Disney’s Parks, Experiences and Products division reported record financial results to wrap up the company’s fiscal year — but the company’s stock still fell as those profits were below what financial analysts had expected.
The division, which includes all of Disney’s theme parks, the Disney Cruise Line, and merchandise segments, reported $28.7 billion in revenue for the fiscal year, a 73 percent jump from 2021. For the most recent quarter, however, the $7.43 billion in revenue and $815 million in operating income were below Wall Street estimates of $7.59 billion and $919 million, respectively. The earnings report sent Disney shares down 6 percent in after-hours trading, according to Yahoo Finance.
Disney executives, however, were nothing but upbeat about the division’s performance. The quarter “was another strong period for Parks, Experiences, and Products, which continued to deliver phenomenal results, despite the impact of Hurricane Ian,” Disney CEO Bob Chapek said. The storm, which closed Disney World theme parks for two days in September, cost the resort $65 million.
The most recent quarter also saw more growth in per capita guest spending at the theme parks, up 40 percent from the same time period in 2019, which Disney attributed to the introduction of the Genie+ and Lightning Lane systems.
While much of the earnings call was dedicated to the performance of Disney+, chief financial officer Christine McCarthy did field one question about a potential recession plan that could involve the theme parks.
McCarthy said Disney could turn to discounts on park tickets as one way to maintain steady revenue though she cautioned, “We’re not going to use it to the extent to which we used it during the last recession.”