Minnie Mouse at the new Magic Happens Parade on Main Street USA at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, February 27, 2020.
Jeff Gritchen | Orange County Register | Getty Images
Shares of Disney were up a whopping 5% in late trading Monday, after California issued new guidelines allowing theme parks in the state to reopen April 1.
The rally is expected to add more than $ 15 billion to Disney’s market cap, bringing it to approximately $ 360 billion.
Disneyland and other California parks have been closed for about a year due to coronavirus restrictions, even though other states, such as Florida, have allowed the reopening of parks with limited capacity. Disney hasn’t set a date for the reopening of its California parks yet, but Disney and other theme park owners, including Universal Studios owner NBCUniversal, have begged California officials to allow a limited reopening.
The state’s new guidelines allow theme parks to reopen from April 1 at a capacity of 15% to 35%, depending on the prevalence of the virus in the community. Masks and other health precautions are required.
The shutdown prompted Disney to lay off tens of thousands of employees and cut a major source of revenue for the media company. Disney said the parks and experiences sector saw a 53% decline in revenue in the December quarter from last year, to $ 3.58 billion. Disney said coronavirus-related closures cost the division about $ 2.6 billion in lost operating revenue this quarter.
Officials are becoming more optimistic about a return to norm as more people are vaccinated against Covid-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday that people who are fully vaccinated can meet safely indoors without masks. While the California parks have remained closed to visitors, Disneyland has recently begun to help public health by serving as a vaccination spot for state residents.
In addition to the theme park news, Disney could also win in its movie business. More theaters have opened in North America, with 45% of theaters in the region open last weekend, compared to 42% the weekend before, according to Comscore.
The move came on a mixed day for the markets, with many technology and social media companies falling, while some traditional media companies recovering. For example, ViacomCBS shares rose by no less than 8% and Discovery shares by more than 2%.
Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of both Universal Studios and CNBC.
– CNBCs Sarah Whitten contributed to this report.
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