Disney has released its third-quarter earnings, reporting an increase in revenue but a decrease in income for its theme parks division.
Disney’s experiences segment, which includes the company’s theme parks and cruise line, posted revenue of $8.38 billion in the third quarter. This is an increase of 2 percent from the same period in 2023.
Operating income for Q3 was $2.22 billion, a 3 percent drop compared to the prior-year quarter.
Disney said the decrease in operating income at its US parks and experiences was due to higher costs driven by inflation, increased spending on technology, and new visitor experiences.
At the company’s international parks and experiences, results for Q3 were comparable to last year’s Q3 due to increases in attendance and higher guest spending, offset by an increase in costs due to new guest offerings.
Despite being Disney’s biggest growth driver since the pandemic, the company has warned its parks were impacted by a “moderation of consumer demand” towards the end of the third quarter.
“At our experiences segment, we expect that the demand moderation we saw in our domestic businesses in Q3 could impact the next few quarters,” Disney said.
The company said it expects operating income in its parks division to decline in the fourth quarter.
Income expected to decline in Q4
In a post-earnings call, Disney’s senior executive VP and CFO Hugh Johnston said: “While we saw a slight moderation in demand, I certainly wouldn’t call it a significant change.”
Disney is spending $30bn on its theme parks over the next decade as part of a total $60bn investment in its experiences division. The $30bn includes the $1.9bn DisneylandForward development, and $17bn for Walt Disney World.
The $17bn development deal will permit Disney World to build a fifth major theme park and two minor theme parks.
Images courtesy of Disney
