Disney-The happiest place on Earth

Disney, also known as the Walt Disney Company, is an American multinational corporation that provides entertainment and media services.Disney was founded by Walt and Roy Disney on 16th October, 1923 out of Los Angeles, California.Disney started as a production company with special emphasis on animated characters and children interactions with them.Their first short film Alice in Wonderland was an instant success.Moving on they shifted to completely animated works and had success with the introduction of Mickey Mouse Silly Symphonies.They constantly kept improving on their previous characters while introducing completely new story lines resulting in a complete animations world.The most impressive fact is the inter story relation they were able to establish among diverse story lines.They had their IPO on 12th November, 1957 with an initial price of 13$ led by Goldman Sachs.

Disney is currently trading at 147-152$ with a market cap of 300B $.Their revenue streams consist of media and entertainment which are movies and shows.Parks and experiences bring in 16B $ from the twelve worldwide parks while the cruise line used to bring in nearly 8B $ pre covid. Disney was one of the worst hit companies by the pandemic as they lost majority of their revenue with travel restriction on their cruise line and on their amusement parks.Content production was also halted in the pandemic which made Disney almost filled for bailout protection.

Disney has a median price forecast of 191$ with a high estimate of 220$ and a low estimate of 132$.The median price represents a 28% increase from the last trading price.The company has had better results than anticipated with bullish sentiment in the markets.This is evident from the fact that all the 18 analysts are promoting a buy sentiment towards the stock.Earnings per share is expected to increase to 4.5$ with capital appreciation making it a perfect long term position.

Disney is one of the oldest entertainment outlets with household names such as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Snow White and the Seven dwarfs.This has allowed them to monopolise the kids entertainment industry which is globally a 400B $ market.Cartoons and movies are liked by kids and adult alike.To gain share in the teenager media section, they have been actively taking over famous franchises such as the Star Wars Franchise which is estimated to be worth 70B $ in terms of movie revenue and product licensing deals making it a profitable venture.Despite having a stronghold in various entertainment verticals, they have always believed in levelling up which is clear from the takeover of Pixar Studios back in 2006 for changing from drawn animations to digital animations.They are trying to release new standout cartoon characters but have not been able to do so lately which is representative from their difference in projected revenue and actual revenue pre pandemic.This pandemic has made Disney innovate and enter the Over the Top Media service by merging with Hotstar to provide premium content to children worldwide in this pandemic.They have also been expanding globally implying a growth stage in the stock chart.One of their most important revenue streams are the distribution of toys and other merchandise which has stayed strong amidst times of economic downturn as well.Customer loyalty and high return rates with distinctive brand image allows great profitability without much advertisement expenses. Lastly, the most successful franchise for Disney in the pandemic stricken times is Marvel Studios which is responsible for producing world renowned Avenger Movies.In this pandemic, the company has been cutting off many pay to employees but has ensured to provide them with healthcare benefits and basic minimum pay.They have also been in hot waters regarding their typical stereotyping of dark characters and flamboyant princesses.With relaxing travel restrictions, business seems to be recovering with high probability of an upside for Disney.