Disney Parks Running At Slight Profit At Reduced Capacity
[WDW] On the Disney earnings call CEO Bob Chapek told investors that the parks are running at a meager profit with capacity down.
As a bit of a numbers and company performance nerd, I was fascinated to know if Disney parks would be able to break-even during their reopening while running at much lower capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While a good chunk of the cost of running the theme parks are set, there are a few variables, like staffing costs.
In Disney's Q3 2020 earnings report, CEO Bob Chapek said that demand was lower than expected (partially due to high COVID-19 cases in the state of Florida at the moment), but revenue was exceeding costs, resulting in running at a very slim profit.
With the majority of current visitors being annual passholders - who are usually the least profitable guest vs regular tourists - it appears Disney will be running the parks at just above break-even until COVID-19 numbers come down and more people from out-of-state come to visit again.