Disney Investors Just Got Really Bad News from Alphabet
Key Points
Analysts at MoffettNathanson estimate that YouTube surpassed Disney as the world's largest media company by revenue.
This is part of an ongoing secular shift away from legacy media to streaming.
Disney has been making progress, but there's more work to be done.
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The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) has long been a touchstone of pop culture in the U.S. and around the world. For more than 100 years, the company has been the go-to for audiences, supplying generations of fans with animation, movies, cable and broadcast television, theme parks, cruise ships, merchandise, and more. In fact, for years, the company has held the title of world's largest media company.
In a bit of bittersweet news, reports suggest the company has relinquished its crown.
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Image source: Disney.
Long live the king
Analysts at MoffettNathanson have crunched the numbers and concluded that Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG) YouTube has become the world's largest media company by revenue, but those claims require a bit of background and context.
In 2025, Disney reported total revenue of $94.4 billion. Excluding sales from its Experiences segment -- which includes resorts, theme parks, and cruises -- media revenue from its entertainment and sports segments clocked in at $60.1 billion.
YouTube, for its part, has long been the world's largest online video-sharing platform. Users can upload, share, and comment on a wide variety of videos, including educational content, music videos, children's programming, cat videos, and more. Viewership has been on the rise for years, with audiences watching more than 1 billion hours of content each day. Creators make money by generating popular content that is supported by advertising.
During the fourth quarter, YouTube hit a new benchmark, as revenue from advertising and subscriptions surpassed $60 billion in 2025. Moreover, the company Alphabet noted that strong adoption of Google One and YouTube Premium drove paid subscribers above 325 million. YouTube generated roughly $40.4 billion in ad revenue last year, so the remaining revenue of nearly $20 billion was subscription revenue.
So is YouTube the world's largest media company? That depends. MoffettNathanson estimated YouTube's revenue at $62 billion last year, edging out Disney's $60 billion. That said, if YouTube hasn't outpaced Disney yet, it likely soon will.
What does this mean for Disney shareholders? Unfortunately, this is part of a long-term trend in the media space. Broadcast and cable television are losing ground to streaming services, and Disney's linear networks have been in secular decline, a drag on the company's results in recent years. Management responded by acquiring Hulu and launching Disney+, but the bulk of its revenue still comes from its legacy media businesses.
In 2025, Disney's revenue grew 3% year over year to $94.4 billion. On the bright side, a focus on spending discipline and cost-cutting paid off, as earnings per share from continuing operations rose 152% to $6.85.
Investors aren't getting their hopes up, as Disney's stock price is essentially flat over the past decade and down about 48% from its peak five years ago. Don't get me wrong. As a longtime Disney shareholder, I'm rooting for the company, but the House of Mouse has its work cut out for it.
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Danny Vena, CPA has positions in Alphabet, Netflix, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Netflix, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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