Disney Says Its Parks Could Lose Money Next Year

Today is a huge day for The Walt Disney Company.

Disney held its Q4 2024 earnings call today and released its earnings report, which basically tells us how well the company is doing financially. We learned how well the company is doing overall, but also how well its entertainment and streaming services are doing. We also learned about the fourth quarter’s revenue for Disney’s Parks and Experiences division, and with that, the company warned that this division could lose money next year. We’re going to tell you why.

Overall, Disney reported that its Parks and Experiences division had record revenue for the full year. In the fourth quarter alone, revenue increased by 1 percent, with revenue increasing for its domestic theme parks, but decreasing slightly for Disney’s international theme parks. So if revenue is up, why is Disney warning us that the parks could lose money in 2025?

Well, one reason is that Disney is investing heavily in Disney Cruise Line, which falls under Parks and Experiences. The revenue has already been offset this year by new Disney Cruise Line offerings, aka the Disney Treasure, which will set sail for the first time on December 21st, 2024.

According to Disney’s earnings report, Q1 2025’s operating income is “adversely affected” by approximately $90 million due to the pre-launch costs for the Disney Treasure.

However, Hurricanes Helene and Milton will also impact Disney’s Parks and Experiences incomes negatively in the first quarter of 2025. Disney forecasts that this impact will be approximately $130 million. Although Hurricane Helene didn’t close Disney’s theme parks, its water parks and miniature golf courses were affected. However, Hurricane Milton did result in theme park closures, which resulted in a huge loss of income.