DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY

[wabbott]

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/d...-pre-pandemic-levels-2022-11-30?siteid=yhoof2

Disney hired 30,000 people in latest fiscal year, bringing workforce to near pre-pandemic levels
Published: Nov. 30, 2022 at 10:54 a.m. ET
By Tomi Kilgore

DIS

-0.45%

DJIA

-0.49%

Shares of Walt Disney Co. slid 0.7% in morning trading Wednesday, after the media and entertainment giant disclosed in its annual report that will record charges as it makes organizational and operating changes to boost profitability. But in the meantime, the company also disclosed that it had about 220,000 employees as of Oct. 1, up 15.8% from a year ago. That's the most number of employees since the company employed 223,000 employees for the fiscal year ended Sept. 28, in pre-pandemic 2019. The yearly increase in jobs snaps a two-year period in which Disney shed 33,000 jobs, or 14.8% of its workforce.

 

[wabbott]

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/disney-channel-espn-lose-2-million-subscribers/

Disney Channel, ESPN Lose 2 Million Subscribers Each​

The two cable networks are the largest owned by The Walt Disney Co. Disney also bought from MLB the remaining stake in streaming company BAMTech.

Steven Musil & Nina Raemont
Nov. 30, 2022 9:00 a.m. PT

Both Disney Channel and ESPN each lost 2 million subscribers this fiscal year, The Walt Disney Co. reported Tuesday. At 74 million subscribers, the two cable networks are the media conglomerate's largest, according to the filing Disney disclosed through the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The subscriber loss reflects the media industry's struggle to retain customers and satisfy consumer needs in the streaming era. Simultaneously, Disney lost $4 billion in its direct-to-consumer services last year, according to the filing. Other channels, like FX, Freeform and National Geographic, lost 3 million subscribers each, Disney noted.

Disney also bought the last outstanding share of BAMTech -- the company that powers the company's streaming offerings -- for $900 million, it disclosed in the filing.

With the purchase of Major League Baseball's 15% stake, Disney now owns all of the streaming technology services company that delivers Disney Plus, Hulu and other direct-to-consumer services. The company, now known as Disney Streaming, was formed in 2000 as MLB Advanced Media to run the league's online operations and its MLB.com website before a shift in focus to streaming led to a spin-off of the streaming division then known as BAMTech.

Disney's interest in the company began in 2016 with a $1 billion investment that gave it a 33% stake, with an option to acquire a greater ownership stake over the years. A year later, it paid an additional
$1.58 billion for a 75% stake, and last year, the company bought the National Hockey League's 10% stake for $350 million.

The acquisition was completed in November, amid the company's board of directors' surprise move to oust CEO Bob Chapek and bring back former chief Bob Iger as Chapek's replacement. Iger will fill the role for two years, the board said, to "set the strategic direction for renewed growth."

 

[Jack Kerouac]

I haven’t had an opportunity to read every page of this board. But any speculation that Iger reinstates the dividend? It may be a win-win on Wall Street. Streaming is so 2020 and dividends are so now. I have friends who are waiting to buy DIS stock once the dividend comes back.

 

[wabbott]

I haven’t had an opportunity to read every page of this board. But any speculation that Iger reinstates the dividend? It may be a win-win on Wall Street. Streaming is so 2020 and dividends are so now. I have friends who are waiting to buy DIS stock once the dividend comes back.

I've not seen any reporting from reliable news sources that suggest that may happen anytime soon. I hope they do, though. I would just turn around and spend it at WDW/DLR.

 

[wabbott]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/bob-iger-disney-ceo-succession-chapek-11669834343?siteid=yhoof2

Bob Iger Is Back at Disney to Fix His One Big Failure: Succession
The veteran CEO’s handpicked successor promptly flopped. Now he has two years to help make it right.

By Ben Cohen
Dec. 1, 2022 5:30 am ET

https://www.livemint.com/companies/...ne-big-failure-succession-11669901077431.html

 

[RivShore]

Couple notable things I caught on CNBC's morning show this week...

A media reporter on the CEO change mentioned what Bob 1.0 said at the town hall on culture war issues - stay out of headlines while allowing the employees to feel like their leader has their back. I had not seen that quote elsewhere so not sure if it is exactly what he said but it is pretty much what I said when the whole thing blew up - work it behind the scenes and make your employees feel valued.

Netflix CEO at the Dealbook conference - He said that Bob 2.0 was a solid CEO as far as he could see. Really respects Bob 1.0 and expects him to do good things for the company,said Dis has amazing IP. He expects the streaming wars to boil down to Netflix and Disney and the competition will be good for both companies and the consumers as they are forced to put out the most compelling content.

