Walt Disney Company (The)

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by, and welcome to the Walt Disney Company's Fiscal 2020 Second Quarter Financial Results Conference Call. At this time, all participants' lines are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 1 on your telephone. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. If you require any further assistance, please press star 0. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Mr. Lowell Singer, Senior Vice President of Investor Relations. Thank you. Please go ahead, sir.

Good afternoon, and welcome to the Walt Disney Company's second quarter 2020 earnings call. Our press release was issued about 25 minutes ago and is available on our website at www.disney.com forward slash investors. Today's call is also being webcast, and the webcast and a transcript will also be available on our website. We hope you are all staying safe, and we realize that most of you are joining us today from your homes. And given Los Angeles County's Safer at Home order, we are hosting today's call remotely. So joining me from their homes are Bob Iger, Disney's chairman, Bob Chapek, Disney's chief executive officer, and Christine McCarthy, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer. Following comments from Bob Iger, Bob Chapek, and Christine, we'll be happy to take some questions. So with that, let me turn the call over to Bob Iger to get started.

Thanks, Lowell, and good afternoon, everyone. Obviously, much has changed in the world since our last earnings call, and the challenges we're now facing are unprecedented. Like so many other companies and industries, the pandemic has hit us hard, and both Bob and Christine will walk you through the specifics. However, as someone who's been around for a while and led this company through some really tough days over the last 15 years, including economic downturns, natural disasters, and other unforeseen events, I have absolute confidence in our ability to get through this challenging period and recover successfully. The Walt Disney Company has demonstrated repeatedly over its nearly 100-year history that it is exceptionally resilient. and I believe this time will be no different. We entered this crisis with a strong hand and an exceptional management team, now led by Bob Chapek. And as we said in February, when Bob was announced as CEO, he and I continue to work in partnership in support of the company's objectives and to ensure a smooth and successful transition. As you would expect when dealing with a challenge of this magnitude, The entire team is working closely together, taking an all hands on deck approach to address the difficult issues we're facing. Of course, one key to our resilience is the strength of our brands and the strong emotional connection people have to them. Disney, Pixar, Marvel, ABC, ESPN, and Star Wars. In fact, recent studies have shown we've maintained that connection with consumers throughout this crisis. We also have a tremendous collection of assets. And beyond that, what we create has never been more necessary or more important than right now. In fact, it's quite possible that what we create is appreciated now more than ever, because people find comfort and inspiration in our messages of hope and optimism. This is the same reason we believe people will resume familiar activities once this crisis ends. They miss doing the things they enjoy, things that make them feel happy and connected with family and friends, whether it's going to movie theaters to see our films or visiting our theme parks around the world or watching live sports on ESPN. People want good news. They want to experience joy and the feeling of togetherness. And for all these reasons, we will continue to tell stories that uplift and enrich people's lives. While much of our operations are shut down, we've been fortunate to keep parts of our creative pipeline active, including a number of writing and development projects, while also continuing post-production work for our media networks, our studios, and Disney+. And I've been working with our creative teams across the company, and I am extremely excited about what's in store. I have no doubt that we will get through this, but it will take some time. Before I turn it over to Bob and Christine to talk about the quarter and the strategy going forward and to answer your questions, I want to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude for all of the medical professionals across our country who are fighting valiantly to save lives and to everyone helping to flatten the curve by heeding the advice of health officials and others. It's all making a difference. On behalf of Bob and myself, I also want to take this opportunity to thank all of our employees around the world who continue to show incredible ingenuity, commitment, patience, and understanding during these trying times. Even in the face of adversity, their dedication to our company and our mission is unwavering, and we couldn't be more proud of them. And with that, I'll hand it over to Bob.