THE MARKET DOES NOT UNDERSTAND DISNEY
Before I begin my tirade, I will finish my portfolio review in my next post on either Saturday or Sunday, but right now, I have a media conglomerate/idiotic market to berate.
I go to high school, so I get few chances to check the stock market and see where I’m at. But these Disney earnings were important, not only because in my last article, I made a prediction (rare for me) that Disney would be profitable in streaming and that the stock would pop, so I made a point of finding a corner to stand in and check the market at about 2:00. Imagine my shock and horror when I saw Disney was down 9%. I assumed something horrible had happened, Bob Iger had said a slur during earnings, Disney+ lost $400 million, Jim Cramer became CEO of the company, something just unbelievably awful. I raced home (drove back at the speed limit after my Quiz Bowl practice) and steeled myself for the bad news that I would have to defend myself against on this website.
Instead, I find nothing wrong in the slightest. LITERALLY NOTHING WRONG. EPS was up 30 cents from a year ago, Disney+ and Hulu both pulled in a profit, compared with a loss of $600 million a year ago, and in general, Disney beat expectations in practically every facet except for parks, where investors seem to be focusing much of their ire. When I tell you I was mad. I WAS IRATE.
WELL DUH, THE PARKS ARE GOING TO SOFTEN, THAT IS WHAT THE MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR INVESTMENT LAST QUARTER WILL REMEDY. AND ARE YOU SERIOUS? YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT STREAMING BEING PROFITABLE NOW? THE THING YOU HAVE DESTROYED DISNEY ON FOR TWO YEARS NOW YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT? And yes, streaming is profitable. Disney+ and Hulu are streaming for Disney. ESPN+ doesn’t count, and Disney+ Hotstar is getting shut down, so obviously that doesn’t matter. Getting Disney+ and Hulu to both be profitable is such an amazing feat. THEY WERE LOSING 600 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR AGO, AND NOW THEY BOTH MAKE MONEY. COME ONNNNN MAN.
Not just a great streaming service, but a streaming service that is obviously improving in quality. Shogun and The Bear are both immaculate shows on Hulu, and Disney+ will be getting a content boost in the next 12-18 months. As I said about a week ago, Disney has put both of its biggest properties on sabbatical. Marvel and Star Wars have both been on hiatus recently, and I would be willing to bet the farm that they are about to cook up some Clone Wars level shizzle.
And my grandfather did just make a good point in our weekly call, yes cruises are soft pretty much everywhere, but cruises are a relatively small part of the business, and Disney Cruises are so consistently money-makers, I am not worried in the slightest. Also, OF COURSE CRUISES ARE GOING TO MAKE LESS MONEY. DISNEY JUST LAUNCHED TWO CRUISE SHIPS THE SIZE OF SKYSCRAPERS INTO THE OCEAN YOU (the market) VILE CREATURE.
I know I should just stop making predictions about Disney but COME ON. This is garbage. WHAT IS THE MARKET DOING. If you are not in Disney now, get in. If you are already in Disney now, either buy more or hold and prepare to be a trillionaire.
In conclusion, I would like to say, that I hate being boxed in by the market like this. Stuff like this makes me too defensive of my idea and that removes virtually all objectivity.
But really, Disney is the move to make.
