Benefits Of Owning Disney Stock

[hirschberger]

I was reading that if you purchase disney stock it opens up many benefits to you. like getting special discounts at the parks. Any truth to this story?? Anybody know what these may be?
Jamie

 

[Chuck S]

Sorry, no discounts. Years ago this was true, and stockholders received MKC cards...but that's been discontinued.

 

[EROS]

I wouldn't call a 33% loss in 4 months a "benefit"

 

[Dan Murphy]

Walt Disney Company, as part of a well rounded portfolio, should be a good, long-term investment. As a 'fun stock', for a 'Disney nut', I can't think of a better one. If you are looking to buy a single share, for 'fun', a good place to look is OneShare.com. You will pay a premium for the single share, but not a bad way to buy it, if for a fun thing to do.

In answer to your question, Jamie, as Chuck mentioned, there are no longer any ancillary benefits with owning Disney Company stock, just the potential for long term appreciation.

Not to be taken as investment advice.

Edited to add this link, Jamie. A small discount through Deb's site as indicated in the left column. posted here 10/13/02

http://wdwig.com/

 

[EROS]

I would rate DIS (Disney, not the Disney Information Network ) as a "hold", not a "buy". There's little chance that it will outperform the S&P; for a balanced portfolio, there are much better choices available .......

 

[fklhou]

It is sad that Disney discontinued the benefits to shareholders.

 

[Bob O]

Another legacy of the eisner regime, take way all benefits of owning the disney stock in regrads to their theme parks. But you do get a nice annual report!!!(of course until they stop that benefit and make us pay for it)

 

[yensid1071]

Benefits.... hmmmm.... good question. Now you can get a discount on joining the Disney Club, but that's going away from what I've heard (the entire club). About the only benefit I know if is getting admission to the shareholder meeting and hearing the pep talk they give (I went a couple years ago when they were in Ft Worth). Had characters there for autographs & pics. The only other benefit, if you go thru OneShare.com or specifically request it from your broker, is you get the stock certificate, which has a pic of Walt & other Dis characters. But that's about it....

 

[Dan Murphy]

Originally posted by Bob O
...But you do get a nice annual report!!!(of course until they stop that benefit and make us pay for it)

You will always get that, Bob, free of charge, unless the law requiring it to be provided to all shareholders is changed.

 

[Randi]

We started out with 1 share, still have it framed and hanging on the wall. Then with splits and we purchased a few more, we now have 100 shares. Do we expect to get rich on it? No. Do we consider it an investment? No. Is it fun to say we "own" a bit of the magic we feel when we go to WDW? YES! That's why we bought the stock. I like to watch what it does value wise, but I wouldn't think of selling so I don't care if it loses or gains.

 

[EROS]

Randi, as you know, DIS has gone from $40 in '98 to $16/share currently . If you really want to own a "piece" of Disney, I'd suggest that you SELL your shares for $1600 and buy into the Disney Vacation Club (we are current members). The points there have ESCALATED in price from around $50/point in 1991 to $80/point currently.

 

[Randi]

Eros, I am not a good candidate for DVC. The only people left in my family are my son & myself. His health is precarious at best. I treat each trip as though it will be our last. I have already lost one son to a genetic condition and I will do anything to keep my remaining son happy. I have promised him he will always have an annual pass whether it is used or not. He likes to stay at a different resort each trip and I won't stay anywhere that has a kitchen or cooking facilities! That's why I say we are not good candidates for DVC. It does sound like a good deal for those who will take advantage of it, just not in our case. We aren't as concerned with saving money although we do get a kick out of a discount when we can get it. Owning the stock is a fun thing, I truly don't care whether it is worth anything.

 

[EROS]

Sorry to read about your son, RANDI . I can certainly understand why DVC may not be right for your family. Wishing him much health and many,many more trips with you to WDW ..........

 

[Dodie]

Special benefits for Disney stockholders!

HAAA!! HAAA!! Good one!!! ROFLMAO!!

You WERE kidding, right?

 

[PamOKW]

DIS has gone from $40 in '98 to $16/share currently

While not good news, I don't think it's quite that bad. The $40 share is equal to 3 current shares at $16. So, $40 in 1998 is now worth $48.

 

[GeorgeG]

From what I understand, Disney discontinued the stockholder discounts because of so many people buying just one or two shares to get them.

Now would be a good time to invest, though. It's not likely this company is going out of business and the stock will eventually go up to at least triple what it is now. The last time it split it went up to $120 and then split 3 ways. Think about it... Eisner didn't recently buy another $10 million worth because it's a bad investment...

Besides, it is a good feeling to go to WDW and know you own a piece of it, even if you just missed it when you blinked.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Originally posted by PamOKW
While not good news, I don't think it's quite that bad. The $40 share is equal to 3 current shares at $16. So, $40 in 1998 is now worth $48.

A 20% return, not including dividends reinvested, is not too bad, given the overall market condition for the last half of that investment period, Pam. You must be a happy shareholder, Pam.

 

[Towncrier]

Except for us poor souls who purchased one of those $40 shares of Disney right before the split when it cost $120. Not to mention the 100 or so shares that I bought after the split. Ouch!!!

But I'm in it for the long haul and eventually I expect the stock to rebound. Hopefully in my lifetime.

 

[EROS]

Splits have absolutely NOTHING to do with the value of a stock. They simply create more shares, and in theory make them more affordable to individual investors who often like share prices less than $100.

If someone owned 1 share of DIS @ $120 before the '98 split, they ended up with 3 shares valued at $40 each. Those 3 shares, which were worth $120 after the split are now worth $48 .

Anyway that you look at it, DIS has been a horrible performer. If you want to say that you own a "piece" of Disney, then I suppose that you can accept such a terrible performance. Real investors seek to capitalize upon good stocks, not simply display certificates for fun

 

[Towncrier]

OUCH!!!
I would have to say that I am guilty on all counts. Lock me up and throw away the key.

I cannot tell you how glad I am that I never got caught up in the day trading nonsense of a couple of years ago. Or I would probably have even less money than I have today.