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Post by henrycpa on Feb 7, 2024 12:02:11 GMT -5
I hope to get to listen in today. It is after the market closes. Unfortunately I have a late meeting that tends to run over sometimes so thought I would start a thread where folks can post highlights and announcements
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Post by henrycpa on Feb 7, 2024 20:44:02 GMT -5
The Walt Disney Company (DIS) reported first-quarter financial results Wednesday, beating analyst estimates for earnings and missing on revenue.
CEO Bob Iger shared several company announcements during an appearance on CNBC and Disney’s conference call.
Taylor Swift Exclusive: One of the biggest stars of the last two years is Taylor Swift. The musician released a record-breaking "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" concert film in theaters in 2023 through a partnership with AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) .
Iger announced the concert film will stream exclusively on Disney+ on March 15. The film will be the "Taylor's Version" of the concert film with the inclusion of the song "Cardigan" and four other songs that were not part of the original theatrical or digital releases.
The movie grossed over $180 million domestically and more than $260 million worldwide during its theatrical run. The movie broke records both domestically and globally for concert films.
Nick Saban Joins ESPN: Disney (DIS) announced Wednesday that former Alabama football coach Nick Saban will join ESPN (DIS) as an on-air commentator. Saban retired from Alabama at the conclusion of the 2023 NCAA Football season and is one of the top ranked college football coaches of all time.
Saban will work as an ESPN (DIS) analyst providing coverage for the NFL Draft and SEC Media Days. Saban will also be included in ESPN's (DIS) "College GameDay" coverage.
‘Moana 2′ in Theaters: Originally planned as a series for Disney+, a follow-up to the hit film "Moana" is now being turned into a sequel film set for theatrical release on Nov. 27.
The sequel follows the 2016 hit that grossed $248.8 million domestically and $687.2 million worldwide.
"Moana remains an incredibly popular franchise, and we can't wait to give you more of Moana and Maui when ‘Moana 2' comes to theaters this November," Iger said.
The sequel is said to provide a new voyage for Moana and Maui, along with other characters.
Disney (DIS) said "Moana" had over 1 billion hours streamed on Disney+ last year and is the most-streamed movie of 2023 across all streaming platforms.
Iger said a live-action movie for Moana remains in development.
Related Link: Disney (DIS) Q1 Earnings Preview: Media Company Battles DeSantis, Musk, Peltz
Epic Games Investment: Disney (DIS) announced a $1.5-billion investment in Fortnite owner Epic Games. The media giant will work with the Fortnite studio on new games and an entertainment universe that will include content, characters and stories from Disney (DIS) franchises.
Iger said the partnership will see the creation of a "huge Disney (DIS) universe" for gaming, play, watching and shopping during an interview with CNBC.
"This represents probably our biggest foray into the game space ever," Iger said.
Other Disney Highlights: Iger highlighted the Disney+ content lineup, which includes hit children's licensed show "Bluey" and the recently released "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series, which was renewed for a second season.
Upcoming movie releases from Disney (DIS) include "Frozen 3," a new Star Wars movie, a new Toy Story movie and "Zootopia 2."
Disney (DIS) said Wednesday it is raising its semi-annual dividend and announced a $3-billion share buyback for the fiscal year. This is the first share buyback undertaken by Disney (DIS) since 2018, Iger said. The Disney (DIS) CEO said the company will prioritize dividends and share buybacks going forward.
Speaking on CNBC, Iger highlighted news of a Disney (DIS) joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Fox Corporation (FOXA) that was announced Tuesday.
If you're a sports fan or sports league, it's important to engage with ESPN (DIS), Iger said.
"They serve the sports fan so well."
Iger was asked about cannibalization concerns and the success of the joint venture in the streaming and cord-cutting environment.
"I'd rather be a disruptor, than be disrupted,” he said.
DIS Price Action: Disney (DIS) shares are trading 7% higher to $105.96 after-hours trading Wednesday versus a 52-week trading range of $78.73 to $118.18.
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Post by tomandrobin on Feb 8, 2024 10:10:28 GMT -5
Not a lot to cheer about.....if you are a stock owner, you get a higher dividend and a stock buy-back program.
The Sports joint venture will have to play out over time. Personally, I hate the fractured way sports are broadcasted and so many are now behind paywalls. This will only frustrate me more, I predict.
