Key highlights from CEO Bob Iger’s Disney $DIS Q1 earnings call
During today’s Disney earnings call, Robert A. Iger, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company and Christine McCarthy, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, spoke speak on Disney’s wide array of assets, from theme parks to Disney+.
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Key highlights from the $DIS Q1 FY23 earning call with @RobertIger, a thread 🧵
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Revenue is up 21% since last year, at $8,736,000,000. Operating costs are also up 25% for $3,053,000,000.
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Disney Parks, Experiences and Products
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Revenue is up 21% since last year, at $8,736,000,000. Operating costs are also up 25% for $3,053,000,000. As this revenue is announced, it should also be noted that Walt Disney World Unions and Disney Parks are in a disagreement for cast member raises. Currently, 96% of voting cast members chose to deny Disney’s offer of a raise to $16.
“Theme parks are growing, I am bullish about our parks,” states Iger. Disney invested 200 million more dollars by the end of 2022 towards the parks, experiences and products division than in early 2022.
Letting more people in and increasing ticket pricing won’t improve guest experience, says Iger. Disney Parks reduced capacity this holiday season, and increased profitability. Some of Disney’s post-covid business procedures were alienating to our consumers. Disney has started to address pricing and accessibility for more consumers by adding flexibility to core ticket prices and dates.
During the Disney earnings call, Iger confirmed that Disneyland Resort will get a new Avatar experience in the future. No specific details were given at this time. This is due to the incredible performance of James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
Christine McCarthy, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Walt Disney Company, is very happy with the parks increase in profit. This quarter offered strong performance from Disneyland Paris especially.
Adding Pandora to Animal Kingdom produced stunning results for visitation to the park. Bob Iger talked to Josh D’Amaro this morning about more experiences and offerings coming to the parks to increase guest satisfaction and visitation.
Feature Films
“Frozen,” “Zootopia,” and the Toy Story film franchise will all receive sequels in the future, claims Iger.
Disney+
Disney+ is expected to be in profitability by the end of 2024. Disney is re-linking the creative side with the monetization side of our company says Iger. Iger continues, stating that Disney’s core brands and restructuring has continually allowed them to make positive returns.
Technology is making a power shift from the producer to the consumer. Disney+ allows the consumer to decide what they want in the easiest way.
Disney+ subscriber chase was aggressive, “we were in an arms race,” claims Iger. We will price effectively, and lean more into our core brands, states Iger. Disney need to be careful and specific with Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars content. “We are proud of what’s on the screen” says Iger, “but it has become extremely expensive”. Disney will reduce costs for content.
ESPN and ESPN+
ESPN has to be selective in the rights that they buy, claims Iger. ESPN+ has grown nicely for Disney. It can be enjoyed and expressed well as a streaming brand.
