Disney Stock (NYSE:DIS)
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has gotten off to a great start this year by staking its claim as the year’s top-performing film studio. Despite that, Disney stock declined.
Box office earnings for Disney (DIS) movies in 2017 were $4.9 billion, including $1.1 billion from Marvel-related films. Avatar: The Way of Water, Disney’s (DIS) best movie, brought in about $1.5 billion at the worldwide box office, which is not a surprise. To further contextualize Disney’s (DIS) “win,” Universal (CMCSA) was the second-place studio in 2017, with their movies grossing $3.9 billion globally.
However, with Disney stock still undergoing upheaval with the unexpected departure of Chief Executive Bob Chapek and the return of former CEO and Disney (DIS) legend Bob Iger in November, the entertainment giant is facing some uncertainty about what 2023 will look like for everything from the fate of Disney+ to the dining plans at several of its theme parks.
Bank of America analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich said on Thursday that Disney (DIS) investors should brace for a “choppy” first quarter this year due to an “emphasis on shift in [the company’s] strategic orientation” as 2023 has begun.
Ehrlich predicts that “the organization of the content division at Disney Media and Entertainment [DMED] will be Bob Iger’s top priority.” Ehrlich said this would be at odds with what Chapek had done since becoming CEO of Disney (DIS) in 2020, when he moved all of Disney’s (DIS) material under its distribution business.
Investors, according to Ehrlich, should anticipate Iger to impose “a major emphasis on cost savings,” and it would not be odd for the corporation to revise its projections for new Disney+ users.
Ehrlich has said that it is “unclear when and if any strategic adjustments would be handled” concerning ESPN and Hulu, two other significant sections of Disney. There has been talking of Disney (DIS) spinning out ESPN into its firm, and the corporation controls around two-thirds of the Hulu streaming TV service.
Ehrlich predicted that workers and investors at Disney (DIS) would immediately learn about any plans Iger had.
According to Ehrlich, the return of Bob Iger “will significantly increase staff morale and investor sentiment.” Because of Iger’s track record since replacing Michael Eisner in 2005, we expect swift and decisive action.
This week, reports surfaced that Apple had poached one of Disney’s top marketing execs to oversee advertising for Apple’s upcoming TV+ streaming service.
Featured Image: Megapixl @ Ralukatudor
Author Shariq Khan 
