Walt Disney 10-K 2021-10-02

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the fiscal year ended October 2, 2021

or

For the transition period from __________ to __________.

Commission File Number 001-38842

500 South Buena Vista Street

Burbank, California 91521

Address of Principal Executive Offices and Zip Code

(818) 560-1000

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes x No o

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes x No o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No x

The aggregate market value of common stock held by non-affiliates (based on the closing price on the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter as reported on the New York Stock Exchange-Composite Transactions) was $343.0 billion. All executive officers and directors of the registrant and all persons filing a Schedule 13D with the Securities and Exchange Commission in respect to registrant’s common stock have been deemed, solely for the purpose of the foregoing calculation, to be “affiliates” of the registrant.

There were 1,817,655,948 shares of common stock outstanding as of November 17, 2021.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Certain information required for Part III of this report is incorporated herein by reference to the proxy statement for the 2022 annual meeting of the Company’s shareholders.

THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES

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PART I

The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries, is a diversified worldwide entertainment company with operations in two segments: Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution (DMED) and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products (DPEP).

The terms “Company”, “we”, “our” and “us” are used in this report to refer collectively to the parent company and the subsidiaries through which businesses are conducted.

COVID-19 Pandemic

Since early 2020, the world has been, and continues to be, impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and its variants. COVID-19 and measures to prevent its spread has impacted our segments in a number of ways, most significantly at the DPEP segment where our theme parks and resorts were closed and cruise ship sailings and guided tours were suspended. These operations resumed, generally at reduced capacity, at various points since May 2020. We have delayed, or in some cases, shortened or cancelled theatrical releases, and stage play performances were suspended as of March 2020. Stage play operations resumed, generally at reduced capacity, in the first quarter of fiscal 2021. Theaters have been subject to capacity limitations and shifting government mandates or guidance regarding COVID-19 restrictions. We experienced significant disruptions in the production and availability of content, including the delay of key live sports programming during fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2021, as well as the suspension of most film and television production in March 2020. Although film and television production generally resumed beginning in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, we continue to see disruption of production activities depending on local circumstances. Fewer theatrical releases and production delays have limited the availability of film content to be sold in distribution windows subsequent to the theatrical release.

The impact of these disruptions and the extent of their adverse impact on our financial and operating results will be dictated by the length of time that such disruptions continue, which will, in turn, depend on the currently unknowable duration and severity of the impacts of COVID-19 and its variants, and among other things, the impact of governmental actions imposed in response to COVID-19 and individuals’ and companies’ risk tolerance regarding health matters going forward. We have incurred and will continue to incur additional costs to address government regulations and the safety of our employees, guests and talent.

Human Capital

The Company’s key human capital management objectives are to attract, retain and develop the highest quality talent. To support these objectives, the Company’s human resources programs are designed to develop talent to prepare them for critical roles and leadership positions for the future; reward and support employees through competitive pay, benefit, and perquisite programs; enhance the Company’s culture through efforts aimed at making the workplace more engaging and inclusive; acquire talent and facilitate internal talent mobility to create a high-performing, diverse workforce; engage employees as brand ambassadors of the Company’s content, products and experiences; and evolve and invest in technology, tools, and resources to enable employees at work.

The Company employed approximately 190,000 people as of October 2, 2021. Our global workforce is comprised of approximately 80% full time and 15% part time employees, with another 5% being seasonal employees.

Some examples of key programs and initiatives that are focused to attract, develop and retain our diverse workforce include:

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I):** Our DE&I objectives are to build teams that reflect the life experiences of our audiences, while employing and supporting a diverse array of voices in our creative and production teams.

◦Announced the Company’s Reimagine Tomorrow endeavor, which builds on Disney’s longstanding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Launched the Reimagine Tomorrow digital destination, Disney’s first large-scale platform for amplifying underrepresented voices

◦Created a pipeline of next-generation creative executives from underrepresented backgrounds through programs such as the Executive Incubator, Creative Talent Development and Inclusion, and the Disney Launchpad: Shorts Incubator

◦Championed targeted development programs for underrepresented talent

◦Hosted a series of innovative learning opportunities to spark dialogue among employees, leaders, Disney talent and external experts

◦Sponsored over 75 employee-led Business Employee Resource Groups (BERGs) that represent and support the diverse communities that make up our workforce. The BERGs facilitate networking and connections with peers, outreach and mentoring, leadership and skill development and cross-cultural business innovation

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◦Added an Inclusion Key to the core set of values to serve as a catalyst for culture change and strengthen DPEP’s traditional Four Keys, Safety, Courtesy, Show and Efficiency

◦Reimagined The Disney Look appearance guidelines to cultivate a more inclusive environment that encourages and celebrates authentic expressions of belonging among employees

• Health, wellness, family resources, and other benefits:** Disney’s benefit offerings are designed to meet the varied and evolving needs of a diverse workforce across businesses and geographies while helping our employees care for themselves and their families. We provide:

◦Healthcare options aimed at improving quality of care while reducing out-of-pocket costs

◦Child care programs for employees, including access to onsite/community centers, enhanced back-up care choices to include personal caregivers, child care referral assistance and center discounts, homework help and a variety of parenting educational resources

◦Free mental and behavioral health resources, including on-demand access to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for employees and their dependents

◦Two Centers for Living Well that offer convenient, on-demand access to board-certified physicians and counselors

• Continued response to COVID-19:** Our deliberate, phased, and multi-layered approach to respond to COVID-19 continued, and Disney was one of the first companies outside of the healthcare industry to institute a vaccination mandate for its employees, announced in July 2021. We:

◦Provided the ability for our employees to get vaccinated by offering on-site distribution in California, Florida, and Connecticut. Our Florida distribution center distributed approximately 1,000 doses weekly

◦Covered all COVID-19 testing and treatment under all Company medical plans at no cost to the employees and dependents

◦Introduced a process for those with medical or religious accommodation needs

◦Partnered with TrustAssureTM to help verify employee vaccination status

◦Provided employees with 24/7 access to a variety of educational resources about the pandemic, including ways to help stop the spread of the virus and to learn more about vaccination options. Due to increasing demand, a number of these resources were available to the public through a partnership with the Health Alliance, so employees could share them with friends and family

• Disney Aspire:** We support the long-term career aspirations of our hourly employees and further our commitment to strengthening the communities in which we work through our education investment program, Disney Aspire. The program helps our employees achieve their goals professionally - whether at Disney or beyond - by equipping them with the skills they need to succeed in the rapidly changing 21st century career landscape. More than 12,000 employees are currently enrolled in Disney Aspire, and more than half of our program graduates have earned an Associate, Bachelor or Master’s degree. Through Disney Aspire, we:

◦Pay 100% of tuition costs upfront at a variety of in-network lear

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For an enterprise as large and complex as the Company, a wide range of factors could materially affect future developments and performance. In addition to the factors affecting specific business operations identified in connection with the description of these operations and the financial results of these operations elsewhere in our filings with the SEC, the most significant factors affecting our business include the following:

BUSINESS, ECONOMIC, MARKET and OPERATING CONDITION RISKS

The adverse impact of COVID-19 on our businesses will continue for an unknown length of time and may continue to impact certain of our key sources of revenue.

