NFLX vs DIS: Netflix vs Disney — Which Streaming Stock Wins?: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Netflix is the pure-play streaming market leader with growing margins and a maturing advertising business, while Disney is a diversified media company with unmatched IP, a profitable parks business, and streaming assets still working toward full profitability. The choice is between a focused, higher-multiple streaming leader and a diversified conglomerate with more complex moving parts but potentially more upside from asset re-rating.
Use this NFLX vs DIS comparison to evaluate streaming leadership quality. Netflix has superior streaming fundamentals and cleaner execution; Disney has more diverse assets and potentially undervalued franchise IP, but also more operational complexity and ongoing cord-cutting headwinds.
NFLX holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. DIS leads on both 1-year return (-20.60%) and forward P/E quality (13.07x vs 18.05x for NFLX), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. NFLX leads on both revenue growth (13.40%) and operating margin (33.38%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for NFLX (+42.00%) than for DIS (+30.69%).
- →Want pure-play exposure to the global streaming leader with a proven subscription model
- →Believe advertising tier growth will compound revenue per subscriber meaningfully
- →Prefer a simpler business model without theme parks, linear TV, or cruise lines
- →Are comfortable paying a premium multiple for demonstrated streaming market leadership
- →See Disney's franchise IP and parks as undervalued relative to streaming peers
- →Believe the ESPN direct-to-consumer launch represents a major catalyst
- →Want diversified media and entertainment exposure across streaming, parks, and film
- →Are comfortable with the complexity of a turnaround in linear TV while streaming scales
| Metric | NFLX | DIS |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 57.4 | 40.2 |
| AI rank | #242 | #1142 |
| Latest close | $67.60 | $96.41 |
| 1M return | -12.64% | -7.20% |
| 6M return | -23.18% | -13.30% |
| 1Y return | -44.10% | -20.60% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | NFLX | DIS |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $5.48K (-45.2%) started 2025-07-21 | $7.98K (-20.2%) started 2025-07-21 |
| 5Y ago | $13.16K (+31.6%) started 2021-07-21 | $5.59K (-44.1%) started 2021-07-21 |
| 10Y ago | $78.61K (+686.1%) started 2016-07-21 | $11.18K (+11.8%) started 2016-07-21 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | NFLX | DIS |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $290.33B | $169.61B |
| Trailing P/E | 21.68 | 15.63 |
| Forward P/E | 18.05 | 13.07 |
| Price/Sales | 13.15 | 2.18 |
| EV/Revenue | 6.09 | 2.24 |
| Analyst target | $97.91 | $127.64 |
| Target upside | +42.00% | +30.69% |
| Metric | NFLX | DIS |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 13.40% | 6.50% |
| Earnings growth | 11.10% | -29.80% |
| EPS growth | +11.10% | -29.80% |
| FCF margin | +52.49% | +3.86% |
| Operating margin | 33.38% | 15.51% |
| Profit margin | 28.22% | 11.54% |
| ROIC proxy | 49.54% | 11.01% |
| Return on equity | 49.54% | 11.01% |
| Dividend yield | N/A | 1.54% |
| Beta | 1.52 | 1.40 |
| Debt/equity | 55.24 | 41.07 |
| Current ratio | 1.14 | 0.68 |
| Quick ratio | 0.92 | 0.55 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | NFLX | DIS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | -45.19% | -20.22% |
| CAGR | -45.32% | -20.29% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.83 | -0.95 | |
| Max drawdown | 91.20% | 24.83% | |
| Max daily drop | 89.81% | 7.75% | |
| Max wkly drop | 89.92% | 10.27% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +31.61% | -44.82% |
| CAGR | +5.65% | -11.22% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.43 | -0.41 | |
| Max drawdown | 91.69% | 57.33% | |
| Max daily drop | 89.81% | 13.16% | |
| Max wkly drop | 89.92% | 16.34% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +686.14% | +4.79% |
| CAGR | +22.91% | +0.47% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.37 | 0.00 | |
| Max drawdown | 91.69% | 60.72% | |
| Max daily drop | 89.81% | 13.16% | |
| Max wkly drop | 89.92% | 19.45% |
| Category | NFLX | DIS |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Netflix, Inc. | The Walt Disney Company |
| Sector | Communication Services | Communication Services |
| Industry | Entertainment | Entertainment |
| Core business | Global subscription streaming platform with over 300 million paid subscribers. Expanding into advertising-supported tiers, live events, and gaming. Pure-play streaming with no legacy media or theme park assets. | Diversified media and entertainment conglomerate spanning Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, ABC, and linear cable channels, alongside theme parks, cruise lines, and studio film and TV production. |
| Investor focus | Subscriber growth and retention, advertising revenue ramp, average revenue per membership growth, content ROI, and operating margin expansion. | Streaming profitability path for Disney+ and Hulu, ESPN flagship direct-to-consumer launch, Parks segment revenue and margins, and studio franchise performance. |
- →Largest global streaming platform with the most content and deepest subscriber base
- →Advertising tier creating a new revenue stream and accessing more price-sensitive subscribers
- →Pure-play streaming model with no legacy media drag or theme park capital requirements
- →Unmatched franchise IP portfolio: Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Disney Animation
- →Theme parks provide high-margin recurring revenue largely uncorrelated with streaming content trends
- →ESPN direct-to-consumer launch represents a major potential revenue rerating catalyst
- →Content spending required to maintain subscriber engagement and reduce churn
- →Advertising revenue ramp still maturing relative to competitors
- →Increasing competition from Disney+, Max, Apple TV+, and Amazon Prime Video
- →Linear television (ABC, cable networks) revenue decline as cord-cutting accelerates
- →Content cost inflation for Marvel and franchise productions
- →Streaming subscriber growth at Disney+ has been uneven
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.