Walt Disney handily beat Wall Street’s expectations in its latest quarterly earnings and unveiled shareholder-friendly measures including a $3bn share buyback and a 50 per cent dividend increase, as it prepares for proxy battles with activist shareholders.

The company emphasised its cost-cutting efforts, saying it had reduced expenses by $500mn in the first quarter. It predicted it would meet or exceed its target of $7.5bn in annualised savings this year.

Disney is facing proxy battles with Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners and Blackwells Capital, which are seeking board seats and other changes aimed at boosting its share price. The stock closed 11.5 per cent higher on Thursday — its biggest one-day gain since November 2020 — to a one-year high of $110.54, taking its advance in 2024 to about 22 per cent.