Since early 2020, the world has been and continues to be impacted by COVID-19 and its variants. COVID-19 and measures to prevent its spread has impacted our segments in a number of ways, most significantly at the DPEP segment where our theme parks and resorts were closed and cruise ship sailings and guided tours were suspended. Most of our businesses have been closed, suspended or restricted consistent with government mandates or guidance. These operations resumed, generally at reduced capacity, at various points since May 2020. We experienced significant disruptions in the production and availability of content. Although film and television production generally resumed beginning in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, we continue to see disruption in production activities depending on local circumstances. Production delays and fewer theatrical releases have limited the availability of film content to be sold in distribution windows subsequent to the theatrical release. Theaters have been subject to capacity limitations and shifting government mandates or guidance regarding COVID-19 restrictions. Declines in linear viewership and consumption of our content (due to production delays or otherwise) result in decreased advertising revenue.

Sports content continues to be delayed or impacted by COVID-19 restrictions. Continued or increased unavailability of sports content is likely to exacerbate the impacts to our business. Other of our offerings will be exposed to additional financial impacts in the event of future significant unavailability of content. COVID-19 impacts could also hasten the erosion of historical sources of revenue at our Linear Networks businesses. We have experienced reduced numbers of reservations at our hotels and cruises. We have experienced increased returns and refunds and customer requests for payment deferrals.

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Collectively, our impacted businesses have historically been the source of the majority of our revenue. Many of our businesses that are open are operating subject to restrictions and increased expenses. These and other impacts of COVID-19 on our businesses will continue for an unknown length of time. COVID-19 impacts that have subsided may again impact our businesses in the future and new impacts may emerge from COVID-19 developments or other pandemics. For example, some of our parks closed due to government mandates or guidance following their initial reopening.

Consumers may change their behavior and consumption patterns in response to the prolonged suspension of certain of our businesses, such as subscription to pay television packages (which experienced accelerated decline during some periods after the onset of COVID-19) or theater-going to watch movies. Certain of our customers, including individuals as well as businesses such as theatrical distributors, affiliates, licensees of rights to use our programming and IP, advertisers and others, have been negatively impacted by the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, which may continue to result in decreased purchases of our goods and services even after certain operations resume. Some industries in which our customers operate, such as theatrical distribution, retail and travel, could experience contraction, which could impact the profitability of our businesses going forward. Additionally, we have incurred and will continue to incur incremental costs to implement health and safety measures, reopen our parks and restart our halted projects and operations. As we have resumed production of content, including live sports events, we have incurred costs to implement health and safety measures and productions will generally take longer to complete.

Our mitigation efforts in response to the impacts of COVID-19 on our businesses have had, or may have, negative impacts. The Company (or our Board of Directors, as applicable) issued senior notes in March and May 2020, entered into an additional $5.0 billion credit facility in April 2020 (which has now been terminated), did not pay a dividend with respect to fiscal 2020 operations and has not declared nor paid a dividend with respect to fiscal 2021 operations; suspended certain capital projects; temporarily reduced certain discretionary expenditures (such as spending on marketing); temporarily reduced management compensation; temporarily eliminated Board of Director retainers and committee fees; furloughed over half of our employees; and reduced our employee population. Such mitigation measures have resulted in the delay or suspension of certain projects in which we have invested, particularly at our parks and resorts and studio operations. We may take additional mitigation actions in the future such as raising additional financing; not declaring future dividends (the Company has announced an intention not to declare further dividends until a return to a more normalized operating environment); reducing, or not making, certain payments, such as some contributions to our pension and postretirement medical plans; further suspending capital spending; reducing film and television content investments; or implementing additional furloughs or reductions in force or modifying our operating strategy. These and other of our mitigating actions may have an adverse impact on our businesses. Additionally, there are limitations on our ability to mitigate the adverse financial impact of COVID-19, including the fixed costs of our theme park business and the impact COVID-19 may have on capital markets and our cost of borrowing. Further, the benefit of certain mitigation efforts will not continue to be available going forward. For example, as our employees are returning from furlough, the cost reductions of the related furloughs are no longer available and we are incurring expenses to recall and hire employees.

Even our operations that were not suspended or that have resumed continue to be adversely impacted by government mandated restrictions (such as density limitations and travel restrictions and requirements); measures we voluntarily implement; measures we are contractually obligated to implement; the distancing practices and health concerns of consumers, talent and production workers; and logistical limitations. Upon reopening our parks and resorts businesses we have seen certain instances of lower demand. Geographic variation in government requirements and ongoing changes to restrictions have disrupted and could further disrupt our businesses, including our production operations. Our operations could be suspended, re-suspended or subjected to new or reinstated limitations by government action or otherwise in the future as a result of developments related to COVID-19, such as the current expansion of the delta variant or other variants. For example, both Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Disneyland Paris have reopened and closed multiple times since the onset of COVID-19. Some of our employees who returned to work were later refurloughed. Our operations could be further negatively impacted and our reputation could be negatively impacted by a significant COVID-19 outbreak impacting our employees, customers or others interacting with our businesses, including our supply chain.

In fiscal year 2020, we operated at a net loss and in fiscal year 2021, our net income from continuing operations remained substantially below pre-pandemic levels. We have impaired goodwill and intangible assets at our International Channels businesses and written down the value of certain of our retail store assets. Certain of our other assets could also become impaired, including further impairments of goodwill and intangible assets; we have increased, and may further increase, allowances for credit losses; and there may be changes in judgments in determining the fair-value of assets; and estimates related to variable consideration may change due to increased returns, reduced usage of our products or services and decreased royalties. Our leverage ratios have increased as a result of COVID-19’s impact on our financial performance, which caused certain of the credit rating agencies to downgrade their assessment of our credit ratings, and are expected to remain elevated at least in the near term. Our debt ratings may be further downgraded, which may negatively impact our cost of borrowing. Due to reduced operating cash flow, we may utilize cash balances and/or future financings to fund a portion of our operations and investments in our businesses. Financial risks may be exacerbated by a number of factors, including the timing of customer deposit refunds and liquidity issues among our key customers, particularly advertisers, television affiliates, theatrical exhibitors

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and distributors, and licensees. These factors have impacted timely payments by such customers to the Company. Additionally, loss of or delay in the collection of receivables as a result of contractual performance short falls, meeting our contractual payment obligations, and investments we need to make in our business may result in increased financial risk. The Company has $12.5 billion in trade accounts receivable outstanding at October 2, 2021, with an allowance for credit losses of $0.2 billion. Our estimates and judgments with respect to the collectability of our receivables are subject to greater uncertainty due to the impacts of COVID-19. Economic or political conditions in a country outside the U.S. could also reduce our ability to hedge exposure to currency fluctuations in the country or our ability to repatriate revenue from the country.

