Disney's profits plunge on empty parks (and more): a reflection of corona-conomy
The emptiest place on earth... Mickey and Cinderella have been living off stale churros since March 16, waiting for Disneylands to reopen. Disney's net profit fell a whopping 91% this quarter, and the magical company took an un-magical $1.4B hit on its earnings — blame corona-conomy, which is affecting all aspects of Disney's empire (some more than others):
- Parks/cruises: Disney's Parks, Experiences, and Products division (a key profit driver) was the worst hit, with a 10% sales dip and a massive 58% drop in operating profit.
- Cable networks: Disney's ESPN has no live sports to stream, and ad sales are falling since advertisers aren't splurging on commercials for things you probably won't buy.
- Studio entertainment: With movie theaters shut, Disney decided to put its expensive blockbuster releases (like Mulan) on hold. AMC's CEO loves this decision.
- Streaming: Disney's Direct-to-Consumer segment — which includes Disney+ and Hulu — was up 260% and raked in $4.6B in sales (Disney+ now has an impressive 54.4M subscribers). The streaming surge helped Disney's 21% overall sales growth.
Disney is like a microcosm of the corona-conomy... As the world's largest entertainment company, it encompasses media, experiences, retail, and even travel (cruises).
- Like the corona-conomy, Disney benefited from the surge in digital entertainment, but was overburdened by overall losses in key areas. All divisions of Disney's franchise machine affect each other (no Mulan movie = no Mulan toys).
- Disney's future was as brilliant as fireworks just a few months ago — now it's furloughing 100K workers, cutting dividends, and shaving exec salaries.
Disneyland's reopening will be a major morale indicator for the US... Whenever it happens. It'll mean things are relatively back to "normal." In China, Disneyland Shanghai is scheduled to reopen on May 11 — but with temperature screenings, masks, and capacity capped at 30% (and Snow White will have to keep a distance from guests). Disneyland Shanghai was closed on Jan 25 — almost 2 months before US Disneylands closed.