$1.5 Billion to Epic for online games. I didn't see that coming and I am not sure how that will help Disney.
Lots and lots of sequels being planned. Again, Disney is brain dead in its creativity department. I saw rumors of the Pirate 6 Movie....boy I really hope they are wrong.
Disney made more money, but at the expense of many cuts. From my perspective, those cuts are continuing to hurt Disney in quality and experiences.
Domestics parks were down in attendance and revenue.
Cruise Line revenue is up.
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Post by henrycpa on Feb 8, 2024 14:43:01 GMT -5
$1.5 Billion to Epic for online games. I didn't see that coming and I am not sure how that will help Disney.
Lots and lots of sequels being planned. Again, Disney is brain dead in its creativity department. I saw rumors of the Pirate 6 Movie....boy I really hope they are wrong. Tom Highlighting the two comments I want to focus on (BTW, I agree with all your other points as well. I think Epic Games may be the future path Disney sees to new IP. We are starting to see the trend of s super popular Games becomming movies. It started with Moral Kombat (bad movies) and Lara Croft (better but still not brow beaters) but I can see a path that young parents turn to the games they played as teenagers and wanting to see those come to life on the big screen. It could be that Epic Games becomes the new path like Marvel did. As for the sequels, I agree with you. Done. Frozen Iv, Pirates 6 (no Depp) etc. They have very little original thought in the creative side at Disney anymore. |
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Post by tomandrobin on Feb 8, 2024 14:50:10 GMT -5
Tom Highlighting the two comments I want to focus on (BTW, I agree with all your other points as well. I think Epic Games may be the future path Disney sees to new IP. We are starting to see the trend of s super popular Games becomming movies. It started with Moral Kombat (bad movies) and Lara Croft (better but still not brow beaters) but I can see a path that young parents turn to the games they played as teenagers and wanting to see those come to life on the big screen. It could be that Epic Games becomes the new path like Marvel did. As for the sequels, I agree with you. Done. Frozen Iv, Pirates 6 (no Depp) etc. They have very little original thought in the creative side at Disney anymore. Believe it or not, I play Fortnite with the kids. I am not good, but we have fun together. Disney has had a characters and skins in the game for years, so its nothing new. But to invest that kind of additional money seems a bit much. Like some of the other stuff, I will see where this goes. |
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Post by Brian5581 on Feb 8, 2024 21:05:47 GMT -5
I remember 10 or so years ago when they thought Disney Infinity would be game-changing.,, Probably better that they’re investing via another company with proven success in the field. At least shows some creativity versus the upcoming movie sequels.
As always, we shall see…
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Post by bakerworld on Feb 9, 2024 12:21:08 GMT -5
Not a lot to cheer about.....if you are a stock owner, you get a higher dividend and a stock buy-back program. The Sports joint venture will have to play out over time. Personally, I hate the fractured way sports are broadcasted and so many are now behind paywalls. This will only frustrate me more, I predict. $1.5 Billion to Epic for online games. I didn't see that coming and I am not sure how that will help Disney. Lots and lots of sequels being planned. Again, Disney is brain dead in its creativity department. I saw rumors of the Pirate 6 Movie....boy I really hope they are wrong. Disney made more money, but at the expense of many cuts. From my perspective, those cuts are continuing to hurt Disney in quality and experiences. Domestics parks were down in attendance and revenue. Cruise Line revenue is up. Is attendance really down? All the trips reports I've been reading talk about the huge crowds and long lines. |
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Post by tomandrobin on Feb 9, 2024 13:30:21 GMT -5
Is attendance really down? All the trips reports I've been reading talk about the huge crowds and long lines. From the Q1 statement...........
At Disney’s domestic parks and resorts, lower results in the current quarter compared to the prior year were due to a decrees at Walt Disney World Resort reflecting a modest decrease in revenues and higher costs. These impacts were due to lower volumes due to decreases in attendance and occupied room nights, both of which reflected the comparison to the 50th anniversary celebration in the prior year quarter, higher costs due to inflation, partially offset by cost saving initiatives and lower depreciation, increased guest spending due to higher average ticket prices, partially offset by lower average daily room rates.
Also the profits were not driven by Disney World and Disneyland......
