Fresh financials, potential blockbusters, and a major celebratory milestone are just some of the reasons to keep the media giant close this year.
You might not view Walt Disney (DIS -0.48%) as a holiday play, but the media giant is built for December. It’s a conglomerate ripe for this time of year. Its theme parks see a seasonal bounce this time of year, particularly later this month, when schools let out for two weeks.
Disney also always seems to have a blockbuster or two hitting theaters as the calendar year comes to a close. As the majority stakeholder in ESPN, it even sees a boost in audience levels as the college and pro football seasons start to heat up.
After a challenging summer, the stock has been rising in the fall. Disney shares have moved higher for three consecutive months, recently hitting seven-month highs. Momentum is on its side, and it had a few events in December that could stretch that winning streak to four months. Let’s take a closer look.
Feb. 5
The first major financial update out of Disney will happen on the morning of Feb. 5, when it reports its fiscal first-quarter results. Expectations are modest, but important.
Analysts see revenue climbing 5% to nearly $24.7 billion for the three months that ended earlier this week. No one will be surprised by the modest year-over-year increase. Disney has posted single-digit percentage growth in each of the six previous quarterly updates. Profitability is expected to make a bigger jump, rising 18% to hit $1.44 a share.
The bottom line should grow at a faster clip than the top line, now that Disney+ is profitable. Disney has consistently beaten Wall Street profit targets, so history suggests that net income has a strong chance of posting closer to 20% growth.
There will naturally be more riding on the report than just the numbers. Investors will want to see if its domestic theme parks business — where growth has been stagnant over the past year — is starting to pick up. Disney’s streaming operations barely broke even in the first third quarter before taking a strong step into the black in the fourth quarter. The market is hoping that Disney can step on the accelerator and leave the red ink fading in its rearview mirror.
March 4
There is a lot of TV show content coming to Disney’s streaming services this year. The sixth season of The Handmaid’s Tale arrives on Hulu in the springtime. Marvel’s Spider-Man and Black Panther will have new animated series coming to Disney+ in 2025.
One that I’m particularly looking forward to is Daredevil: Born Again. Weekly episodes will start dropping on March 4.
The initial Daredevil series launched on Netflix in 2015. Unlike the 2003 Ben Affleck-helmed movie that largely disappointed critics and fans, the Netflix series was widely acclaimed. It scored a 92% approval rating from critics polled on review aggregator hub Rotten Tomatoes. A robust 89% of viewers also would go on to recommend the show.
Disney+ didn’t exist at the time. Three years ago, Daredevil and three other Marvel shows that were initially billed as Netflix Originals reverted to Disney ownership. Now Disney has assembled most of the original cast for a reboot, aptly titled Daredevil: Born Again.
Image source: Disney.
May 16
Disneyland opened in the summer of 1955. Never one to miss a round milestone, Disney is launching a Disneyland 70th anniversary on May 16 at its original California resort. The fête will run through the summer of 2026.
Disney knows how to milk an anniversary. When Disney World in Florida turned 50 in the fall of 2021, the celebration lasted for 18 months. Commemorative merchandise and new experiences resulted in a jump in both attendance and average revenue per guest. The past year has been a hard act for Disney World to follow, but you have to ride the waves when they swell.
Nov. 20
If you’re sensing a little motion in the ocean, it could just be Disney building up its fleet of cruise ships. It took Disney 14 years to send its first four vessels into service. Now it’s starting to pick up the pace. The leisure and entertainment behemoth added a fifth ship in 2022, and Disney Treasure made it six when it set sail for its maiden voyage two weeks ago.
This year, it’s launching two new ships. Disney Destiny is slated to start taking passengers on watery escapes on Nov. 20. Just four weeks later, it will be time for Disney Adventure‘s maiden voyage. Disney Adventure will be the company’s largest vessel, with capacity for up to 6,000 guests, 50% more than its largest existing ships.
The cruise line industry is booming, but this isn’t exactly a no-brainer. A Disney sailing is a premium experience. Ramping up supply for big-ticket cruise experience will also require demand to keep up the pace.
Dec. 19
Disney dominated the box office in 2024, and its prospects for a repeat performance this year are strong. There are a lot of potential blockbusters hitting a multiplex near you out of Disney’s several studios. Marvel has a new Captain America movie coming out on Valentine’s Day. A live-action Lilo & Stitch film should fare well when it opens in the seasonally potent Memorial Day weekend. Zootopia 2 hits the silver screen in time for Thanksgiving.
However, Disney is saving its biggest theatrical release for last in the 2025 calendar year. Avatar: Fire and Ash will open on Dec. 19. The third installment in James Cameron’s franchise that Disney scooped up when the media stock giant acquired 21st Century Fox in 2019 has momentum. The original 2009 film has topped $2.9 billion in worldwide ticket sales over the years, making it the highest-grossing film of all time. The sequel — Avatar: The Way of Water — came out in 2022 under Disney’s banner. It is now the third-highest grossing movie of all time, and it’s the top dog of the post-pandemic era.