The impacts of COVID-19 to our business have generally amplified, or reduced our ability to mitigate, the other risks discussed in our filings with the SEC and our remediation efforts may not be successful.

COVID-19 also makes it more challenging for management to estimate future performance of our businesses. COVID-19 has already adversely impacted our businesses and net cash flow, and we expect the ultimate magnitude of these disruptions on our financial and operational results will be dictated by the length of time that such disruptions continue which will, in turn, depend on the currently unknowable duration and severity of the impacts of COVID-19, and among other things, the impact and duration of governmental actions imposed in response to COVID-19 and individuals’ and companies’ risk tolerance regarding health matters going forward. Where actual performance in our international markets significantly underperforms management’s forecasts, the Company has had, and could have further, foreign currency hedge gains/losses which are not offset by the realization of exposures, resulting in excess hedge gains or losses. While we cannot be certain as to the duration of the impacts of COVID-19, we expect impacts of COVID-19 to continue to affect our financial results in fiscal 2022.

Changes in U.S., global, and regional economic conditions are expected to have an adverse effect on the profitability of our businesses.

A decline in economic activity, such as recession or economic downturn, in the U.S. and other regions of the world in which we do business can adversely affect demand for any of our businesses, thus reducing our revenue and earnings. Global economic activity has declined as a result of the impacts of COVID-19. Past declines in economic conditions reduced spending at our parks and resorts, purchases of and prices for advertising on our broadcast and cable networks and owned stations, performance of our home entertainment releases, and purchases of Company-branded consumer products, and similar impacts can be expected should such conditions recur. The current decline in economic conditions could also reduce attendance at our parks and resorts, prices that MVPDs pay for our cable programming or subscription levels for our cable programming or direct-to-consumer products. Economic conditions can also impair the ability of those with whom we do business to satisfy their obligations to us. In addition, an increase in price levels generally, or in price levels in a particular sector such as the energy sector (such as current inflation related to domestic and global supply chain issues, which has led to both overall price increases and pronounced price increases in certain sectors), could result in a shift in consumer demand away from the entertainment and consumer products we offer, which could also adversely affect our revenues and, at the same time, increase our costs. A decline in economic conditions could impact implementation of our expansion plans. Changes in exchange rates for foreign currencies may reduce international demand for our products or increase our labor or supply costs in non-U.S. markets, or reduce the U.S. dollar value of revenue we receive and expect to receive from other markets. Economic or political conditions in a country could also reduce our ability to hedge exposure to currency fluctuations in the country or our ability to repatriate revenue from the country. Broader supply chain delays, such as those currently impacting global distribution may impact our ability to sell and deliver goods or otherwise disrupt our operations.

Changes in technology and in consumer consumption patterns may affect demand for our entertainment products, the revenue we can generate from these products or the cost of producing or distributing products.

The media entertainment and internet businesses in which we participate increasingly depend on our ability to successfully adapt to shifting patterns of content consumption through the adoption and exploitation of new technologies. New technologies affect the demand for our products, the manner in which our products are distributed to consumers, ways we charge for and receive revenue for our entertainment products and the stability of those revenue streams, the sources and nature of competing content offerings, the time and manner in which consumers acquire and view some of our entertainment products and the options available to advertisers for reaching their desired audiences. This trend has impacted the business model for certain traditional forms of distribution, as evidenced by the industry-wide decline in ratings for broadcast television, the reduction in demand for home entertainment sales of theatrical content, the development of alternative distribution channels for broadcast and cable programming and declines in subscriber levels for traditional cable channels, including for a number of our networks. Declines in linear viewership have resulted in decreased advertising revenue. In order to respond to these developments, we regularly consider, and from time to time implement changes to our business models, most recently by developing, investing in and acquiring DTC products and reorganizing our media and entertainment businesses to accelerate our DTC strategies. There can be no assurance that our DTC offerings and other efforts will successfully respond to these changes. We expect to forgo revenue from traditional sources, particularly as we expand our DTC offerings. There can be no assurance that the DTC model and other business models we may develop will ultimately be as profitable as our existing or historic business models.

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Misalignment with public and consumer tastes and preferences for entertainment, travel and consumer products could negatively impact demand for our entertainment offerings and products and adversely affect the profitability of any of our businesses.

Our businesses create entertainment, travel and consumer products whose success depends substantially on consumer tastes and preferences that change in often unpredictable ways. The success of our businesses depends on our ability to consistently create content, which may be distributed, among other ways, through broadcast, cable, internet or cellular technology, theme park attractions, hotels and other resort facilities and travel experiences and consumer products. Such distribution must meet the changing preferences of the broad consumer market and respond to competition from an expanding array of choices facilitated by technological developments in the delivery of content. The success of our theme parks, resorts, cruise ships and experiences, as well as our theatrical releases, depends on demand for public or out-of-home entertainment experiences. COVID-19 may impact consumer tastes and preferences. Many of our businesses increasingly depend on acceptance of our offerings and products by consumers outside the U.S., and their success therefore depends on our ability to successfully predict and adapt to changing consumer tastes and preferences outside as well as inside the U.S. Moreover, we must often invest substantial amounts in content production and acquisition, acquisition of sports rights, theme park attractions, cruise ships or hotels and other facilities or customer facing platforms before we know the extent to which these products will earn consumer acceptance. The impacts of COVID-19 are inhibiting and delaying our ability to earn returns on some of these and other investments. If our entertainment offerings and products (including our content offerings, which have been impacted by COVID-19) as well as our methods to make our offerings and products available to consumers, do not achieve sufficient consumer acceptance, our revenue may decline, decline further or fail to grow to the extent we anticipate when making investment decisions and thereby further adversely affect the profitability of one or more of our businesses. Consumer tastes and preferences impact, among other items, revenue from advertising sales (which are based in part on ratings for the programs in which advertisements air), affiliate fees, subscription fees, theatrical film receipts, the license of rights to other distributors, theme park admissions, hotel room charges and merchandise, food and beverage sales, sales of licensed consumer products or sales of our other consumer products and services.

The success of our businesses is highly dependent on the existence and maintenance of intellectual property rights in the entertainment products and services we create.

The value to us of our IP is dependent on the scope and duration of our rights as defined by applicable laws in the U.S. and abroad and the manner in which those laws are construed. If those laws are drafted or interpreted in ways that limit the extent or duration of our rights, or if existing laws are changed, our ability to generate revenue from our IP may decrease, or the cost of obtaining and maintaining rights may increase.

