Big Bucks Generating Disney Consumer Products Shifts To Studio Umbrella As Josh D’Amaro-Run Mouse House Drops Earnings Report Tomorrow
Disney is moving its Consumer Products division (DCP) out of the Disney Experiences unit and into Disney Entertainment, placing it under the company's Studios arm. The reorganisation, announced in a joint memo from Thomas Mazloum and Alan Bergman, is intended to bring commerce teams closer to the creative and business staff behind Disney's films, TV shows and franchises, and comes just a day before CEO Josh D'Amaro's team reports third-quarter earnings.
The shift, which takes effect from October 2026, covers the majority of DCP's operations and affects a business that generated $63 billion in licensed retail sales in 2025, making Disney the world's top licensor by a wide margin over rivals such as Authentic Brands Group and NBCUniversal. Lisa Baldzicki will remain DCP president under the new structure. It is the second division to move from Experiences to Entertainment in six months, following a similar move by the Games and Digital Entertainment unit in March, with executives describing the overlap between the merging teams as minimal.
In short
- Disney Consumer Products moves from Experiences to Entertainment Studios from October 2026
- Change aims to link merchandise commerce with creative content teams
- DCP generated $63bn in 2025 sales, making Disney the top global licensor
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The case for
The reorganisation logically integrates Consumer Products with the creative and business teams at Disney Entertainment, where films, television and franchises originate. This proximity enables product teams to develop merchandise in real-time alignment with creative strategy, accelerating time-to-market and ensuring commercial offerings authentically reflect brand intent. The $63 billion in licensed retail sales in 2025 underscores this division's strategic importance, and consolidating it with content creators should strengthen both operational efficiency and profit growth.
The case against
Separating Consumer Products from Experiences disrupts the integrated ecosystem where retail merchandise and parks reinforce one another to strengthen customer engagement and loyalty. Multiple major reorganisations within six months risk creating operational disruption and talent uncertainty that could undermine efficiency gains. The timing of the announcement—immediately before an earnings report, following another significant divisional shift—raises legitimate questions about the strategic imperative for this particular sequencing.
Explained simply
Disney Consumer Products manages products linked to the company’s stories and characters, including licensing them for sale by other retailers. Disney Experiences runs businesses such as its theme parks and resorts, while Disney Entertainment includes the company’s film and television studios.
The change places most of Consumer Products alongside the teams that develop and manage Disney’s films, programmes and franchises. Lisa Baldzicki remains its president, and the new arrangement is due to take effect in October 2026.
Consumer Products is a major part of Disney’s business: licensed goods generated $63 billion in retail sales in 2025. The move also follows the transfer of Disney’s Games and Digital Entertainment unit from Experiences to Entertainment earlier in 2026.
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