Disney shifts focus to streaming

Article Excerpt

WALT DISNEY CO. $127 (New York symbol DIS; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $228.6 billion; Takeover Target Rating: Lowest; Dividend suspended in May 2020; www.disney.com) is still a buy. Due to the COVID-19-related shutdowns of its theme parks and cruise lines, Disney has suspended its semiannual dividend of $0.88 a share. That move should have saved it $1.6 billion in fiscal 2020, which ended September 30, 2020. Activist investor Dan Loeb of Third Point now wants Disney to stop paying dividends—beyond its short term suspension—and to use the cash to build up content for its Disney+ streaming service. Since launching last November, Disney+ had reached 60.5 million subscribers worldwide by August. That beat forecasts. Meantime, Disney is creating a new unit— the Media and Entertainment Distribution group—to focus on the commercialization and distribution of its movies, TV shows, and sports content. Meanwhile the company’s studios will continue to generate content, without a bias for any one form…