The unauthorized use of our IP may increase the cost of protecting rights in our IP or reduce our revenues. The convergence of computing, communication and entertainment devices, increased broadband internet speed and penetration, increased availability and speed of mobile data transmission and increasingly sophisticated attempts to obtain unauthorized access to data systems have made the unauthorized digital copying and distribution of our films, television productions and other creative works easier and faster and protection and enforcement of IP rights more challenging. The unauthorized distribution and access to entertainment content generally continues to be a significant challenge for IP rights holders. Inadequate laws or weak enforcement mechanisms to protect entertainment industry IP in one country can adversely affect the results of the Company’s operations worldwide, despite the Company’s efforts to protect its IP rights. COVID-19 and distribution innovation in response to COVID-19 has increased opportunities to access content in unauthorized ways. Additionally, negative economic conditions coupled with a shift in government priorities could lead to less enforcement. These developments require us to devote substantial resources to protecting our IP against unlicensed use and present the risk of increased losses of revenue as a result of unlicensed distribution of our content and other commercial misuses of our IP.

With respect to IP developed by the Company and rights acquired by the Company from others, the Company is subject to the risk of challenges to our copyright, trademark and patent rights by third parties. Successful challenges to our rights in IP may result in increased costs for obtaining rights or the loss of the opportunity to earn revenue from or utilize the IP that is the subject of challenged rights. From time to time, the Company has been notified that it may be infringing certain IP rights of third parties. Technological changes in industries in which the Company operates and extensive patent coverage in those areas may increase the risk of such claims being brought and prevailing.

Protection of electronically stored data and other cybersecurity is costly, and if our data or systems are materially compromised in spite of this protection, we may incur additional costs, lost opportunities, damage to our reputation, disruption of service or theft of our assets.

We maintain information necessary to conduct our business, including confidential and proprietary information as well as personal information regarding our customers and employees, in digital form. We also use computer systems to deliver our products and services and operate our businesses. Data maintained in digital form is subject to the risk of unauthorized access, modification, exfiltration, destruction or denial of access and our computer systems are subject to cyberattacks that may result in disruptions in service. We use many third party systems and software, which are also subject to supply chain and other

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cyberattacks. We develop and maintain an information security program to identify and mitigate cyber risks but the development and maintenance of this program is costly and requires ongoing monitoring and updating as technologies change and efforts to overcome security measures become more sophisticated. Accordingly, despite our efforts, the risk of unauthorized access, modification, exfiltration, destruction or denial of access with respect to data or systems and other cybersecurity attacks cannot be eliminated entirely, and the risks associated with a potentially material incident remain. In addition, we provide some confidential, proprietary and personal information to third parties in certain cases when it is necessary to pursue business objectives. While we obtain assurances that these third parties will protect this information and, where we believe appropriate, monitor the protections employed by these third parties, there is a risk the confidentiality of data held by third parties may be compromised.

If our information or cyber security systems or data are compromised in a material way, our ability to conduct our business may be impaired, we may lose profitable opportunities or the value of those opportunities may be diminished and, as described above, we may lose revenue as a result of unlicensed use of our intellectual property. If personal information of our customers or employees is misappropriated, our reputation with our customers and employees may be damaged resulting in loss of business or morale, and we may incur costs to remediate possible harm to our customers and employees or damages arising from litigation and/or to pay fines or take other action with respect to judicial or regulatory actions arising out of the incident. Insurance we obtain may not cover losses or damages associated with such attacks or events. Our systems and the systems of third parties with whom we engage are continually attacked.

A variety of uncontrollable events may reduce demand for or consumption of our products and services, impair our ability to provide our products and services or increase the cost or reduce the profitability of providing our products and services.

Demand for and consumption of our products and services, particularly our theme parks and resorts, is highly dependent on the general environment for travel and tourism. The environment for travel and tourism, as well as demand for and consumption of other entertainment products, can be significantly adversely affected in the U.S., globally or in specific regions as a result of a variety of factors beyond our control, including: health concerns (including as it has been by COVID-19 and could be by future pandemics); adverse weather conditions arising from short-term weather patterns or long-term climate change, catastrophic events or natural disasters (such as excessive heat or rain, hurricanes, typhoons, floods, tsunamis and earthquakes); international, political or military developments (including social unrest); a decline in economic activity; and terrorist attacks. These events and others, such as fluctuations in travel and energy costs and computer virus attacks, intrusions or other widespread computing or telecommunications failures, may also damage our ability to provide our products and services or to obtain insurance coverage with respect to some of these events. An incident that affected our property directly would have a direct impact on our ability to provide goods and services and could have an extended effect of discouraging consumers from attending our facilities. Moreover, the costs of protecting against such incidents, including the costs of protecting against the spread of COVID-19, reduces the profitability of our operations.

For example, COVID-19 and measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are currently impairing our ability to provide our products and services and reducing consumption of those products and services. Further, prior to COVID-19, events in Hong Kong impacted profitability of our Hong Kong operations and may continue to do so, and past hurricanes have impacted the profitability of Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and future hurricanes may also do so.

The negative economic consequences of COVID-19 may be particularly challenging in markets where individuals and local businesses have limited access to government supported “safety nets,” which could lead to political instability and unrest, and further depress demand for our products and services over a longer timeframe.

In addition, we derive affiliate fees and royalties from the distribution of our programming, sales of our licensed goods and services by third parties, and the management of businesses operated under brands licensed from the Company, and we are therefore dependent on the successes of those third parties for that portion of our revenue. A wide variety of factors could influence the success of those third parties and if negative factors significantly impacted a sufficient number of those third parties, the profitability of one or more of our businesses could be adversely affected. In specific geographic markets, we have experienced delayed and/or partial payments from certain affiliate partners due to liquidity issues.

We obtain insurance against the risk of losses relating to some of these events, generally including physical damage to our property and resulting business interruption, certain injuries occurring on our property and some liabilities for alleged breach of legal responsibilities. When insurance is obtained it is subject to deductibles, exclusions, terms, conditions and limits of liability. The types and levels of coverage we obtain vary from time to time depending on our view of the likelihood of specific types and levels of loss in relation to the cost of obtaining coverage for such types and levels of loss and we may experience material losses not covered by our insurance. For example, most losses related to impacts of COVID-19 will not be covered by insurance available to us.

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Changes in our business strategy or restructuring of our businesses may increase our costs or otherwise affect the profitability of our businesses or the value of our assets.

