The Walt Disney Company shared its first quarter results on Wednesday and one of the stars of earnings was its Disney Parks, Experiences and Products segment. Now, one of three segments for The Walt Disney Company after a new restructuring, the segment reported an increase of 21 percent year over year to $8.7 billion and segment operating income up 25 percent year over year to $3.1 billion in the first quarter.
Overall, the company said that revenue grew by 8% to $23.51 billion. This was compared to $21.82 billion a year earlier. These results were better than the $23.44 billion that was expected by analysts.
The growth in Disney Parks, Experiences and Products segment was attributed to increase in attendance and spending in the parks, the Disney Cruise Line having more occupied rooms and also a new ship, and also significant growth at Disneyland Paris. Disneyland Paris recently opened its own iteration of Avengers Campus. It also opened its re-imagined Disney’s Hotel New York – The Art of Marvel. More revenue internationally was also attributed to licensing fees collected from Tokyo Disney Resort. This is in contrast to the smaller contribution from Shanghai Disneyland which was dealing with continued pandemic impacts and closures.
Iger shared that he is “very, very bullish” about the future of the Disney theme parks and their strong demand. He also said that Disney will continue to “manage capacity very, very carefully” and “creatively” moving forward.
Along with announcing its earnings, Disney also announced that it was restructuring the company into three main segments:
- Entertainment
- ESPN
- Disney Parks, Experiences and Products
As the company moves forward, it also is looking to cut $5.5 billion. This will be done by cutting 7,000 jobs and making cuts, $3 billion of which will come from content, excluding sports, and the remaining $2.5 billion from non-content cuts.
Along with announcing earnings and cost cutting measures, Iger also announced more sequels for some of Disney’s most popular animated franchises and a new “Avatar Experience” for Disneyland Resort.
The full earnings report for The Walt Disney Company can be read here. What do you think of these developments for Disney? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
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