My aunt Carol, who invests solely in companies she believes offer a good “vibe,” recently cornered me at Thanksgiving. “Disney,” she declared, brandishing a miniature Snow White figurine, “is just happy. You can’t put a price on happy.” I tried to explain the complexities of streaming revenue and linear network decline, but she was already describing a plan to buy stock with her bingo winnings. It’s a lovely sentiment, really, but Wall Street doesn’t run on sentiment. It runs on numbers, and lately, those numbers have been…shifting.
For generations, Disney was the king of the media mountain. A behemoth. The company that practically invented nostalgia. I remember, as a child, being genuinely terrified of the animatronic Abraham Lincoln at Disneyland, and yet, simultaneously, wanting to live inside that fabricated reality. It was a powerful combination. Now, though? It appears someone’s built a more compelling reality, one composed entirely of cat videos and influencer unboxing.
Long Live the Algorithm
Analysts at MoffettNathanson, people who spend their days staring at spreadsheets instead of animatronic presidents, have determined that YouTube is now the largest media company by revenue. It’s a bit unsettling, frankly. It feels…wrong. Like finding out your favorite bakery has been replaced by a server farm. Apparently, YouTube raked in around $62 billion last year, edging out Disney’s $60 billion. I suspect a significant portion of that came from ads for teeth whitening kits and people yelling about video games, but who am I to judge?
Disney, in 2025, reported total revenue of $94.4 billion, but peel back the layers of theme park magic and cruise ship buffets, and the core entertainment and sports revenue clocks in at $60.1 billion. That’s where YouTube, with its endless scroll of content, is nipping at their heels. It’s a strange thought, isn’t it? That a platform built on amateur videos and questionable life choices is now a legitimate competitor to the House of Mouse.
YouTube’s success isn’t exactly a mystery. People are, for the most part, remarkably easy to entertain. A well-timed jump scare, a cute animal, a person failing spectacularly – these are the building blocks of a viral video. And the sheer volume of content is staggering. More than 1 billion hours watched daily. That’s…a lot of hours. I haven’t watched that much television in my entire life, and frankly, the thought terrifies me.
They’ve also managed to convince over 325 million people to pay for a subscription. I tried YouTube Premium for a week. It was nice not having ads interrupt my search for instructional videos on how to unclog a drain, but ultimately, I couldn’t justify the expense. I’m more of a “plunge and pray” kind of guy.
So, is YouTube the biggest? It depends on how you define “biggest.” Disney still has the parks, the resorts, the merchandise. They’re selling experiences, not just content. But the trend is clear. Linear television is fading. Streaming is king. And YouTube, with its algorithmic grip on our attention spans, is perfectly positioned to capitalize.
For Disney shareholders, this isn’t exactly cause for panic, but it’s certainly a wake-up call. The company is trying to adapt. They acquired Hulu, launched Disney+, and are experimenting with new business models. But they’re still heavily reliant on their legacy media businesses, and those businesses are in decline. My aunt Carol, bless her heart, still believes in the power of happy. I just wish “happy” translated into higher stock prices.
In 2025, Disney’s revenue grew 3% year over year to $94.4 billion. Earnings per share did see a nice bump, up 152% to $6.85, thanks to some cost-cutting measures. But the stock price remains stubbornly flat, down almost 50% from its peak five years ago. It’s a reminder that even the most magical companies can’t defy the laws of economics. I’m still rooting for Disney, of course. But I’m also bracing myself for a future where the House of Mouse has to share its kingdom with the algorithm.
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2026-03-11 20:23