As changes in our business environment occur we have adjusted, and may further adjust our business strategies to meet these changes and we may otherwise decide to further restructure our operations or particular businesses or assets. For example, in October 2020 we announced a reorganization of our media and entertainment businesses to accelerate our DTC strategies. In March 2021 we announced the closure of a substantial number of our Disney-branded retail stores; and we have announced exploration of a number of new types of businesses. Our new organization and strategies may not produce the anticipated benefits, such as supporting our growth strategies and enhancing shareholder value. Our new organization and strategies could be less successful than our previous organizational structure and strategies. In addition, external events including changing technology, changing consumer purchasing patterns, acceptance of our theatrical and other content offerings and changes in macroeconomic conditions may impair the value of our assets. When these changes or events occur, we may incur costs to change our business strategy and may need to write-down the value of assets. For example, current conditions, including COVID-19 and our business decisions, have reduced the value of some of our assets. We have impaired goodwill and intangible assets at our International Channels businesses and impaired the value of certain of our retail store assets. We may write-down other assets as our strategy evolves to account for the current business environment. We also make investments in existing or new businesses, including investments in international expansion of our business and in new business lines. In recent years, such investments have included expansion and renovation of certain of our theme parks, expansion of our fleet of cruise ships, the acquisition of TFCF and investments related to DTC offerings. Some of these investments have returns that are negative or low, the ultimate business prospects of the businesses related to these investments are uncertain, these investments may impact the profitability of our other businesses, and these risks are exacerbated by COVID-19. In any of these events, our costs may increase, we may have significant charges associated with the write-down of assets or returns on new investments may be lower than prior to the change in strategy or restructuring. Even if our strategies are effective in the long term, growth of our new offerings is unlikely to be even quarter over quarter and we may not expand into new markets as or when anticipated. Our ability to forecast for new businesses may be impacted by our lack of experience operating in those new businesses, volatility beyond our control (such as the events beyond our control noted above) and our ability to obtain or develop the content and rights on which our projections are based. Accordingly, we may not achieve our forecasted outcomes.

Increased competitive pressures may reduce our revenues or increase our costs.

We face substantial competition in each of our businesses from alternative providers of the products and services we offer and from other forms of entertainment, lodging, tourism and recreational activities. This includes, among other types, competition for human resources, content and other resources we require in operating our business. For example:

• Our programming and production operations compete to obtain creative, performing and business talent, sports and other programming, story properties, advertiser support and market share with other studio operators, television networks, SVOD providers and other new sources of broadband delivered content.

• Our television networks and stations and DTC offerings compete for the sale of advertising time with other television and SVOD services, as well as with newspapers, magazines, billboards and radio stations. In addition, we increasingly face competition for advertising sales from internet and mobile delivered content, which offer advertising delivery technologies that are more targeted than can be achieved through traditional means.

• Our television networks compete for carriage of their programming with other programming providers.

• Our theme parks and resorts compete for guests with all other forms of entertainment, lodging, tourism and recreation activities.

• Our content sales/licensing operations compete for customers with all other forms of entertainment.

• Our consumer products business competes with other licensors and creators of IP.

• Our DTC businesses compete for customers with an increasing number of competitors’ DTC offerings, all other forms of media and all other forms of entertainment, as well as for technology, creative, performing and business talent and for content.

Competition in each of these areas may increase as a result of technological developments and changes in market structure, including consolidation of suppliers of resources and distribution channels. Increased competition may divert consumers from our creative or other products, or to other products or other forms of entertainment, which could reduce our revenue or increase our marketing costs.

Competition for the acquisition of resources can increase the cost of producing our products and services, deprive us of talent necessary to produce high quality creative material or increase the cost of compensation for our employees. Such competition may also reduce, or limit growth in, prices for our products and services, including advertising rates and subscription fees at our media networks, parks and resorts admissions and room rates, prices for consumer products from which we derive license revenues, and fees for our DTC offerings.

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Our results may be adversely affected if long-term programming or carriage contracts are not renewed on sufficiently favorable terms.

We enter into long-term contracts for both the acquisition and the distribution of media programming and products, including contracts for the acquisition of programming rights for sporting events and other programs, and contracts for the distribution of our programming to content distributors. As these contracts expire, we must renew or renegotiate the contracts, and if we are unable to renew them on acceptable terms, we may lose programming rights or distribution rights. Even if these contracts are renewed, the cost of obtaining programming rights may increase (or increase at faster rates than our historical experience) or programming distributors, facing pressures resulting from increased subscription fees and alternative distribution challenges, may demand terms (including pricing and the breadth of distribution) that reduce our revenue from distribution of programs (or increase revenue at slower rates than our historical experience). Moreover, our ability to renew these contracts on favorable terms may be affected by consolidation in the market for program distribution, the entrance of new participants in the market for distribution of content on digital platforms and the impacts of COVID-19. With respect to the acquisition of programming rights, particularly sports programming rights, the impact of these long-term contracts on our results over the term of the contracts depends on a number of factors, including the strength of advertising markets, subscription levels and rates for programming, effectiveness of marketing efforts and the size of viewer audiences. There can be no assurance that revenues from programming based on these rights will exceed the cost of the rights plus the other costs of producing and distributing the programming.

Changes in regulations applicable to our businesses may impair the profitability of our businesses.

Our broadcast networks and television stations are highly regulated, and each of our other businesses is subject to a variety of U.S. and overseas regulations. Some of these regulations include:

• U.S. FCC regulation of our television and radio networks, our national programming networks and our owned television stations. See Item 1 — Business — Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Federal Regulation.

• Federal, state and foreign privacy and data protection laws and regulations.

• Regulation of the safety and supply chain of consumer products and theme park operations, including potential regulation regarding the sourcing, importation and the sale of goods.

• Environmental protection regulations.

• Imposition by foreign countries of trade restrictions, restrictions on the manner in which content is currently licensed and distributed, ownership restrictions, currency exchange controls or film or television content requirements, investment obligations or quotas.

• Domestic and international labor laws, tax laws or currency controls.

Changes in any of these regulations or regulator activities in any of these areas, or others, may require us to spend additional amounts to comply with the regulations, or may restrict our ability to offer products and services in ways that are profitable. For example, in January 2019 India implemented regulation and tariffs impacting certain bundling of channels; U.S. agencies have enhanced trade restrictions and legislation is currently under consideration that would prohibit importation of goods from certain regions; and in many countries/regions around the world (including but not limited to the EU) regulators are requiring us to broadcast on our linear (or display on our DTC streaming services) programming produced in specific countries as well as invest specified amounts of our revenues in local content productions.

Public health and other regional, national, state and local regulations and policies are impacting our ability to operate our businesses at all or in accordance with historic practice. In addition to the government requirements that have closed or impacted most of our businesses as a result of COVID-19, government requirements may continue to be extended and new government requirements may be imposed.

Our operations outside the U.S. may be adversely affected by the operation of laws in those jurisdictions.

Our operations in non-U.S. jurisdictions are in many cases subject to the laws of the jurisdictions in which they operate rather than U.S. law. Laws in some jurisdictions differ in significant respects from those in the U.S. These differences can affect our ability to react to changes in our business, and our rights or ability to enforce rights may be different than would be expected under U.S. law. Moreover, enforcement of laws in some overseas jurisdictions can be inconsistent and unpredictable, which can affect both our ability to enforce our rights and to undertake activities that we believe are beneficial to our business. In addition, the business and political climate in some jurisdictions may encourage corruption, which could reduce our ability to compete successfully in those jurisdictions while remaining in compliance with local laws or U.S. anti-corruption laws applicable to our businesses. As a result, our ability to generate revenue and our expenses in non-U.S. jurisdictions may differ from what would be expected if U.S. law governed these operations.

