Companies and Brands

Disney Revenue Hurt by $200 Million From Hurricane Milton

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: October 12, 2024 7:13 am

Last Updated: October 14, 2024 7:30 am

24/7 Wall St. Insights

• Disney World was closed because of Hurricane Milton. But the hit to its revenue was modest and the park quickly reopened.
• Also: Dividend legends to hold forever.

When Hurricane Milton hit Orlando, all the area’s major theme parks closed, including Universal Orlando, Busch Gardens, and LEGO Florida. The largest closure was Walt Disney World, which opened in 1971. Walt Disney himself conceived of Disney World but died in 1965, leaving his management team to finish it.

Disney World survived the wind and rain from Milton well, and the park reopened Friday. However, according to one estimate, the storm cost $200 million in revenue and $20 million in operating income. The forecast came from Bloomberg Intelligence, which also reported that attendance may be lower than usual for several months, making the financial hit worse.

The number for the loss is very modest compared to the size of Walt Disney Co.’s (NYSE: DIS) quarterly revenue. Last quarter, its Experiences unit, which includes the theme parks, posted revenue of 2% to $8.4 billion, compared to Disney’s total revenue of $23.1 billion, which was 4% higher.

However, Experience is critical to Disney’s profit-making success. In the quarter, its operating income was $2.2 billion of the company’s $4.2 billion total. When management said in its quarterly comments that Experience revenue might be soft in the upcoming quarter, it drove shares lower.

Given the modest hit Milton will make on its quarterly numbers, Disney only has one problem. The hurricanes may keep on coming.

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