Over the past several months, we’ve been keeping a close eye on the situation with Disney vs. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Ever since DeSantis renamed Disney’s Reedy Creek Improvement District and named new board members to serve as the leaders of it, we’ve seen quite a few changes in rules and regulations for the land that’s home to Disney World. Disney responded with a federal lawsuit, and now we’re waiting to see what comes next for the company. And now, it seems that Disney is expecting this whole ordeal to affect business going forward.
The Walt Disney Company posted its Q2 earnings a few days ago and hosted an earnings call where they discussed the financial reports. During that call, Disney CEO Bob Iger was asked a question about the situation in Florida and had some comments to share.
Iger said, “I think the case that we filed last month made our position and the facts very clear and that is really that this is about one thing and one thing only — and that is retaliating against us for taking a position about pending legislation. And we believe that in us taking that position we are merely exercising our right to free speech.”
But those comments weren’t the only way that Disney addressed the DeSantis situation. On page 66 of the earnings report from Q2 of 2023, Disney has a section that notes, “Regulations applicable to our businesses may impair the profitability of our businesses.” The section typically details various U.S. and international regulations that may affect Disney’s business in a negative manner…and now the ongoing situation in Florida has been added to that list.
Near the bottom of a large paragraph in that section is a new statement that says the following: “In Florida, steps directed at the Company (including the passage of legislation) have been taken and future actions have been threatened, which collectively could negatively impact (and may have already impacted) our ability to execute on our business strategy, our costs and the profitability of our operations in Florida.”
Essentially, this is a warning to Disney’s shareholders that the legal battle with DeSantis and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight district board may cause problems with operations in the future. There has already been legislation drawn up and signed by DeSantis that would require Disney World’s monorail system to be inspected by the state, and DeSantis has mentioned a number of other potential changes as well.
We’ll keep a close eye on the situation and let you know if anything changes in the future. Stay tuned to AllEars for the latest.
Click Here to See Bob Iger’s Latest Comments About the DeSantis Situation
Join the AllEars.net Newsletter to stay on top of ALL the breaking Disney News! You'll also get access to AllEars tips, reviews, trivia, and MORE! Click here to Subscribe!
Remember when Republicans were pro-business?
I can’t stop laughing. People really believe Disney World is going to leave Florida. It’s not like Magic Kingdom is a trailer you can move and Disney World isn’t a road carnival. LOL! Even so, how much will it cost a company like Disney to move? A company who already has the stockholders concerned. They won’t be able to secretly purchase land like Walt Disney did. That’ll cost a lot of money. Also, DeSantis won’t be governor forever. However, I’m sure Disney will endorse and contribute for a new governor. Keep in mind what CEO Paycheck said before all the political flack started. He stated Disney will use all their resources to fight the questionable law. All of us should be VERY concern when corporate leaders try to use their influence, power, and money to challenge legally passed laws.
I am sort of confused by your comments. How did Disney influence what DeSantis did? Did he back off what he was doing? Change the laws he was proposing as a result of Disney’s comments? So say you run Disney and this happens and your employees are livid you refuse to say you are against this law. What would you do? And remember: many of the films you love and the tunes you can’t get out of your head when you hear them were created by Gay people. And, perhaps you aren’t aware of this, but many LGBTQ folks love to go to WDW. All Disney did was voice an opinion. To support people who work for them and come to their parks. And you need to remember the Supreme Court has decided corporations are considered people. Do you voice an opinion about things politicians do? Why can’t a corporation do the same? And if you think corporations don’t influence politics, why not look into how much each one spends on lobbying. Instead of saying what they had to say in private, Disney had the audacity to say it in public. And they are being singled out for what every American should be allowed to do: say out loud what they favor and what they oppose. Sell your stock and spend your money on a company that lets bigotry pass without any objection.
100% agree with you James!
And to the commentor who said to sell your Disney stock? Now is the time to buy! It’s on sale and dollar cost averaging will help take the sting away from your higher priced previous purchases!
Disney really needs to pack up and move out of Florida. DeSickness is a lunatic and he is doing more harm than good to the state of Florida
There was no good reason for any megacorporation, even one I like, to threaten using corporate assets to attack democratically enacted laws in Florida. No citizen want any media, oil, pharma, military or any other megacorp to use massive corporate money to influence our democracy. Moreover, there is no value to Disney stockholders, of which I am one, for misguided and apparently incompetent Disney management to pick a fight with government over any law or policy that doesn’t impact Disney business. Even worse, these ridiculously foolish moves by Disney in Florida come at a time when other extremely foolish decisions by Disney media productions has resulted in substandard films and shows and profoundly constrained earnings.
Put simply, Disney’s management’s stupid creative decisions on top of pointless political actions and a failure to focus on traditional, profitable customers while also jeopardizing foundational long-term assets and resource has threatened Walt Disney’s dream.
If Disney stops upgrading their property in Orlando, the handwriting will be on the wall. Disney world will go to another state where it will be loved and prosper. There are a number of outstanding locations for Disney. I myself hate the traffic and prices in Orlando, so a new location makes a ton of sense. It’s a huge move, but the present location is no longer a fun place to visit.
if you have stock in walt disney sell it asap before it is valuleless.