Theme Park Revenue Could Be Key For Disney In 2020
This week, Disney reported some amazing numbers.
The Motley Fool’s Rick Munarriz wrote:
Disney+ closed out the quarter with 26.5 million subscribers after launching in mid-November, and Disney’s films topped $11 billion in ticket sales during the 2019 calendar year.
As you can read, much of that 36% surge in revenue lay in spaces outside the Disney Parks.
There was nothing wrong with the 8% increase for Disney’s theme park-fueled business. The 9% increase in that segment’s operating income shows that the media giant is doing things right in a climate of rising labor costs and beefy investments in new bar-raising experiences. Disney’s theme parks appear to be the laggard in the blue chip’s arsenal, but it shouldn’t surprise anyone when it’s the one leading the charge by the end of this year…
[Despite challenges abroad, in the USA] The economy’s humming along, and Disney World, in particular, has even more new attractions on the way. In less than a month, it will open the resort’s first Mickey Mouse-themed ride. By the time the entire resort turns 50 next year, there will be at least two major roller coasters and several new rides and attractions that will set the new standard of premium theme park experiences. With the economy humming along and both of its parks finally moving in the right direction, Disney is likely to bump its ticket prices higher in the next few months — the way it has every year since 1989…
Disney’s theme parks segment is a long shot to overtake its direct-to-consumer business, but it’s not impossible. At the very least, it’s practically a lock to become the second-fastest grower a year from now. This is the steady producer in Disney’s arsenal. It was the only subsidiary to grow at all in fiscal 2017. Theme parks are a big reason Disney’s a blue chip stock, and it won’t be long before it goes from laggard to leader.
That’s great news from nearly any standpoint (besides ticket prices). One could assume that innovation and expansion will continue from the top to the bottom of The Walt Disney Company.
And there’s nothing like a little green to keep ideas flourishing.