I don’t think there is an end in site. Disney company is really struggling right now. Disney’s family brand has been hurt and audience trust is gone as reflected in stock price. Disney has lost half its valuation since 2021.
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Disney is a struggling company. I don’t see an end in sight.
- Thread starter CinematicFusion
- Start date
I don’t think there is an end in site. Disney company is really struggling right now. Disney’s family brand has been hurt and audience trust is gone as reflected in stock price. Disney has lost half its valuation since 2021.
John park hopper
Well-Known Member
Disney won't go bankrupt but their brand loyalty IMO is not what it used to be and Disney management at the top has brought this on themselves.
Chad Thundercaulk
Member
This all started going downhill with the Fox Acquisition. Pixar, Lucasfilm and Marvel all made sense, Fox didn’t and because they overpaid they started juicing the parks for profit to make up for it and because it now means they’re further committed to buying NBC out of Hulu.
Elijah Abrams
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
I really think they should put 20th Century Studios, FX Searchlight, and 20th TV in a unit separate from their film/TV division, and then sell off that new unit.
I also think they should sell the actual Hulu streaming service to Comcast, since the streamer has a live TV function that Comcast could offer to cord cutters.
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Chad Thundercaulk
Member
Yeah, they really should've just let NBC outbid them and saddle themselves in debt and then do a quick pivot to streaming with ESPN to collapse Comcast's legacy business, wouldn't have to deal with any competition in Florida for parks.
The reason they needed Hulu is because streaming is the future and they wanted an offering not for kids. That's the best part of what they bought, can't give it up. The studio itself has been completely mismanaged and they'd be selling at a significant loss. Instead they're just turning Searchlight and 20th TV into content farms for Hulu and using 20th Century for movies not Disney appropriate.
mikejs78
Premium Member
I mean, they made $1.2 billion in profit last quarter alone. How anyone can think they are anywhere close to bankruptcy is laughable.
Chad Thundercaulk
Member
A few things… they’re contractually obligated to buy the remaining Hulu stake for $9B and they will have to refinance the debt from the Fox acquisition at a higher interest rate. ESPN revenue is sharply declining due to cable decline. They could easily be in a tight cash position by late 2024.
TWDC has $10B on hand.
There's no need to take a new loan at a higher rate to pay off an older loan at a lower rate. They just get a small bridge loan at a higher rate and pay that off first if they need it and only for as much as they need.
By the time Disney would be forced to pay $10B for Comcast's share of Hulu, there will be about 6 more quarters. With profits at $1.2B per quarter, they'll have an extra $7.2B on top of their $10B.
Declining stocks doesn't make a business less profit. If Disney's stock had soared in the past half year, the profit from last quarter would have still been $1.2B.
Chad Thundercaulk
Member
There's only 2-3 quarters left, Comcast can force a sale in January 2024. Profit ≠ Cash, but even if it were Disney is seasonally less profitable in the 3rd quarter, which means only 2-3B$ between now and a forced acquisition. Bonds are trading at a discount currently and 5B$ of long term debt will become current by 2024, that will either need to be paid with cash or absorbed with a revolving facility(probably 8% vs 3-4%).
ESPN alone could erase profits entirely with a 20% drop in cable subscribers(not unlikely given the economic pressures consumers will face in late 2023). Disney is locked into several long term content contracts and wouldn't be able to shift revenue to streaming due to the structuring.
Walt Disney1955
Well-Known Member
Learn from Bud Light's mistakes Disney.......................trust us. Well, actually just look at the sales of Bud Light over the last few weeks.
Walt Disney1955
Well-Known Member
Yeah, them too.
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
Disney has some issues, primarily with D+ and their movies, but they’re still raking in cash.
I wouldn’t invest in them (because their stock has underperformed the market for a long time) but financially they are very healthy.
I wouldn’t invest in them (because their stock has underperformed the market for a long time) but financially they are very healthy.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
Issues aside if one really feels their financials are very healthy it would be a perfect time to invest while the stock is under-performing.
As the saying goes buy low sell high.
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
I’m sticking to CDs for now, they haven’t been this high in years and it’s a guaranteed return.
Disney Irish
Premium Member
Nothing is 100% guaranteed despite what "they" say, everything has risk. The insurance for example on a CD is only up to $250K, so if you have a CD worth more and the financial institution backing it goes under you only can get back up to $250K. And as we've seen in recent years no financial institution is 100% safe. The whole economy is a house of cards.
Anyways, my point still remains if the financials of a company are considered really healthy and solid as in the case of DIS then it makes sense to invest in said company.
Stripes
Premium Member
Lightyear was a somewhat decent movie in my opinion even though it wasn’t what many expected from a Buzz Lightyear film.
I really, really don’t think politics has anything to do with the stock slump. Disney’s competitors like Warner Bros Discovery and Paramount Global are much doing worse than Disney is. Frankly, Disney‘s movies recently have been relatively poor compared to a couple years ago. I think Iger reestablishing creative accountability for financial results is a strong move that will produce better results, but we’ll have to wait a year or two before the effect is demonstrated. Chapek tried to structure Disney similar to how Apple is structured. Apple is organized by functional expertise as opposed to product groups. Apple’s structure is not going to work for a company like Disney because Disney’s business units simply cannot be organized by expertise. Therefore, the company gains nothing in terms of mentorship and expertise, and the structure of accountability is still lost.
Bud Light is a light beer with zero product differentiation that irritated its primarily conservative, primarily male customer base. Disney creates incredibly differentiated products that appeal to almost every demographic.
Disney strives to accept, include, and appreciate all people. And that means putting on the Candlelight Processional every year to appeal to Christians, often with conservative speakers at Disneyland. It means honoring America’s fallen heroes and veterans virtually every day with ceremonies on Main Street and with especially beautiful ceremonies for Memorial Day along with year-round discounts for service members and veterans. It means donating to children’s hospitals and non-profits supporting kids with cancer as well as Boys and Girls Clubs of America so that kids are enabled to reach their full potential. And it means celebrating Pride month in honor of those that sacrificed so that LGBT people may pursue happiness as is the right of all Americans, while recognizing and opposing the discrimination and vitriol this community continues to endure around the world.
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BlakeW39
Well-Known Member
I very much agree with this....
but politics is still likely a factor. no doubt
conservatives are just ed at Disney. Disney is a cultural touchstone and the right feels like they 'picked a side' in their 'culture war'
Disney picked a side in 1996 when it gave benefits to the same-sex partners of employees. This led to a boycott led by the Southern Baptists. It didn't have any significant effect on Disney.
Conservatives have long known about this and which 'side' Disney is on with such things such as allowing "Gay Days" (an event which Disney doesn't run).
It is all theater if someone is 'shocked' at Disney's 'side.' They've always known. They grumbled when newer Disney Princesses were proactive and self-directed and weren't looking for a prince to save them.
It's just that among some there is a self-imposed imperative to publicly fight against the side Disney has chosen 27 years ago. And this time, truth is a casualty of this fight with claims that Disney is grooming children. That's an accusation of pedophilia. But those who throw the word around don't care or are too delusional to understand the consequences of the meme-slander of the day.