Damage to our reputation or brands may negatively impact our Company across businesses and regions.

Our reputation and globally recognizable brands are integral to the success of our businesses. Because our brands engage consumers across our businesses, damage to our reputation or brands in one business may have an impact on our other

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businesses. Because some of our brands are globally recognized, brand damage may not be locally contained. Maintenance of the reputation of our Company and brands depends on many factors including the quality of our offerings, maintenance of trust with our customers and our ability to successfully innovate. Significant negative claims or publicity regarding the Company or its operations, products, management, employees, practices, business partners, business decisions, social responsibility and culture may damage our brands or reputation, even if such claims are untrue. Damage to our reputation or brands could impact our sales, business opportunities, profitability, recruiting and valuation of our securities.

Risks that impact our business as a whole may also impact the success of our DTC business.

We may not successfully execute on our DTC strategy. An increasing number of competitors have entered DTC businesses. Consumers may not be willing to pay for an expanding set of DTC streaming services, potentially exacerbated by an economic downturn. We face competition for creative talent and may not be successful in recruiting and retaining talent. Government regulation, including revised foreign content and ownership regulations, may impact the implementation of our DTC business plans. The highly competitive environment in which we operate puts pricing pressure on our DTC offerings and may require us to lower our prices or not take price increases to attract or retain customers. These and other risks may impact the profitability and success of our DTC businesses.

Potential credit ratings actions, increases in interest rates, or volatility in the U.S. and global financial markets could impede access to, or increase the cost of, financing our operations and investments.

Our borrowing costs have been, and can be affected by short- and long-term debt ratings assigned by independent ratings agencies that are based, in part, on the Company’s performance as measured by credit metrics such as leverage and interest coverage ratios. As a result of COVID-19, Standard and Poor’s downgraded our long-term debt ratings by two notches to BBB+ and downgraded our short-term debt ratings by one notch to A-2. Fitch downgraded our long- and short-term credit ratings by one notch to A- and F2, respectively. As of October 2, 2021 Moody’s Investors Service’s long- and short-term debt ratings for the Company were A2 and P-1 (Stable), respectively, Standard and Poor’s long- and short-term debt ratings for the Company were BBB+ and A-2 (Stable), respectively, and Fitch’s long- and short-term debt ratings for the Company were A- and F2 (Stable), respectively. These ratings actions have increased, and any potential future downgrades could further increase, our cost of borrowing and/or make it more difficult for us to obtain financing.

In addition, increases in interest rates or volatility in U.S. and global financial markets could impact our access to, or increase the cost of, financing. Past disruptions in the U.S. and global credit and equity markets made it more difficult for many businesses to obtain financing on acceptable terms. These conditions tended to increase the cost of borrowing and if they recur, our cost of borrowing could increase and it may be more difficult to obtain financing for our operations or investments.

Labor disputes may disrupt our operations and adversely affect the profitability of any of our businesses.

A significant number of employees in various parts of our businesses are covered by collective bargaining agreements, including employees of our theme parks and resorts as well as writers, directors, actors, production personnel and others employed at DMED. In addition, the employees of licensees who manufacture and retailers who sell our consumer products, and employees of providers of programming content (such as sports leagues) may be covered by labor agreements with their employers. In general, a labor dispute involving our employees or the employees of our licensees or retailers who sell our consumer products or providers of programming content may disrupt our operations and reduce our revenues. Resolution of disputes or negotiation of rate increases may increase our costs.

The seasonality of certain of our businesses and timing of certain of our product offerings could exacerbate negative impacts on our operations.

Each of our businesses is normally subject to seasonal variations and variations in connection with the timing of our product offerings, including as follows:

• Revenues in our DPEP segment fluctuate with changes in theme park attendance and resort occupancy resulting from the seasonal nature of vacation travel and leisure activities and seasonal consumer purchasing behavior, which generally results in increased revenues during the Company’s first and fourth fiscal quarters. Peak attendance and resort occupancy generally occur during the summer months when school vacations occur and during early winter and spring holiday periods. Our parks, resorts and experiences are or may be operating at diminished capacity or have been or may be closed during these periods as a result of COVID-19. In addition, licensing revenues fluctuate with the timing and performance of our theatrical releases and cable programming broadcasts, many of which have been delayed, canceled or modified.

• Revenues from television networks and stations are subject to seasonal advertising patterns and changes in viewership levels. In general, advertising revenues are somewhat higher during the fall and somewhat lower during the summer months.

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• Revenues from content sales/licensing fluctuate due to the timing of content releases across various distribution markets. Release dates and methods are determined by a number of factors, including, among others, competition, the timing of vacation and holiday periods and impacts of COVID-19 to various distribution markets.

• DTC revenues fluctuate based on changes in the number of subscribers and subscriber fee or revenue mix; viewership levels on our digital platforms; and the demand for sports and film and television content. Each of these may depend on the availability of content, which varies from time to time throughout the year based on, among other things, sports seasons, content production schedules and league shut downs. Because our DTC business is relatively new, we have limited data on which to base our understanding of DTC seasonality.

Accordingly, negative impacts on our business occurring during a time of typical high seasonal demand could have a disproportionate effect on the results of that business for the year. Examples include the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on various high seasons or hurricane damage to our parks during the summer travel season.

Sustained increases in costs of pension and postretirement medical and other employee health and welfare benefits may reduce our profitability.

With approximately 190,000 employees, our profitability is substantially affected by costs of pension and current and postretirement medical benefits. We may experience significant increases in these costs as a result of macroeconomic factors, which are beyond our control, including increases in the cost of health care. Impacts of COVID-19 may lead to an increase in the cost of medical insurance and expenses. In addition, changes in investment returns and discount rates used to calculate pension and postretirement medical expense and related assets and liabilities can be volatile and may have an unfavorable impact on our costs in some years. These macroeconomic factors as well as a decline in the fair value of pension and postretirement medical plan assets may put upward pressure on the cost of providing pension and postretirement medical benefits and may increase future funding requirements. There can be no assurance that we will succeed in limiting cost increases, and continued upward pressure could reduce the profitability of our businesses.

The alteration or discontinuation of LIBOR may adversely affect our borrowing costs.

