Magic Kingdom guests take off their ponchos at Cinderella Castle as Hurricane Helen passes through Walt Disney World on September 26, 2024 in Bay Lake, Florida.
Joe Burbank | Tribune News Service | Getty Images
Due to anticipated park closures and disruptions from Hurricane Milton; walt disneyearnings, according to Goldman Sachs analysts.
The company said Tuesday that the hurricane, which is expected to make landfall in central Florida as early as Wednesday, will reduce Disney’s Parks and Experiences’ preinterest and tax earnings from about $150 million in the first quarter of 2025. It is estimated that there is a possibility of a decrease of 200 million dollars.
Goldman estimates that the impact on Disney will be greater than the impact on Disney from Hurricane Irma in 2017. The company said its parks were forced to close for two days and some cruise ships were disrupted, reducing revenue by about $100 million.
Goldman Sachs lowered its forecast for Disney’s fiscal 2025 earnings per share from $5.22 to $5.14. The company also predicted that Disney’s domestic audience attendance for the first quarter would be affected by the storm, forecasting a 6% decline instead of the 2% decline originally expected. The company’s expectations for Disney’s recently ended fourth quarter are largely unchanged, with earnings per share expected to be $1.16 and Parks & Experiences operating income expected to be $3.8 billion.
As of Tuesday morning, the storm was about 845 miles southwest of Tampa and was moving at 12 mph. With sustained winds of 145 mph, the storm was downgraded to a Category 4 hurricane and could hit the Florida coast as a Category 3.
The storm is expected to make landfall around the Tampa area, which has not been hit by a hurricane since 1921. The storm is then expected to weaken as it heads towards Orlando, where Disney World is located.
Disney has not announced any potential closures. A Disney spokesperson did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the new revenue forecast.
