Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS)

The analysis of the financial performance over the observed periods reveals significant variability and a marked improvement in key profitability metrics.

Net Operating Profit After Taxes (NOPAT)

The NOPAT figures demonstrate a substantial fluctuation from a negative value of -2,176 million USD in the earliest period to a positive value of 12,192 million USD in the latest period. Initially, the company experienced a loss, which reversed dramatically by the following year with 2,215 million USD in profit. This upward trajectory continued with some variability but overall showed strong growth, indicating enhanced operational efficiency and profitability over time.

Invested Capital

The level of invested capital remained relatively stable throughout the periods analyzed, starting at 174,594 million USD and decreasing slightly to 165,308 million USD by the latest year. The slight reduction in invested capital suggests careful management of assets and capital deployment, potentially reflecting strategic optimization or divestitures.

Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)

The ROIC followed the profit trend and showed a significant turnaround from a negative return of -1.25% to a robust positive return of 7.38% by the last period. The return improved consistently year over year, with occasional fluctuations, indicating increasingly effective utilization of the company's capital in generating returns. This upward trend in ROIC highlights improved profitability relative to the capital invested.

Overall, the data indicates a pronounced recovery and improvement in operational profitability, with the company transforming from a loss-making position to generating strong returns on invested capital. The relatively stable invested capital base coupled with rising NOPAT and ROIC suggests enhanced operational performance and capital efficiency over the analysed timeframe.

Operating Profit Margin (OPM)

The operating profit margin displayed a significant improvement over the analyzed periods. Beginning with a negative margin of -1.34% in 2020, it recovered to a positive 5.56% in 2021. This upward trend continued, reaching 10.16% in 2022. Although there was a slight decline to 7.31% in 2023, the margin rebounded to exceed previous highs, attaining 10.13% in 2024 and further increasing to 14.54% in 2025. This pattern indicates enhanced operational efficiency and profitability over time.

Turnover of Capital (TO)

The turnover of capital ratio exhibited a steady and consistent rise throughout the periods examined. Starting at 0.37 in 2020, it increased slightly to 0.39 in 2021, followed by more notable increments to 0.49 in 2022 and 0.51 in 2023. The upward trajectory persisted with values of 0.55 and 0.57 in 2024 and 2025 respectively. This trend suggests a progressively more efficient use of capital resources to generate sales.

1 – Effective Cash Tax Rate (CTR)

The metric representing one minus the effective cash tax rate experienced considerable fluctuations. It started at 100% in 2020, indicating negligible cash tax expense. This figure decreased sharply to 58.75% in 2021, rose again to 77.99% in 2022, and then dropped to the lowest point of 52.36% in 2023. Subsequently, it increased to 67.73% in 2024 and reached a high of 88.75% in 2025. These variations imply inconsistent cash tax payments relative to taxable income across the years.

Return on Invested Capital (ROIC)

The return on invested capital began with a negative value of -1.25% in 2020, reflecting poor investment returns. It improved to a modest positive 1.28% in 2021, followed by a more pronounced increase to 3.85% in 2022. A decline to 1.96% occurred in 2023, after which the ROIC recovered to 3.77% in 2024 and reached its highest point of 7.38% in 2025. Overall, the return on invested capital shows a positive trend with some volatility, signaling enhanced effectiveness in generating returns from invested capital over time.

Net Operating Profit Before Taxes (NOPBT)

The net operating profit before taxes demonstrated a significant positive shift over the observed period. Initially in the year ending October 3, 2020, the figure was negative at -871 million US dollars, indicating an operating loss before taxes. Subsequently, there was a steady and marked increase in profitability, reaching 3,771 million US dollars in 2021, then rising sharply to 8,590 million in 2022. Although there was a decline to 6,506 million in 2023, the figure rebounded strongly in the following years, reaching 9,241 million in 2024 and continuing upward to 13,738 million by 2025. This trend suggests a robust recovery and expansion in core profit generation capabilities over the five-year span.

Adjusted Revenues

The adjusted revenues show a consistent upward trajectory throughout the entire period. Starting at 64,920 million US dollars in 2020, revenues increased each year without any decline, reaching 67,865 million in 2021 and further accelerating to 84,532 million in 2022. Growth continued more moderately in the subsequent years, with revenues of 88,985 million in 2023, 91,261 million in 2024, and 94,454 million in 2025. The steady increase in adjusted revenues points to overall business growth and an expanding topline during these years.

Operating Profit Margin (OPM)

The operating profit margin experienced notable improvement and volatility across the timeline. Initially, the margin was negative at -1.34% in 2020, reflecting operating inefficiencies or losses relative to revenue. The margin then improved significantly to 5.56% in 2021, more than doubling to 10.16% in 2022, indicating increasing operational efficiency and profitability relative to revenue. A decline to 7.31% occurred in 2023, suggesting some operational pressures or increased costs that impacted profitability. However, the margin strengthened again to 10.13% in 2024 and culminated at a high of 14.54% in 2025. This pattern of improvement with intermittent softness suggests efforts to optimize operations were largely successful, leading to stronger profitability margins over time.

Adjusted Revenues

Over the observed periods, the adjusted revenues show a consistent upward trend. Starting from approximately $64.92 billion, the revenues increased steadily each year and reached about $94.45 billion by the latest period. This represents a significant growth, indicating an effective revenue-generating performance over the years.

Invested Capital

The invested capital displays a relatively stable pattern overall, with minor fluctuations. Beginning at around $174.59 billion, the capital slightly decreased in subsequent years, with a notable dip particularly in the last two reported periods, settling near $165.31 billion. This suggests a gradual reduction in the capital employed or invested assets.

Turnover of Capital (TO)

The turnover of capital ratio experiences a clear and continuous improvement, moving from 0.37 to 0.57 by the end of the timeline. This upward movement indicates enhanced efficiency in utilizing the invested capital to generate revenues. The growing TO ratio implies that the company is generating more revenue per unit of invested capital over time.

Overall Analysis

The data reflects a positive operational dynamic where revenue growth outpaces the slight decline in invested capital. The increasing turnover ratio confirms improved capital efficiency, suggesting strategic management focused on optimizing asset utilization. The combined trends point towards strengthening financial performance and effective resource allocation throughout the examined periods.

Cash Operating Taxes

The cash operating taxes exhibit a notable fluctuation over the reported periods. Beginning at $1,305 million, there is a consistent rise reaching a peak at $3,100 million in the period ending September 30, 2023. Following this peak, a slight decline is observed in the next period, dropping to $2,982 million, and then a significant decrease to $1,546 million by the final period. This pattern suggests variability in tax payments potentially influenced by changes in taxable income or tax strategies.

Net Operating Profit Before Taxes (NOPBT)

The net operating profit before taxes shows a substantial improvement over time. Starting from a negative value of -$871 million, there is a marked turnaround to positive profit of $3,771 million in the subsequent period. This upward trajectory continues, with some minor fluctuations, culminating in a peak of $13,738 million in the last reported period. This increase indicates a strong recovery and growing operational profitability across the years.

Effective Cash Tax Rate (CTR)

The effective cash tax rate displays considerable variability throughout the periods. Data is unavailable for the earliest period; however, the subsequent tax rates fluctuate significantly, with values oscillating between 11.25% and 47.64%. This variability might reflect changes in tax legislation, shifts in the mix of taxable income, or the impact of deferred tax assets and liabilities. The overall trend does not indicate a steady pattern but rather highlights an inconsistent tax expense relative to operating profit before taxes.