Certain of our interest rate derivatives and a portion of our indebtedness bear interest at variable interest rates, primarily based on LIBOR, which may be subject to regulatory guidance and/or reform that could cause interest rates under our current or future debt agreements to perform differently than in the past or cause other unanticipated consequences. In July 2017, the Chief Executive of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”), which regulates LIBOR, announced that the FCA will no longer persuade or compel banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. However, on November 30, 2020, ICE Benchmark Administration (“IBA”), indicated that it would consult on its intention to cease publication of most USD LIBOR tenors beyond June 30, 2023. On March 5, 2021, IBA confirmed it would cease publication of Overnight, 1, 3, 6 and 12 Month USD LIBOR settings immediately following the LIBOR publication on June 30, 2023. IBA also intends to cease publishing 1 Week and 2 Month USD LIBOR settings immediately following the LIBOR publication on December 31, 2021. The Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARCC), which was convened by the Federal Reserve Board and the New York Fed, has identified the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) as the recommended risk-free alternative rate for USD LIBOR. The extended cessation date for most USD LIBOR tenors will allow for more time for existing legacy USD LIBOR contracts to mature and provide additional time to continue to prepare for the transition from LIBOR. At this time, it is not possible to predict the effect any discontinuance, modification or other reforms to LIBOR, or the establishment of alternative reference rates such as SOFR, or any other reference rate, will have on the Company or its borrowing costs.

ACQUISITION RISKS

Our consolidated indebtedness increased substantially following completion of the TFCF acquisition and further increased as a result of the impacts of COVID-19. This increased level of indebtedness could adversely affect us, including by decreasing our business flexibility.

As a result of the TFCF acquisition in fiscal 2019, the Company’s net indebtedness increased substantially. The increased indebtedness could have the effect of, among other things, reducing our financial flexibility and reducing our flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions, such as those presented by COVID-19, among others. Increased levels of indebtedness could also reduce funds available for capital expenditures, share repurchases and dividends, and other activities and may create competitive disadvantages for us relative to other companies with lower debt levels. The Company has announced an intention not to declare further dividends until a return to a more normalized operating environment. Our leverage ratios have increased as the result of COVID-19’s impact on financial performance, which caused certain of the credit ratings agencies to downgrade their assessment of our credit ratings, and are expected to remain elevated at least in the near term. Our debt ratings may be further downgraded, which may negatively impact our cost of borrowings.

Consummation of the TFCF acquisition has increased our exposure to the risks of operating internationally.

We are a diversified entertainment company that offers entertainment, travel and consumer products worldwide. Although many of our businesses increasingly depend on acceptance of our offerings and products by consumers outside of the U.S., the combination with TFCF has increased the importance of international operations to our future operations, growth and prospects.

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Our risks of operating internationally have increased following the completion of the TFCF acquisition and as a result of COVID-19.

The TFCF acquisition and integration and Hulu put/call may result in additional costs and expenses.

We have incurred and may continue to incur significant costs, expenses and fees for professional services and other transaction and financing costs in connection with the TFCF acquisition and integration and the Hulu put/call agreement with NBCU. We may also incur accounting and other costs that were not anticipated at the time of the TFCF acquisition, including costs for which we have established reserves or which may lead to reserves in the future. Such costs could negatively impact the Company’s free cash flow.

GENERAL RISKS

The Company’s amended and restated bylaws provide to the fullest extent permitted by law that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for certain legal actions between the Company and its stockholders, which could increase costs to bring a claim, discourage claims or limit the ability of the Company’s stockholders to bring a claim in a judicial forum viewed by the stockholders as more favorable for disputes with the Company or the Company’s directors, officers or other employees.

The Company’s amended and restated bylaws provide to the fullest extent permitted by law that unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for any (i) derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Company, (ii) any action or proceeding asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any current or former director, officer or stockholder of the Company to the Company or the Company’s stockholders, (iii) any action or proceeding asserting a claim arising pursuant to, or seeking to enforce any right, obligation or remedy under, any provision of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”), the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws (as each may be amended from time to time), (iv) any action or proceeding as to which the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, (v) or any action or proceeding asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine. The choice of forum provision may increase costs to bring a claim, discourage claims or limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with the Company or the Company’s directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against the Company or the Company’s directors, officers and other employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in the Company’s amended and restated bylaws to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, the Company may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions. The exclusive forum provision in the Company’s amended and restated bylaws will not preclude or contract the scope of exclusive federal or concurrent jurisdiction for actions brought under the federal securities laws including the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the respective rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

The Company has received no written comments regarding its periodic or current reports from the staff of the SEC that were issued 180 days or more preceding the end of fiscal 2021 and that remain unresolved.

Our parks and resorts locations and other properties of the Company and its subsidiaries are described in Item 1 under the caption Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. Film and television library properties and television stations owned by the Company are described in Item 1 under the caption Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution.

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The Company and its subsidiaries own and lease properties throughout the world. In addition to the properties noted above, the table below provides a brief description of other significant properties and the related business segment.

(1)Surrounding cities include Glendale, CA, North Hollywood, CA and Sun Valley, CA

As disclosed in Note 15 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, the Company is engaged in certain legal matters, and the disclosure set forth in Note 15 relating to certain legal matters is incorporated herein by reference.

The Company, together with, in some instances, certain of its directors and officers, is a defendant in various other legal actions involving copyright, breach of contract and various other claims incident to the conduct of its businesses. Management does not expect the Company to suffer any material liability by reason of these actions.

Not applicable.

Information About Our Executive Officers

The executive officers of the Company are elected each year at the organizational meeting of the Board of Directors, which follows the annual meeting of the shareholders, and at other Board of Directors meetings, as appropriate. Each of the executive officers has been employed by the Company in the position or positions indicated in the list and pertinent notes below. Each of the executive officers has been employed by the Company for more than five years.

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At October 2, 2021, the executive officers of the Company were as follows:

(1)Mr. Iger was appointed Executive Chairman effective February 24, 2020. He is also Chairman of the Board from March 2012. He was Chief Executive Officer from October 2005 to February 2020.

(2)Mr. Chapek was appointed Chief Executive Officer effective February 24, 2020. He served as Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products since the segment’s creation in 2018, and prior to that was Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts since 2015.

(3)Ms. McCarthy was appointed Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer effective June 30, 2015. She was previously Executive Vice President, Corporate Real Estate, Alliances and Treasurer of the Company from 2000 to 2015.

(4)Mr. Richardson was appointed Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer effective July 1, 2021. He was previously Senior Vice President of Human Resources at ESPN from 2007.

(5)Ms. Mucha was appointed Senior Executive Vice President Corporate Communications effective August 2016. She was previously Executive Vice President Corporate Communications from March 2005.

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PART II

The Company’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “DIS”.

The Company did not pay a dividend with respect to fiscal year 2020 operations and has not declared or paid a dividend with respect to fiscal 2021 operations. Longer term, we anticipate dividends will remain a part of our capital allocation strategy. However, for the time being, we don’t anticipate declaring a dividend until we return to a more normalized operating environment. The Company does not intend to provide statements about its intentions to pay future dividends until such time as a dividend is declared.

As of October 2, 2021, the approximate number of common shareholders of record was 813,000.

The following table provides information about Company purchases of equity securities that are registered by the Company pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act during the quarter ended October 2, 2021:

(1)46,926 shares were purchased on the open market to provide shares to participants in the Walt Disney Investment Plan (WDIP). These purchases were not made pursuant to a publicly announced repurchase plan or program.