 

[RivShore]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/bob-iger-disney-ceo-succession-chapek-11669834343?siteid=yhoof2

Bob Iger Is Back at Disney to Fix His One Big Failure: Succession
The veteran CEO’s handpicked successor promptly flopped. Now he has two years to help make it right.

By Ben Cohen
Dec. 1, 2022 5:30 am ET

https://www.livemint.com/companies/...ne-big-failure-succession-11669901077431.html

Wow, just wow (from that article which quoted Iger's book):

But as Mr. Iger was campaigning for the board’s approval of the Pixar acquisition, he learned that Mr. Eisner was lobbying against it. He’d only recently left the company, and he later admitted that he was wrong about Pixar, Mr. Iger wrote. But that was almost beside the point. It was the interference that he found inappropriate.

“I was offended by his meddling,” Mr. Iger wrote. “It was something he would never have tolerated when he was CEO.”

Those words now look rich after Mr. Iger’s whispers about Mr. Chapek became so loud around Hollywood that he might as well have bought a billboard on Sunset Boulevard.

 

[RivShore]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/bob-iger-disney-ceo-succession-chapek-11669834343?siteid=yhoof2

Bob Iger Is Back at Disney to Fix His One Big Failure: Succession
The veteran CEO’s handpicked successor promptly flopped. Now he has two years to help make it right.

By Ben Cohen
Dec. 1, 2022 5:30 am ET

https://www.livemint.com/companies/...ne-big-failure-succession-11669901077431.html

This was linked in the above article - Covers the many succession issues back in 2017, very interesting read in light of the current situation:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/disneys-iger-isnt-about-to-let-go-as-ceo-1494945084?mod=article_inline

 

[wabbott]

Wow, just wow (from that article which quoted Iger's book):

But as Mr. Iger was campaigning for the board’s approval of the Pixar acquisition, he learned that Mr. Eisner was lobbying against it. He’d only recently left the company, and he later admitted that he was wrong about Pixar, Mr. Iger wrote. But that was almost beside the point. It was the interference that he found inappropriate.

“I was offended by his meddling,” Mr. Iger wrote. “It was something he would never have tolerated when he was CEO.”

Those words now look rich after Mr. Iger’s whispers about Mr. Chapek became so loud around Hollywood that he might as well have bought a billboard on Sunset Boulevard.

I have Iger's book on my "to buy" list. I would like to get his side. The one thing I've learned over the years about history is you have to get several different viewpoints to have a reasonably accurate picture of what happened.

 

[wabbott]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/bob-iger-disney-hulu-espn-apple-1235271915/

Bob Iger’s Disney Return: 5 Far-Fetched (or Are They?) Megadeal Scenarios

While he may be waving away any deal talk, the incoming CEO built the company with a slew of splashy buys — Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 21st Century Fox — and could have another big idea up his sleeve.
By J. Clara Chan, Winston Cho, Caitlin Huston, Alex Weprin
December 1, 2022 6:55am

 

[RivShore]

I have Iger's book on my "to buy" list. I would like to get his side. The one thing I've learned over the years about history is you have to get several different viewpoints to have a reasonably accurate picture of what happened.

Yes, you need all sides to get close to the truth, especially when dealing with the business of Hollywood.

The first thing I thought of after reading that was that, for sure, Chapek's book will say the same thing:

“I was offended by his meddling,” Mr. Chapek Iger wrote. “It was something he would never have tolerated when he was CEO.”

 

[RivShore]

I have Iger's book on my "to buy" list. I would like to get his side. The one thing I've learned over the years about history is you have to get several different viewpoints to have a reasonably accurate picture of what happened.

Hey wabbott, I believe you have read many Disney "history" books over the years, if you get a chance, can you give us a list of your top ones to read now, especially with all the current turmoil. Thanks!!

 

[wabbott]

I just happen to have them stacked up right here on my credenza.

Disney War - James Stewart
Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination - Neal Gabler
Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire - Bob Thomas
Keys to the Kingdom: The Rise of Michael Eisner and the Fall of Everyone Else - Kim Masters
Storming the Magic Kingdom: Wall Street, The Raiders and the Battle for Disney - John Taylor
Saving Disney: The Roy E. Disney Story - William Sylvester

Stewart's book is a great read, and he was obviously plugged in to what was going on. Gabler's book is a must read bio of Walt. Master's book is a detailed account of the Katzenber and Ovitz controversies, lawsuits and trials. The Sylvester book is a brief account of Roy's story.

 

[OKW Lover]

Wow, just wow (from that article which quoted Iger's book):

But as Mr. Iger was campaigning for the board’s approval of the Pixar acquisition, he learned that Mr. Eisner was lobbying against it. He’d only recently left the company, and he later admitted that he was wrong about Pixar, Mr. Iger wrote. But that was almost beside the point. It was the interference that he found inappropriate.

