Today, The Walt Disney Company released its 2021 second-quarter financial earnings report. Josh D’Amaro’s Parks, Experiences and Products division continued to lose revenue. This is unsurprising, given the fact that Disney continues to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic and their six theme park properties around the world are in varying operational stages at this time.
During today’s earnings call, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek spoke about the historic reopening of Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure:
“We are especially excited that after being closed for 412 days, we welcomed our first guest back to Disneyland two weeks ago. And the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Bob and I stood on Main Street USA on opening day and it was so wonderful to see the joy on our cast and guests’ faces and feel the excitement in the air.”
It is worth noting that Disney Cruise Line also falls under the Parks, Experiences and Products banner — sailings on all four ships in Disney’s fleet have been suspended since early 2020 and there is no return-to-sailing date officially set domestically, though CEO Chapek has indicated that he is hoping for a Fall 2021 return.
Results for the quarter and six months ended April 3, 2021 were adversely impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The most significant impact was at the Disney Parks, Experiences and Products segment where since late in the second quarter of fiscal 2020, our parks and resorts have been closed or operating at significantly reduced capacity and our cruise ship sailings have been suspended.
The report also noted that “revenues for the quarter decreased 44% to $3.2 billion, and segment operating results decreased $1.2 billion to a loss of $406 million.”
It is important to remember that this area of The Walt Disney Company has experienced the most dramatic changes during the pandemic era. Even those theme parks that are operating — including Walt Disney World Resort — are still at limited capacity, with certain experiences suspended.
Credit: Disney
As we continue to move forward, and things continue to return to normal as vaccine distribution progresses, Parks, Experiences and Products earnings are likely to rebound in the future.
As the report noted:
“We’re pleased to see more encouraging signs of recovery across our businesses, and we remain focused on ramping up our operations while also fueling long-term growth for the Company,” said Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company. “This is clearly reflected in the reopening of our theme parks and resorts, increased production at our studios, the continued success of our streaming services, and the expansion of our unrivaled portfolio of multiyear sports rights deals for ESPN and ESPN+.”
What are your thoughts on Disney Parks’ earnings this quarter?
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