsoft has a product-type divisional organizational structure based on functions and engineering groups. As the company scaled over time it also became more hierarchical, however still keeping its hybrid approach between functions, engineering groups, and management.
Nestlรฉ has a geographical divisional structure with operations segmented into five key regions. For many years, Swiss multinational food and drink company Nestlรฉ had a complex and decentralized matrix organizational structure where its numerous brands and subsidiaries were free to operate autonomously.
Nike has a matrix organizational structure incorporating geographic divisions. Nike’s matrix structure is also present at the regional and sub-regional levels. Managerial responsibility is segmented according to business unit (apparel, footwear, and equipment) and function (human resources, finance, marketing, sales, and operations).
Patagonia has a particular organizational structure, where its founder, Chouinard, disposed of the company’s ownership in the hands of two non-profits. The Patagonia Purpose Trust, holding 100% of the voting stocks, is in charge of defining the company’s strategic direction. And the Holdfast Collective, a non-profit, holds 100% of non-voting stocks, aiming to re-invest the brand’s dividends into environmental causes.
Samsung has a product-type divisional organizational structure where products determine how resources and business operations are categorized. The main resources around which Samsung’s corporate structure is organized are consumer electronics, IT, and device solutions. In addition, Samsung leadership functions are organized around a few career levels grades, based on experience (assistant, professional, senior professional, and principal professional).
Sony has a matrix organizational structure primarily based on function-based groups and product/business divisions. The structure also incorporates geographical divisions. In 2021, Sony announced the overhauling of its organizational structure, changing its name from Sony Corporation to Sony Group Corporation to better identify itself as the headquarters of the Sony group of companies skewing the company toward product divisions.
Starbucks follows a matrix organizational structure with a combination of vertical and horizontal structures. It is characterized by multiple, overlapping chains of command and divisions.
Tesla is characterized by a functional organizational structure with aspects of a hierarchical structure. Tesla does employ functional centers that cover all business activities, including finance, sales, marketing, technology, engineering, design, and the offices of the CEO and chairperson. Tesla’s headquarters in Austin, Texas, decide the strategic direction of the company, with international operations given little autonomy.
Toyota has a divisional organizational structure where business operations are centered around the market, product, and geographic groups. Therefore, Toyota organizes its corporate structure around global hierarchies (most strategic decisions come from Japan’s headquarter), product-based divisions (where the organization is broken down, based on each product line), and geographical divisions (according to the geographical areas under management).
Walmart has a hybrid hierarchical-functional organizational structure, otherwise referred to as a matrix structure that combines multiple approaches. On the one hand, Walmart follows a hierarchical structure, where the CEO (John Furner since 1 February 2026) is the only employee without a direct superior, and directives are sent from top-level management. On the other hand, the function-based structure of Walmart is used to categorize employees according to their particular skills and experience.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
