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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended October 1, 2022

or

For the transition period from __________ to __________.

Commission File Number 001-38842

500 South Buena Vista Street

Burbank, California 91521

Address of Principal Executive Offices and Zip Code

(818) 560-1000

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes x No o

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes x No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No x

The aggregate market value of common stock held by non-affiliates (based on the closing price on the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter as reported on the New York Stock Exchange-Composite Transactions) was $249.5 billion. All executive officers and directors of the registrant and all persons filing a Schedule 13D with the Securities and Exchange Commission in respect to registrant’s common stock have been deemed, solely for the purpose of the foregoing calculation, to be “affiliates” of the registrant.

There were 1,823,591,988 shares of common stock outstanding as of November 16, 2022.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Certain information required for Part III of this report is incorporated herein by reference to the proxy statement for the 2023 annual meeting of the Company’s shareholders.

THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES

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Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance and may include statements concerning, among other things, financial results, business plans (including statements regarding new services and products and future expenditures, costs and investments), future liabilities, impairments and amortization, competition, and the impact of COVID-19 on our businesses and results of operations. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans or intentions. These statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are based on assumptions as of the date of this report. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from expectations or results projected or implied by forward-looking statements.

Such differences may result from actions taken by the Company, including restructuring or strategic initiatives (including capital investments, asset acquisitions or dispositions, new or expanded business lines or cessation of certain operations), our execution of our business plans (including the content we create and IP we invest in, our pricing decisions and our cost structure) or other business decisions, as well as from developments beyond the Company’s control, including:

• further deterioration in domestic and global economic conditions;

• deterioration in or pressures from competitive conditions, including competition to create or acquire content;

• consumer preferences and acceptance of our content, offerings, pricing model and price increases and the market for advertising sales on our direct-to-consumer services and linear networks;

• health concerns and their impact on our businesses and productions;

• international, regulatory, legal, political, or military developments;

• technological developments;

• labor markets and activities;

• adverse weather conditions or natural disasters; and

• availability of content;

each such risk includes the current and future impacts of, and is amplified by, COVID-19 and related mitigation efforts.

Such developments may further affect entertainment, travel and leisure businesses generally and may, among other things, affect (or further affect, as applicable):

• our operations, business plans or profitability;

• demand for our products and services;

• the performance of the Company’s content;

• our ability to create or obtain desirable content at or under the value we assign the content;

• the advertising market for programming;

• income tax expense; and

• performance of some or all Company businesses either directly or through their impact on those who distribute our products.

Additional factors include those described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including under the captions “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and “Business,” in our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, including under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and in our subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A forward-looking statement is neither a prediction nor a guarantee of future events or circumstances. You should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Unless required by federal securities laws, we assume no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated, to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the statements are made.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I