Previously in the earnings result webcast, Hugh Johnson, the Chief Financial Officer for The Walt Disney Company stated, “Record-setting results this quarter were primarily driven by our performance at Shanghai and Hong Kong theme parks, continued strength at Disney Cruise Line, and the success of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 at our games business.”
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Post by Adelard of Bath on Feb 9, 2024 17:33:08 GMT -5
...These impacts were due to lower volumes due to decreases in attendance... More proof that they are running three trains instead of four (or whatever) on Slinky just to keep wait times high, so that people will continue to buy G+! Or any of the rides, really...just pull a train out, a few cars out, whatever. We can't tell, unless you stand there and time the trains going by. |
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Post by Ludwig Von Chuck on Feb 12, 2024 8:30:22 GMT -5
...These impacts were due to lower volumes due to decreases in attendance... More proof that they are running three trains instead of four (or whatever) on Slinky just to keep wait times high, so that people will continue to buy G+! Or any of the rides, really...just pull a train out, a few cars out, whatever. We can't tell, unless you stand there and time the trains going by. This is just silly. Most attractions operate at a fixed capacity. As for SDD, as soon as one train rolls a way, another one is rolling in. More G+ equals longer wait for stand-by. Longer waits for stand-by can/will lead to more G+. Rinse. Repeat. |
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Post by SuzanneSLO on Feb 12, 2024 22:46:17 GMT -5
Tom Highlighting the two comments I want to focus on (BTW, I agree with all your other points as well. I think Epic Games may be the future path Disney sees to new IP. We are starting to see the trend of s super popular Games becomming movies. It started with Moral Kombat (bad movies) and Lara Croft (better but still not brow beaters) but I can see a path that young parents turn to the games they played as teenagers and wanting to see those come to life on the big screen. It could be that Epic Games becomes the new path like Marvel did. As for the sequels, I agree with you. Done. Frozen Iv, Pirates 6 (no Depp) etc. They have very little original thought in the creative side at Disney anymore. Believe it or not, I play Fortnite with the kids. I am not good, but we have fun together. Disney has had a characters and skins in the game for years, so it’s nothing new. But to invest that kind of additional money seems a bit much. Like some of the other stuff, I will see where this goes. I’m not a gamer, but this caught my eye because of the ongoing battle that Epic Games is having with Apple. Obviously, Disney has a long history as a friend of Apple and has now bought a billion dollar stake in an Apple foe. Is Iger looking to play the peacemaker and get Fortnite back on Apple platforms? |
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Post by dlwdwdvc on Feb 12, 2024 23:52:55 GMT -5
1.5 Billion …guess the price of our AP will be increasing soon!
I thought Disney was broke !
I think they paid TS about 70 million for her documentary film exclusive right on Disney+ this month .
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Post by tomandrobin on Feb 13, 2024 7:20:35 GMT -5
1.5 Billion …guess the price of our AP will be increasing soon! I thought Disney was broke ! I think they paid TS about 70 million for her documentary film exclusive right on Disney+ this month . Disney is not broke, they are straddled with heavy debt. They currently have about $46 billion in debt. Because of the debt level, Disney is not able to take on more debt. Disney has slowly been paying down its debt from a high of $55 billion, its has put a damper of spending for big projects. If/when Disney can stop the bleeding from Disney+ and starting generating profits, Disney will be able to start green lighting big projects without taking on debt. |
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Post by mcd on Feb 13, 2024 8:01:52 GMT -5
Well, the market liked the news. I think the last time we had a thread about it, most people were extremely bearish about DIS when it was priced around $85. Its up more than 20% since then. Of course the market has been very good over the last 90 days, too. It wasn't like I was really bullish or anything, but it has definitely outperformed expectation the last several months.
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Post by tomandrobin on Feb 13, 2024 8:40:09 GMT -5
Well, the market liked the news. I think the last time we had a thread about it, most people were extremely bearish about DIS when it was priced around $85. Its up more than 20% since then. Of course the market has been very good over the last 90 days, too. It wasn't like I was really bullish or anything, but it has definitely outperformed expectation the last several months. Yup....It bottomed in the 70's, where I expected it to land. Buyers like the $.44 dividend, the three-way sports partnership and the projection of Disney+ to finally losing money at the end of the year. |
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