Bob Chapek, CEO of the Walt Disney Company and former head of Walt Disney Parks and Experiences, speaks during a preview of D23 Expo 2019 in Anaheim, California on August 22, 2019.
Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg via Getty Images
Disney reported earnings after Thursday’s bell.
Here are the key numbers:
- Earnings per share: 32 cents set
- Recipe: $ 16.25 billion versus expected $ 15.9 billion, according to Refinitiv
The coronavirus pandemic continues to affect Disney’s park business, as reported in the December quarter. But a glimmer of hope emerged earlier this week, when an executive told workers in California that he would start offering a “limited time ticket experience” in March, “Good Morning America” reported. The letter said that Disney would bring back 1,000 Disneyland Resort cast members to work at the park.
Disney and other California-based parks, such as Universal Studios, rejected the state’s strict rules that required them to remain closed for many months due to high coronavirus cases in their counties. Disney CEO Bob Chapek told analysts during the company’s fourth quarter earnings conference call that he was “extremely disappointed” at California’s decision to keep the parks closed. He said that Disney instituted science-based security protocols and was supported by the unions that represent employees.
These prolonged closures, coupled with limited capacity restrictions in its open parks, forced the company to reduce its workforce.
“We believe that state leadership should look objectively at what we have successfully achieved in our parks around the world, all based on science, rather than setting an arbitrary standard that prevents our cast members from returning to work,” said Chapek in the November call.
At the same time, Disney’s new streaming service, Disney +, took off during the pandemic and offered the company creative ways to release films directly to the public during restrictions on cinemas and meetings.
During an investor presentation in December, Disney announced that it had almost 87 million subscribers on the platform, exceeding its initial goal of accumulating at least 60 million subscriptions by 2024. This is still only a fraction of the more than 200 million global subscribers paid by Netflix, but shows strong growth for the first year of its service.
Disney also updated its forecast for Disney + in its December presentation, saying it will have 230 million to 260 million subscribers by 2024.
Disney used the service to broadcast its live action remake of “Mulan” last year for an additional fee, but did not release performance metrics for that release. The company also released its Pixar film “Soul” on the service in December, but made it free for those who had already paid for the service.
In the studio entertainment segment, Disney will face difficult comparisons. Last year, during the first quarter, the company saw revenues from its theatrical releases reach $ 3.76 billion due to strong performances from “Frozen II” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”.
Disney did not release any new releases in theaters in October, November or December 2020. Instead, it re-launched a series of legacy titles such as “Star Wars” and “Hocus Pocus” as cinemas struggled to attract audiences.
Last week, Disney received 25 Golden Globe nominations, including 10 for Hulu programming and four for its Searchlight Pictures feature “Nomadland.”
This is the first year that Disney + content has been nominated since its release in 2019. “Hamilton”, “Soul” and “The Mandalorian” received honors before the February 28 awards.
This story is developing. Check again for updates.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of Universal Studios and CNBC.
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