A couple thoughts on this...
Something is brewing. I’m starting to think Chapek is frustrated with Disney’s valuation. 2020 was supposed to be the year Netflix would face extreme headwinds as a slew of streaming services entered the market. Investors don’t seem to care though. From the beginning of this calendar year, Netflix has risen an astonishing 70%! Investors are extremely excited about Netflix’s potential as a disrupter. How has Disney stock done since the beginning of the year? Not so well. It’s down roughly 20%.
Disney+ has been off to a successful start, but legacy assets (think theme parks, films, ESPN) have been dragging the valuation down. Despite trillions of dollars being pumped into markets, none of the stimulus/Fed money has made its way to Disney’s valuation. This has got to be extremely frustrating to Chapek, who likely feels Disney+ is relatively undervalued. Right now, if Disney+ and Hulu were publicly traded as a separate company, I wouldn’t be surprised if they would be worth $100 Billion+. Maybe more. That may sound bonkers for a company that is still early in its growth and not posting a profit, but that is not dissimilar to Netflix. While Netflix has been able to flex its pricing power and has a large installed base, costs have soared as they seek out new content. Netflix will likely continue adding debt for years to come as they reinvest all their earnings into content. But even then, right now, Netflix is worth $244 Billion. The entire Walt Disney Company is only worth $233 Billion as of today. That means the scrappy upstart Netflix is now worth more than the nearly century old media behemoth that owns Disneyland, Mickey Mouse, Iron Man, and Darth Vader. It’s actually crazy.
So what’s the difference between Netflix’s valuation and Disney’s? It’s not profitability. While Disney has had a rough year, over the last five years Disney has raked in billions while Netflix added debt. It’s also not brands or content. Netflix doesn’t have anything comparable to Donald Duck or Spider-Man. And it’s not returning money to shareholders. Netflix has returned nothing while Disney has paid handsome dividends and bought back billions of shares. What is it then? Hype! People believe Netflix can grow to be worth 100s of billions more than it is today. And despite Disney having an entity that could be just as profitable, if not more, no one is excited about Disney. It’s tired, and it’s exposed to decaying industries.
It’s like offering a kid one of two types of Macaroni and Cheese. One is straight up noodles and cheese, and the other is the same except with peas in it. Which is the kid going to choose? #peafree
Chapek is now trying to get more recognition for a business he feels is undervalued. That means sidelining other businesses and focusing all firepower on direct-to-consumer. He doesn’t want to be a movie studio. He wants to be a tech company with tech valuations.
What does this mean going forward? Will there be spin offs, IPOs, or asset sales? Too early to say for certain, but I think The Walt Disney Company is going to go through radical change over the next few years. While Iger undoubtably brought radical change, it was still broadly the same corporate structure as Eisner’s Disney. Chapek is tearing apart divisions that have existed for 25+ years. It’s madness. Do theme parks factor into the next Netflix? Probably not. But a rapid recovery may change that. Honestly, a royalty check from a private equity firm seems more natural...
Oh, one to watch. Kareem Daniels, a guy who has followed Chapek around Disney, seems like a rising star. HE is somebody who is interesting. He was Chapek’s chief of staff, rose rapidly, and has wide experience throughout the company. I thought Campbell was a rising star, but she just got pushed into reporting to Daniels. That was actually shocking. Daniels is the one to watch. He’ll either flame out catastrophically or become the next CEO.