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Disney Parks Lost $2 Billion In Company’s Third Quarter

The Walt Disney Company’s third-quarter runs from April through June, and today the company announced financial results.

A little context on what happened during this period:

  • Disney Cruise Line was closed for all of the quarter
  • Disneyland Paris was closed for all of the quarter
  • Walt Disney World parks were closed for all of the quarter
  • Disneyland was closed for all of the quarter
  • Shanghai Disney re-opened in May
  • Hong Kong Disneyland reopened in late June,  but then closed again in July
  • Disney Springs at Walt Disney World reopened in mid-May
  • Several Disney Vacation Club Resorts reopened in June

The Parks, Experiences, and Products segment of the business lost $2.0 billion in the quarter.  Revenue decreased by 85% to $1.0 billion. Decreases in both domestic and international parks lead to the decreases.  Merchandising and retail decreases also contributed to the loss, but to a lesser extent.

Disney Parks lost $2.0 billion in the third-quarter of 2020.
Disney Parks lost $2.0 billion in the third-quarter of 2020.

Overall Results

The company’s third-quarter revenue was $11.78 billion, which was 41.8% lower than last year.  Disney believes that the Coronavirus caused the overall company to use $2.9 billion.

Good Streaming News

Disney did have some good news to share.  Disney+ continues to grow.  The number of subscribers increased to 57.75 million, which is up from 33.5 million in the second quarter.  A bit surprisingly, given the lack of sports due to shutdowns, is that ESPN+ subscribers increased to 8.5 million, up from 7.9 million in the second quarter.

Surprised to learn that Disney Parks lost $2 billion last quarter?