THB #621: Disney Q4 2024

inside space mountain, lights on

I’ve been dragging my feet on writing about the pre-market release on Thursday because, really, not that interesting. And I was feeling like I needed to pick it apart in some deeply insightful way. But it’s not that tricky.

• Disney said DTC/Streaming would be profitable by this quarter. It is.
  

• On his return, Iger reset the theatrical movie plan to a smaller set of titles with a clearer focus… it’s paid off so far… including 2 massive animated hits (1 to come later this month) that were headed directly to Disney+ before he and his team decided to make them theatricals.
  

• Disney has laid off a ton of people and a ton of projects, even as they have invested a lot of money in Parks and Cruise Ships and Hulu and ESPN (both in separating it from the rest of the spreadsheet and remaining a sports rights buyer)… which has led to higher profitability.

I read The Puck Schmuck twisting and turning to find ways to tear down a successful quarter and a solid recovery that is still in its early phases. Sometimes a banana is just a banana, Matty. (As always, it f you are going to Always Wrong Rich Greenfield for insight, you are lost in the intellectual wilderness.)

The thing that got the market excited enough to take Disney close to a reasonably decent price on the stock market was the guidance for the next couple of years. (There is a third year, written up in just one line, that is kind of silly to include.)

There is a list of things they are bullish about…

But what I’m looking at is what they aren’t talking about.