News Chapek FIRED, Iger New CEO

[Tha Realest]

... and it didn't kill off the company. Why? Hardcore brand loyalists. No matter what happened to the economy (2008 housing collapse) or what dumb thing TWDC did (overextended in Paris), the loyalists were enough to keep the company afloat in hard times. What I am saying is that core of brand loyalists is severely diminished (for a variety of reasons - the biggest being pricing the middle class out of the parks and political involvement).

It’s difficult to gauge how well they’re performing with the loyalists, but the steps they’ve taken that disproportionately affect those most loyal - namely, DVC and APs - are real head scratchers.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Maybe they’ll bring back Chapek in ‘26. The stock did better under him than Iger.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Yes, they are making billions in revenue but they only have $4.8 billion in free cash flow. Yes, that is a lot but they have to pay $10+billion for Hulu and invest billions in the parks. Remember, borrowing cash for the parks and experiences is going to cost a lot more with much higher interest rates.

Did you manage to check out how much total cash on hand they have?

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Did you manage to check out how much total cash on hand they have?

How much do they have?

 

[MisterPenguin]

How much do they have?

$11B

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

$11B

Good thing they didn’t invest it in Disney Stock.

 

[JoeCamel]

Did you manage to check out how much total cash on hand they have?

So you pay 10+ for Hulu and gamble on a couple of tentpoles with the rest?

 

[_caleb]

Did you manage to check out how much total cash on hand they have?

I bet it's at least a million dollars.

 

[jrice]

Did you manage to check out how much total cash on hand they have?

Did you manage to check out how much total cash on hand they have?

Oops! I was wrong. They have $14billion in cash. Even though they have it, they still have to pay for Hulu.

 

[TalkingHead]

Although small, the 2024 film slate does look promising. The trailers for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Inside Out 2 were very well-received and look fantastic. Inside Out 2 was also the most watched animated trailer launch in Disney history with 157 million views in 24 hours. You also have Deadpool 3 and Mufasa in calendar ’24. Of course, we can only wait and see what actually happens. Disney+ is expected to become profitable in Q4 this fiscal year, which Disney has been upfront about since they announced the service.

Wish was the most watched animated trailer before that. Social media trailer views aren’t a reliable predictor.

Be honest, Planet of Apes is a tired franchise that hasn’t produced a big hit in ten years.

Deadpool might hit, sure, probably because it’s unlike the other Marvel content being produced.

 

[Model3 McQueen]

It's very harsh to blame the current mess on Iger. Most of these movies may well not have even been green lit by him, or even had the influence of his expertise.

I'll give it another year or two to see what happens.

I don't think it's harsh I mean i'd like to know why Marvel and Disney movies are costing over 200 million dollars to make, and are still subpar; why major theme park decisions are consistently anti-consumer (and incoherent) and how Bob could possibly be so blind to it all. He, his hand picked board, and their management is not good. They haven't had a clear-cut financially successful film in years (sorry, omitting GotG3). Chapek was never CEO, he was consistently kept in the dark and Iger continued to be the puppet master.

What am I missing?

 

[Stripes]

Wish was the most watched animated trailer before that. Social media trailer views aren’t a reliable predictor.

I see your point. I also think a lot of people may be waiting to see Wish on Disney+, which of course could very well affect Inside Out 2 as well.

But, the Wish trailers also received a pretty lukewarm reception. The comments on the trailers, at least before the film was released were very skeptical.

Inside Out 2 is getting a lot of positive feedback in the comments.

Be honest, Planet of Apes is a tired franchise that hasn’t produced a big hit in ten years.

The new movie is a soft reboot. They haven’t made an Apes movie in a long time. I watched all three and enjoyed them very much.

Deadpool might hit, sure, probably because it’s unlike the other Marvel content being produced.

People really seem to like the Deadpool character. I think it will do really well, assuming the film is well-executed.

Marvel is still very popular. But their films have been hit or miss recently. Their TV shows on the other hand are doing very well on Disney+ and have been quite strong in my opinion.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Oops! I was wrong. They have $14billion in cash. Even though they have it, they still have to pay for Hulu.

Well... yeah.

Why is that an issue?

They're buying an asset that has worth. They're paying a sum that is equitable to it's worth. That's not going backward financially.

What they're buying produces profit, and their share of the profit will go from 66% to 100%. And they'll integrate Hulu with D+ (and ESPN+ and all their linear channels becoming streaming content). That will make 'the bundle' that much more attractive to consumers.

Disney *wants* to buy it. Comcast didn't force them, they both agreed to make it happen.

And TWDC will still be profiting billions each year.

 

[_caleb]

So you pay 10+ for Hulu and gamble on a couple of tentpoles with the rest?

Tentpoles are a thing of the past. It's a yurt-lattice strategy from here on out.

 

[Touchdown]

Good thing they didn’t invest it in Disney Stock.

I would hope most people are, not directly, as Disney is part of the S&P 500 (and the Russel 2000) which should be a portion of everyone’s 401k in the form of a low cost index fund.

Year to date the S&P is up 20% nominal, or about 16% real (factoring in inflation) stocks are so important as they are one of the few assets that has been shown overtime to beat inflation over the long term and thus one of the few pathways to true wealth. While they are risky (2022 saw a 19.6% loss) it has averaged 10% in the last 80 years.

I know this doesn’t help anyone who is living paycheck to paycheck currently but I hope that anyone (especially someone more then 15 years from retirement) who is not isn’t just doing the easy thing and putting their savings in a savings account/money market fund or even short term treasuries as those assets rarely even keep up with inflation (the most recent gains are very much an exception not the norm.) Im not saying don’t invest in those vehicles they have their purpose as a hedge to a bad stock market year but they should not be used as your main vehicle for retirement assets while you are in your working years.

 

[ewensell3]

Not seen it mentioned anywhere.

Fan Shareholder service.

$0.30/share dividend to be paid 1/10/2024

 

[JoeCamel]

Not seen it mentioned anywhere.

Fan Shareholder service.

$0.30/share dividend to be paid 1/10/2024

Several pages back in multiple threads, half a billion or so each time it is paid

 

[ewensell3]

Several pages back in multiple threads, half a billion or so each time it is paid

Fair. Should learn to use search.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Fan Shareholder service Fake dividend, trying to avoid hostile takeover.

$0.30/share dividend to be paid 1/10/2024

FIFY