Disney shares Fall over 3% after doubling park spending to $60 billion

Disney said it has seen record growth in customer spending at parks over past two years, and significant decrease in number of tickets it sells at a discount, compared with before pandemic

By Thomas Buckley

Walt Disney Co. plans to nearly double investment in its parks and resorts segment to $60 billion over the next ten years.
 

The world’s largest theme-park operator said it has over 1,000 acres of land it could develop and cited the increased profits it has seen over past years from investing in rides, cruise ships and other attractions tied to its movies and characters, according to a filing Tuesday.

Disney said it has seen record growth in customer spending at the parks over the past two years, and a significant decrease in the number of tickets it sells at a discount, compared with before the pandemic.

The market reacted negatively to the news, however, with Disney shares down 3.25% to $82.26 as of 10:15 a.m. in New York.

The company is hosting a three-day series of events for Wall Street analysts at its Walt Disney World resort. The program, which began Monday, includes tours of the theme parks as well as of its newest cruise ship, the Disney Wish. Also scheduled were presentations from Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro and theme parks chief Josh D’Amaro.

Rival Comcast Corp. has also been investing in its Universal Studios theme-park business with smaller attractions planned in Texas and Nevada and a giant new resort under construction in Orlando.

Disney has been wrestling with seismic changes in the TV and film business as consumers watch more programing on streaming services, rather than on traditional TV and in movie theaters. Iger has said the company may sell traditional channels like ABC, and that it’s looking for a strategic partner at ESPN.

Iger returned to run the company in November after the board fired CEO Bob Chapek. Disney shares have recently traded at nine-year lows.

Separately, Warner Music Group said it had hired longtime Disney financial executive Bryan Castellani to be its new chief financial officer.