Bob Chapek may be celebrating some small victories with Disney+ subscriptions and a net profit in their theme parks year over year in their 2nd quarter earnings report, but that was it. The small wins were overshadowed by a tepid outlook from some in the financial world. So, did Disney really do that well? Increased production costs across their streaming platforms, reshoots(Dr. Strange anyone?), and an unexpected loss in earning per share, have investors feeling a little tentative about Disney at the moment. Their stock is still underperforming and currently sits at $104 per share. 3rd quarter earnings will really be the tale to tell, as investors see the actual ramifications of Disney’s deep dive into politics. With Ron DeSantis winning a lawsuit in relation to the Reedy Creek District dissolution, Senators in Congress taking up bills to take away Mickey Mouse’s copyright, and parents and fans still angry over Disney’s LGBTQ indoctrination of their kids through Disney’s programming and movies, Disney’s subscriber growth and profits at the park, might just look like a new coat of paint, to cover what’s really rotting beneath.
Disney’s Media Reprieve Will Only be Temporary
Bob Chapek might actually get a temporary respite from the onslaught of negativity surrounding Disney, with the unexpected 7.9 million added in Disney+ subscriptions, and the overall year over year growth of Disney’s domestic parks. Temporary is the key word. Both those successes were overshadowed by an operating loss of $887 million dollars, which was up from $290 million the previous year, a 1.5 billion dollar loss for the first 6 months of the fiscal year, and a projected $900 million dollar production budget, which reflects higher original content expense at Disney+ and Hulu, increased sports rights costs, and higher programming fees at Hulu Live. This would also include, more than likely, the significant reshoots that ‘Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ underwent, and the delayed production and reshoots of ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’.
From International Business Times –
“Disney revenue and earnings missed the expectations of Wall Street analysts largely based on higher TV and film content costs as well as the loss of $1 billion in licensing fees as it focused on its own streaming services of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN. Although overall, Mickey Mouse performed relatively well across resorts, theme parks, and streaming service subscriber growth and has a promising pipeline of films, investors will question the sustainability of subscriber growth, the ability of Disney to rein in TV and film costs which are projected to be $32 billion, and their ability to turn a profit within their streaming services where losses doubled to a Dumbo-sized $900MM.” – Michael Ashley Schulman, partner and chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors
Star Bore, MCU’s Phase 4, and Lightyear, Will Not Save Disney
Some in the mainstream media are coming to Disney’s defense, saying that the outlook for Disney financially won’t be that bad, given their slate of upcoming movies. That’s generous, considering the political climate that Disney has fostered with their coming out on how LGBTQ driven they want all their content to be. Combine that, and Kevin Feige’s obsession with identity politics in everything phase 4 of the MCU, a lackluster Star Wars streaming menu of bore, and a ‘Lightyear’ movie that will be laced with LGBTQ content, and I’m not sure that those offerings will save the day for Disney…but hey, you never know. It’s also worth noting that China has been banning a lot of these woke movies that Disney is releasing, and that’s a big chunk of the box office. It should also be noted that Disney’s parks in Hong Kong and Shanghai are closed, and that won’t be good for their 3rd quarter bottom line.
Related: Disney is in Free Fall
Disney Will Suffer in the Media and Financially From a Dissolved Reedy Creek
Let us not forget the financial burden that Disney might face from a dissolved Reedy Creek District, in which Disney would be responsible for the over 1 billion dollar bond debt, and not the Florida taxpayers, as some in the mainstream media would have you believe, including the Reedy Creek District itself. I point you to a video over at YouTube from the great Valliant Renegade, in which he had on fellow YouTuber LegalMindset, who specializes in special districts in Florida. Legal MindSet essentially said, that everything within the boundaries of Reedy Creek, which would include the bond debt, is the responsibility of Reedy Creek. Further, the boundaries of Reedy Creek, are owned by Disney entities, which would directly and indirectly make Disney responsible for that bond debt. Adding more than a billion dollars in debt to your bottom line cannot be a good look, no matter how you slice it. Ron DeSantis got a win concerning the Reedy Creek District this week, when a judge ruled against plaintiffs who were suing Florida for the potential tax burden they might incur. Basically, the judge ruled that there could be no incurred damages from something that hasn’t happened yet. There’s also the fact that Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, has drawn up new legislation , that would retroactively cancel Disney’s copyright on the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse. Disney has asked time and again to extend copyrights on Mickey since the original expiration in 1984. Josh Hawley’s Copyright Clause Restoration Act, would retroactively have Steamboat Willie Mickey’s copyright expire, placing that character in the public domain. Ouch.
How Come No Uprisings About Roe v Wade From Disney’s Activists?
Add to Disney’s financial troubles, a missed analysts goal of 20.17 billion in revenue, and it would seem Disney has a lot more misses than hits. Disney has what’s coming to them, given their very one sided activism when it comes to their content. They were once the trusted family friend, but now are becoming more and more obtrusive with their indoctrination of young children surrounding very adult topics. What is unusual, however, is Disney’s silence on Roe v Wade, a left wing topic that would seem right up their alley to protest about. Is Disney taking the hint to stay out of politics and get back to storytelling, or are they just staying silent to avoid another media nightmare? It’s probably the latter, given the upcoming 2nd quarter financial reports that were released on Wednesday. We’ll see…there’s still time for the activists within Disney to rise up and condemn Christians, parents, fans, and all those against abortion within their company.
