Walt Disney, the $198 billion entertainment powerhouse, showed mixed theme park attendance trends in September, according to KeyBanc Capital Markets.
Total Disney theme park attendance for September was flat year-over-year and declined 11% month-over-month, KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel reported in a research note.
Disneyland attendance increased 4% year-over-year while declining 10% month-over-month, while Walt Disney World attendance was flat compared to last year and fell 11% from August. These attendance figures are particularly significant given Disney’s $94.5 billion in annual revenue, with parks contributing substantially to its $19.5 billion EBITDA.
Walt Disney World’s performance showed signs of recovery, with results accelerating by 3 percentage points from August. Disneyland posted its third consecutive month of 4% year-over-year growth, continuing to benefit from the 70th anniversary celebration that began in May.
For the third calendar quarter, overall attendance was flat year-over-year, compared to 2% growth in the second quarter. This decline was attributed to a slowdown in Walt Disney World attendance, which fell 1% year-over-year versus 2% growth in the previous quarter, offset by Disneyland’s acceleration to 4% year-over-year growth compared to 2% in the second quarter.
KeyBanc forecasts Disney’s fiscal fourth-quarter domestic experiences revenue to grow 4.9% year-over-year, below the consensus estimate of 7.1% and slower than the 10% growth recorded in the fiscal third quarter.
The firm expects domestic attendance to decelerate to a 1% decline in the fiscal fourth quarter from flat performance in the previous quarter, with per-capita guest spending growth slowing to 6% from 8%.