Walt Disney Co.DISBUYNov 10, 2023Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 04, 2026. Market Open.
It's a good company, doing the right things. People still want to go their theme parks and cruise ships. Their streamer is doing a good job, taking the baton from linear TV. The stock looks like 2021 during the pandemic. Revenues and EPS are growing above 10% in each of the next two years, is trading at 14x PE and a dividend growing like crazy. But not it's uncomfortable to hold this stock, but you will be rewarded if you are patient.
You have to appreciate its brand power. Does something that no one else in the world can or does, and they do it very well. Lots of avid fans.
That said, not sure its valuation is merited. Cost of running theme parks is very high, and probably getting higher. In an economic slowdown, people may not pay those prices. Media assets are in constant competition. He's a value investor. Wait for a pullback.
Streaming turned profitable by end of 2024, finally, after a reorganization, and is now a major growth driver. Theme parks have been the largest profit generator and they keep coming out with new parks; people are paying high amounts to enjoy them. He expects healthy earnings to come. They will announce a deal between their ESPN and the NFL--sports drives huge profits. Everything is going right, but they need to appoint a successor to Bob Iger.
Mixed feelings. On the positive side, doing exceptionally well in streaming with a great library and great branding. Cross-sells better than anyone. Worried about the parks in the short term -- consumer slowdown, expecting global backlash against the US. Hard to bet against its 6-decade growth story for the long term. Balance sheet in fine shape, decent cashflow. Yield is 0.8%.
They reported Wednesday and was the best of the recent reports in this sector. DIS shares have been struggling all year. But revenues beat and adjusted EPS strongly beat. They're making cash again. Streaming is losing less money. They got religion on cost cuts, raising targets from $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion in cuts. Cash flow projections are strong. CEO Iger is taking control of the narrative. Once he tames costs, DIS can have tremendous earnings power. He expects DIS to reinstate the dividend (a little at first) soon and buybacks down the road. That's why he's holding onto his shares. This quarter could be a turning point. Also, there's an activist investor in the picture. This stock has room to run, targeting $100 at year's end. He's bought a lot of DIS on weakness.