“I was offended by his meddling,” Mr. Iger wrote. “It was something he would never have tolerated when he was CEO.”

Those words now look rich after Mr. Iger’s whispers about Mr. Chapek became so loud around Hollywood that he might as well have bought a billboard on Sunset Boulevard.

This is a great illustration of how bad Eisner 2 (ie, after Frank Wells died) had become at Disney. His animosity towards Steve Jobs never would have permitted the Pixar acquisition. Pixar saved Disney's bacon.

 

[Jrb1979]

Couple notable things I caught on CNBC's morning show this week...

A media reporter on the CEO change mentioned what Bob 1.0 said at the town hall on culture war issues - stay out of headlines while allowing the employees to feel like their leader has their back. I had not seen that quote elsewhere so not sure if it is exactly what he said but it is pretty much what I said when the whole thing blew up - work it behind the scenes and make your employees feel valued.

Netflix CEO at the Dealbook conference - He said that Bob 2.0 was a solid CEO as far as he could see. Really respects Bob 1.0 and expects him to do good things for the company,said Dis has amazing IP. He expects the streaming wars to boil down to Netflix and Disney and the competition will be good for both companies and the consumers as they are forced to put out the most compelling content.

Of course he is going to say that. I still don't think streaming is going to be as big as many claim it will be, especially if they have to keep creating new content to keep people watching.

 

[bryaalre]

Of course he is going to say that. I still don't think streaming is going to be as big as many claim it will be, especially if they have to keep creating new content to keep people watching.

Netflix made $5.1B in net income in 2021 and are currently at $4.4B for the first 9 months of this year. Netflix's income has been growing very nicely as it has reached a more mature status and is no longer reaching for subscribers.

Compare that to Disney's linear networks which made a profit of $8.5B for the fiscal year and was essentially flat from the prior fiscal year. As been previously posted, all of Disney's channels have seen significant subscriber loss over the last few years. Linear should continue to be very profitable but will start to shrink. Disney will need to make that income up from some place and that place is streaming. I will note that Disney probably should not have just jumped all in and kept some of their licensing agreements in place so that they would have an additional source of revenue.

 

[RivShore]

I just happen to have them stacked up right here on my credenza.

Disney War - James Stewart
Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination - Neal Gabler
Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire - Bob Thomas
Keys to the Kingdom: The Rise of Michael Eisner and the Fall of Everyone Else - Kim Masters
Storming the Magic Kingdom: Wall Street, The Raiders and the Battle for Disney - John Taylor
Saving Disney: The Roy E. Disney Story - William Sylvester

Stewart's book is a great read, and he was obviously plugged in to what was going on. Gabler's book is a must read bio of Walt. Master's book is a detailed account of the Katzenber and Ovitz controversies, lawsuits and trials. The Sylvester book is a brief account of Roy's story.

Perfect! thanks for taking the time!

 

[RivShore]

Netflix made $5.1B in net income in 2021 and are currently at $4.4B for the first 9 months of this year. Netflix's income has been growing very nicely as it has reached a more mature status and is no longer reaching for subscribers.

Compare that to Disney's linear networks which made a profit of $8.5B for the fiscal year and was essentially flat from the prior fiscal year. As been previously posted, all of Disney's channels have seen significant subscriber loss over the last few years. Linear should continue to be very profitable but will start to shrink. Disney will need to make that income up from some place and that place is streaming. I will note that Disney probably should not have just jumped all in and kept some of their licensing agreements in place so that they would have an additional source of revenue.

Thanks! I was just about to go look up those numbers. Do you have cash flow numbers for both handy also? I recall that after Netflix latest earnings, an analyst said the they only had a 3% cash flow, much less than linear networks cash flow %.

It will take an awful lot of streamer subscribers to replace the networks' current bottom line, that is for sure.

 

[wabbott]

Perfect! thanks for taking the time!

I have read several other books about DIS and its people, but those are the ones that are related to the business of the company. One of my favorite other books is Magic Journey: My Fantastical Walt Disney Imagineering Career - Kevin P. Rafferty. He was lead on several classic attractions, including Tower of Terror and also worked on Rockin' Roller Coaster, Cars Land and Blizzard Beach. A very uplifting story that will make you smile when reading it.

 

[Jrb1979]

Thanks! I was just about to go look up those numbers. Do you have cash flow numbers for both handy also? I recall that after Netflix latest earnings, an analyst said the they only had a 3% cash flow, much less than linear networks cash flow %.

It will take an awful lot of streamer subscribers to replace the networks' current bottom line, that is for sure.

That's what my point was. Sure streaming will be profitable but I don't see a day it makes as much as cable ever did. It's due to the amount it costs to make new content