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The price of gasoline at the pump is up over 40% and there’s a shortage of jet fuel, which has doubled in price since the war with Iran started in late February. Executives led by new CEO Josh D’Amaro were peppered with questions by analysts about any impact on parks, which require travel.
Disney World’s forward bookings are “pacing up strongly,” Johnston said. “However, we’re mindful of the macro uncertainty consumers are facing and we’re not immune to the impacts, including how a significant further rise in fuel prices from current levels could eventually lead to changes in consumer behavior. If that possibility were to occur, each business has levers in place to make adjustments in order to help offset those kinds of macro pressures.” He did specify the levers.
Amid strong numbers for the March quarter, the Experiences division posted 7% higher revenue, at $9.5 billion, while operating income rose 5% to $2.6 billion. Attendance at domestic parks did ease 1% but the company attributed that to the lingering impact of slower international visitations and competition from Universal’s Epic Universe, which opened in Orlando last May. Execs expect attendance at domestic parks to improve in the current fiscal quarter and into the second half as those headwinds subside.
Meanwhile, admissions’ revenue rose, food and beverage sales beat internal forecasts, and D’Amaro was upbeat about new cruise ships and attractions.
Over the past three months, he noted, Disney Cruise Line launched the Disney Adventure, its first ship home-ported in Asia, and opened new immersive land World of Frozen as part of the reimagined Disney Adventure World in Paris. “These are meaningful milestones that extend the reach of our brands … and reinforce our confidence in the long term opportunity across our portfolio,” he said.
“We remain mindful of the near term variability, but are also well positioned to benefit from sustained consumer demand for live entertainment at a scale unique to Disney,” added D’Amaro, who took the reins from Bob Iger in March after running Experiences for years. “Our parks,” he said, “are essentially the physical centerpiece of the company.”
He stressed the division’s global footprint with plans to expand the fleet from eight to 13 ships by 2031. Global guest attendance measured across eight domestic and international parks and passenger cruises days grew more than 2% last quarter.
The company is in the midst a $10 billion capital investment program for Experiences “and the investments are working hard for us,” D’Amaro said. World of Frozen “has completely transformed our second gate at Disneyland Paris, and we have so much more of this coming around the world. While we haven’t officially announced opening dates for some of our other major attractions that are coming, we have more projects underway around the globe than at any time in our history.”
In 2026, most forecasted capital spending at Experiences includes the new ship and the ramp up of major new expansions at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and the Shanghai Disney Resort.
Over the next decade, the majority of capex is earmarked for investments that expand capacity. A few expansions underway use what we’re calling a “capital light” model,” he said, where partners shoulder most of the financing, including a new cruise ship with the Oriental Land company in Japan, and a new theme park in Abu Dhabi with Miral.
“Each one of these investments is individually justified and designed to entertain guests for literally generations to come,” he said.
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