YouTube is now larger than Disney.
Let that sink in for a moment. The revenues for YouTube topped $60 billion in 2025, surpassing Disney.
This is a historic moment.
YouTube had more than $60 billion in revenue in 2025, parent company Alphabet reported last month. Now, the influential financial research firm MoffettNathanson runs the numbers and comes to the conclusion that YouTube’s estimated $62 billion in 2025 will have allowed it to pass The Walt Disney Co.’s media business, which generated $60.9 billion last year (excluding Disney’s lucrative experiences division).
We not only see this in revenues; it is also reflected in the valuation. While YouTube's value is an estimate, it does speak to what is taking place.
The firm, which declared YouTube the “new king of all media” last year, is now valued at between $500 billion-$560 billion, far above any traditional media competitors. The closest would be Netflix, which has a market cap of about $409 billion as of writing.
This is evidence of a major transition taking place. I long wrote how Hollywood is cooked. The epicenter for media is now shifting.
YouTube Now The Largest Media Company
Los Angeles is the obvious loser in this. What was once the entertainment capital of the world is no more. The new distribution channel is showing the effects. It was overlooked for decades yet it taking hold.
For the industry, it is too late.
When we couple this with generative AI, the situation becomes even more dire for traditional Hollywood. AI-generated content is already being integrated into production workflows—from scriptwriting assistance to visual effects to post-production editing. What was once a fringe concept relegated to tech forums is now mainstream conversation. Major publications like The New York Times, Variety, and The Wall Street Journal are running serious pieces on how generative AI will reshape entertainment production, reduce headcount, and lower barriers to entry for creators. The Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA's recent labor agreements included specific clauses around AI usage, signaling that the industry recognizes this isn't theoretical anymore—it's happening now. As another round of labor negotiations approaches, studios will push harder for AI carve-outs and cost reductions. Creators and talent will fight back, but the leverage has fundamentally shifted. The combination of YouTube's dominance, Netflix's proven streaming model, and now AI-powered production tools means the traditional studio system—which relied on scarcity, gatekeeping, and expensive infrastructure—has lost its moat. For an industry already bleeding audience share and facing margin pressure, this convergence could accelerate the timeline toward irrelevance far more quickly than anyone anticipated just five years ago.
AI is accelerating and more people are starting to utility it. This benefits YouTube at the cost of the movie studios.
Analysts Are Agreeing
Those who watch the industry, from a financial perspective, are starting to pick up on it. When Wall Street latches onto a narrative, it can spread.
“There are two really fundamental things that we do for creators,” YouTube CEO Neal Mohan told The Hollywood Reporter last year, just a few hours after announcing the milestone. “One is help them build an audience and connect with their fans, regardless of where those fans are in the world; and the second thing we do is we help them build businesses. That’s what that $100 billion represents for me.”
MoffettNathanson argues that the scale as a distributor, both of pay-TV and of creator-led content, will help it continue its explosive growth. So will its heavy investment into AI tools, which will allow creators to produce more content at a faster cadence.
As with anything today, speed is key. The fact that generative AI will allow content creators to produce more output at a faster pace gives us insight into what is happening. The numbers simply work against the studios.
Think of this as an oil tanker against a fleet of speed boats. Naturally, the size means the tanker is a monumental force. However, it does not maneuver like speedboats and can be overwhelmed with the numbers.
Since costs will be going to near-free, this means that volume is the deciding factor.
Some claim that we are reverting back to a time where storytelling becomes crucial. Maybe that is true. One would think this favors the traditional system. It does not.
The problem is that Hollywood got away from creativity. Over the last decade plus the tendency was to leverage existing properties. Marvel, LucasFilm, and other franchises simply churned out more of the same. Sprinkle in some messaging and audiences have turned their attention elsewhere.
Box office numbers reflect this problem. Streaming, which was heralded as the savior, was a sinkhole of cash for everyone other than Netflix. Having a money loser as the savior is not a healthy position to be in.
Technology is taking over many industries. This trend is just getting started. Tech companies are going to be educators, healthcare providers, entertainment entities, and financial firms.
Ask a tech executive what business they are in and the answer is "anyone we want."
The largest media company is now in Silicon Valley. That is quite a shift.