The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS), together with its subsidiaries, operates as an entertainment company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution; and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. The company engages in the film and episodic television content production and distribution activities, as well as operates television networks under the ABC, Disney, ESPN, Freeform, FX, Fox, National Geographic, and Star brands; and studios that produces films under the Walt Disney Pictures, Twentieth Century Studios, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, and Searchlight Pictures banners. It also offers direct-to-consumer streaming services through Disney+, Disney+ Hotstar, ESPN+, Hulu, and Star+; sale/licensing of film and television content to third-party television and subscription video-on-demand services; theatrical, home entertainment, and music distribution services; staging and licensing of live entertainment events; and post-production services by Industrial Light & Magic and Skywalker Sound. In addition, the company operates theme parks and resorts, such as Walt Disney World Resort in Florida; Disneyland Resort in California; Disneyland Paris; Hong Kong Disneyland Resort; and Shanghai Disney Resort; Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, National Geographic Expeditions, and Adventures by Disney, as well as Aulani, a Disney resort and spa in Hawaii. Further, it licenses its intellectual property to a third party for the operations of the Tokyo Disney Resort; provides consumer products, including licensing of trade names, characters, visual, literary, and other IP for use on merchandise, published materials, and games; operates a direct-to-home satellite distribution platform; sells branded merchandise through retail, online, and wholesale businesses; and develops and publishes books, comic books, and magazines. The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923 and is based in Burbank, California.

Company Overview

• Market Cap: 182.626 Billion
• PE Ratio: 54.93
• EPS: 1.82

Walt Disney is one of the biggest media companies in the world, especially after acquiring most of 21st Century Fox. It has a very strong portfolio of intellectual property, including Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, and its many classic Disney brands. It also owns the Disney and ESPN television brands. ESPN has long-term contracts to broadcast premium sporting events, including Monday Night Football.

After a year of sluggish performance, Disney brought back former CEO Bob Iger. He replaced Bob Chapek, whom Iger had named as his replacement in early 2020. Investors cheered the move, expecting Iger will be able to work some Disney magic, just as he did during his original 15-year run as CEO.

The company also owns a world-famous theme-park business and licenses its characters to toy and game makers. The theme park operations typically produce higher operating margins than Disney’s film studio, media networks, and DTC businesses.

The diversification of its business can be seen as a good thing for some investors, but it also means Disney is not a pure-play media stock.