(2)Not applicable as the Company no longer has a stock repurchase plan or program.

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CONSOLIDATED RESULTS

(in millions, except per share data)

(1)Total may not equal the sum of the column due to rounding.

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Organization of Information

Management’s Discussion and Analysis provides a narrative on the Company’s financial performance and condition that should be read in conjunction with the accompanying financial statements. It includes the following sections:

• Significant Developments

• Consolidated Results and Non-Segment Items

• Business Segment Results

• Corporate and Unallocated Shared Expenses

• Restructuring Activities

• Liquidity and Capital Resources

• Supplemental Guarantor Financial Information

• Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

• Forward-Looking Statements

In Item 7, we discuss fiscal 2021 and 2020 results and comparisons of fiscal 2021 results to fiscal 2020 results. Discussions of fiscal 2019 results and comparisons of fiscal 2020 results to fiscal 2019 results can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the update to Part II, Item 7 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 3, 2020 as reported in Exhibit 99.1 to the Current Report on form 8-K of the Company filed April 1, 2021.

SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS

COVID-19 Pandemic

Since early 2020

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The Company is exposed to the impact of interest rate changes, foreign currency fluctuations, commodity fluctuations and changes in the market values of its investments.

Policies and Procedures

In the normal course of business, we employ established policies and procedures to manage the Company’s exposure to changes in interest rates, foreign currencies and commodities using a variety of financial instruments.

Our objectives in managing exposure to interest rate changes are to limit the impact of interest rate volatility on earnings and cash flows and to lower overall borrowing costs. To achieve these objectives, we primarily use interest rate swaps to manage net exposure to interest rate changes related to the Company’s portfolio of borrowings. By policy, the Company targets fixed-rate debt as a percentage of its net debt between minimum and maximum percentages.

Our objective in managing exposure to foreign currency fluctuations is to reduce volatility of earnings and cash flow in order to allow management to focus on core business issues and challenges. Accordingly, the Company enters into various contracts that change in value as foreign exchange rates change to protect the U.S. dollar equivalent value of its existing foreign currency assets, liabilities, commitments and forecasted foreign currency revenues and expenses. The Company utilizes option strategies and forward contracts that provide for the purchase or sale of foreign currencies to hedge probable, but not firmly committed, transactions. The Company also uses forward and option contracts to hedge foreign currency assets and liabilities. The principal foreign currencies hedged are the euro, Japanese yen, British pound, Chinese yuan and Canadian dollar. Cross-currency swaps are used to effectively convert foreign currency denominated borrowings to U.S. dollar denominated borrowings. By policy, the Company maintains hedge coverage between minimum and maximum percentages of its forecasted foreign exchange exposures generally for periods not to exceed four years. The gains and losses on these contracts offset changes in the U.S. dollar equivalent value of the related exposures. The economic or political conditions in a country could reduce our ability to hedge exposure to currency fluctuations in the country or our ability to repatriate revenue from the country.

Our objectives in managing exposure to commodity fluctuations are to use commodity derivatives to reduce volatility of earnings and cash flows arising from commodity price changes. The amounts hedged using commodity swap contracts are based on forecasted levels of consumption of certain commodities, such as fuel oil and gasoline.

It is the Company’s policy to enter into foreign currency and interest rate derivative transactions and other financial instruments only to the extent considered necessary to meet its objectives as stated above. The Company does not enter into these transactions or any other hedging transactions for speculative purposes.

Value at Risk (VAR)

The Company utilizes a VAR model to estimate the maximum potential one-day loss in the fair value of its interest rate, foreign exchange, commodities and market sensitive equity financial instruments. The VAR model estimates were made assuming normal market conditions and a 95% confidence level. Various modeling techniques can be used in a VAR computation. The Company’s computations are based on the interrelationships between movements in various interest rates, currencies, commodities and equity prices (a variance/co-variance technique). These interrelationships were determined by observing interest rate, foreign currency, commodity and equity market changes over the preceding quarter for the calculation of VAR amounts at each fiscal quarter end. The model includes all of the Company’s debt as well as all interest rate and foreign exchange derivative contracts, commodities and market sensitive equity investments. Forecasted transactions, firm commitments, and accounts receivable and payable denominated in foreign currencies, which certain of these instruments are intended to hedge, were excluded from the model.

The VAR model is a risk analysis tool and does not purport to represent actual losses in fair value that will be incurred by the Company, nor does it consider the potential effect of favorable changes in market factors.

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VAR on a combined basis increased to $364 million at October 2, 2021 from $323 million at October 3, 2020.

The estimated maximum potential one-day loss in fair value, calculated using the VAR model, is as follows (unaudited, in millions):

The VAR for Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and Shanghai Disney Resort is immaterial as of October 2, 2021 and accordingly has been excluded from the above table.

See Index to Financial Statements and Supplemental Data on page 63.

None.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We have established disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that the information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and made known to the officers who certify the Company’s financial reports and to other members of senior management and the Board of Directors as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Based on their evaluation as of October 2, 2021, the principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the Company have concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) are effective.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management’s report set forth on page 64 is incorporated herein by reference.

Changes in Internal Controls

There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended October 2, 2021 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

None.

Not applicable.

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PART III

Information regarding Section 16(a) compliance, the Audit Committee, the Company’s code of ethics, background of the directors and director nominations appearing under the captions “Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports,” “The Board of Directors,” “Committees,” “Governing Documents,” “Director Selection Process” and “Election of Directors” in the Company’s Proxy Statement for the 2022 annual meeting of Shareholders is hereby incorporated by reference.

Information regarding executive officers is included in Part I of this Form 10-K as permitted by General Instruction G(3).

Information appearing under the captions “Director Compensation,” and “Executive Compensation” (other than the “Compensation Committee Report,” which is deemed furnished herein by reference, and the “Letter from the Compensation Committee”) in the 2022 Proxy Statement is hereby incorporated by reference.

Information setting forth the security ownership of certain beneficial owners and management appearing under the caption “Stock Ownership” and information appearing under the caption “Equity Compensation Plans” in the 2022 Proxy Statement is hereby incorporated by reference.

Information regarding certain related transactions appearing under the captions “Certain Relationships and Related Person Transactions” and information regarding director independence appearing under the caption “Director Independence” in the 2022 Proxy Statement is hereby incorporated by reference.

Information appearing under the captions “Auditor Fees and Services” and “Policy for Approval of Audit and Permitted Non-Audit Services” in the 2022 Proxy Statement is hereby incorporated by reference.

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PART IV

(1)Financial Statements and Schedules

See Index to Financial Statements and Supplemental Data on page 63.

(2)Exhibits

The documents set forth below are filed herewith or incorporated herein by reference to the location indicated.

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None.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

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THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY AND SUBSIDIARIES

INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTAL DATA

All schedules are omitted for the reason that they are not applicable or the required information is included in the financial statements or notes.

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MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING

Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). The Company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements prep

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