Hurricanes have been bad news for the U.S. over the last couple of weeks. Hurricane Helene devastated North Carolina, and now, Hurricane Milton may well do the same to entertainment giant Disney’s (DIS) earnings, according to investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS).
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Disney is currently in its first quarter of Fiscal 2025, and the loss of earnings in its Parks and Experiences segment could be between $150 million and $200 million as a result of Hurricane Milton. That would outstrip the $100 million hit Disney took from Hurricane Irma back in 2017, says Goldman Sachs.
While the hurricane will reportedly drop in intensity as it lands off Florida’s coast—and has to go over land to reach Orlando, where Disney is located—there is still potential for significant damage. However, Disney has not announced any formal closures because of the hurricane. At least, not yet.
Different Park Experiences and a New Video Game
Meanwhile, the hurricane of change is hitting Disney as it reshuffles its parks lineup. Disney is set to permanently close Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy and will instead be opening a new experience that’s focused on the villains of Disney.
There is also more word about the upcoming “persistent universe” video game Disney is working on with Epic Games. Apparently some of the characters making their cross over to Fortnite may not have guns. This is a strange dichotomy for anyone who has ever played Fortnite and knows how dependent that game is on guns.
Is Disney Stock a Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on DIS stock based on 15 Buys and four Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 10.7% rally in its share price over the past year, the average DIS price target of $113.36 per share implies 35.95% upside potential.
