How To Buy Disney Stock

How To Buy Disney Stock: The Disney Company wasn’t Walt Disney’s first venture. He launched his cartooning career with a small business he named Laugh-O-Grams. However, the concept never caught on.

When Laugh-O-Grams went under, Disney decided to take a new approach. He packed up his life and moved to Hollywood with $20 in his pocket. There, he created another small business with his brother Roy. They named it the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio.

That tiny cartoon studio transformed the entertainment world, eventually becoming the Walt Disney Company. Today, it is approaching its 100th birthday as one of the most powerful brands of all time. Investors rely on Disney stock to keep portfolios stable. It has a long history of growth and profitability. More importantly, the company stays on the cutting edge of technology, adapting to change and leading the industry in creativity and innovation.

Disney is More Than Mickey Mouse

The first Disney character that gained widespread popularity was a little mouse named Mickey. While he remains the company’s mascot, the Walt Disney Company has grown its collection of assets considerably.

There is a long list of Disney-branded companies, including:

• television channels,
• a streaming service,
• radio stations,
• retail stores,
• theme parks,
• resorts,
• a cruise line,
• and a variety of vacation-related properties – but that’s just the beginning.

Disney owns some of the most popular films, programs, and characters of all time, including the Star Wars franchise, all of the Disney Princesses and supporting cast members, the Muppets, the Chronicles of Narnia collection, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (thanks to the acquisition of Fox Studios), Pixar Films, the Pirates of the Caribbean series, the Indiana Jones franchise, and even Grey’s Anatomy.

A wide variety of less-obvious brands fall under the Disney umbrella as well. The company now owns nearly all of Hulu and ESPN, as well as large shares of A&E, Lifetime, and the History Channel. Lucasfilm is now a subsidiary of Disney, along with ABC and Touchstone Pictures.

In short, the Disney Company is the driving force behind many of the top names in entertainment.

While there are competitors in individual markets, no other company can truly compete with the Disney media conglomerate as a whole. For investors, that means security.

Of course, no stock is a guaranteed winner, but shares of Disney are a reliable, stabilizing force in well-diversified portfolios.

Is Disney Stock a Buy?

One of the biggest issues that mature companies face is a failure to adapt to changes in the marketplace. More than one major retailer has gone under, simply because it failed to embrace the digital revolution. Disney doesn’t have that problem. In fact, it has a special talent for leading change. Again and again, Disney projects break records, often exceeding its own analysts’ expectations.

Examples of recent successes include the rapid rise of Disney+. The company launched this streaming service in an attempt to capture some of Netflix’s revenue. On its very first day, the Disney service enrolled 10 million subscribers. For perspective, as of January 2020, 22-year-old Netflix has 60 million US subscribers and 167 million worldwide.

In 2019, Disney released seven films that topped $1 billion in global revenue: Aladdin, Avengers: Endgame, Captain America, Frozen 2, the Lion King, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and Toy Story 4. Thanks to these box office hits, Disney became the first studio in history to surpass $10 billion in global ticket sales.

That achievement may not be a one-time event. The lineup for 2020 and beyond looks just as promising. Two of the most eagerly anticipated films include a live-action version of Mulan and a fifth installment of the enormously popular Indiana Jones series.

On the revenue side, Disney continues to deliver growth year after year. Total sales for 2017 came in at $55.1 billion, then rose to $69.6 billion in 2019. Analysts expect that number will increase in coming years. Some predict a total of $92.1 billion in sales by 2022, which would represent a compound annual growth rate of 9.8 percent.

In short, is Disney stock a buy? Absolutely, for those in search of reliable long-term value. These shares might not offer the quick, dramatic payoffs (or discouraging losses) of newer, more volatile stocks, but a disciplined buy-and-hold approach should pay off handsomely.

What To Know Before Buying Disney

From a long-term perspective, there is no debate – Disney is a strong buy. However, there are considerations in terms of when to buy, especially if you are primarily focused on short-term returns.

Disney is trading a little high, though the initial bump from Disney+ has settled down. The current price more accurately reflects gains from Disney+, though it might drop slightly more in coming months.

There is also the possibility of a drop in share price over the next one or two quarters as a result of the coronavirus epidemic.

Disney’s Shanghai and Hong Kong parks are temporarily closed in an effort to limit the spread of the infection. If they stay closed for two months, lost revenue may exceed $175 million.

That number will grow if the epidemic drags on, impacting share prices. Those who are looking for a discount may wish to wait before buying.

Open a Brokerage Account

If you are ready to buy, it’s easy to get your own piece of the Magic Kingdom. Begin by opening a brokerage account with a reputable firm. Look for options that offer no-fee or low-fee trades, and avoid minimum balance requirements. Otherwise, you risk losing your gains because of related charges.

Note that you will be asked for personal information that goes a bit deeper than your average bank account. Brokerage firms are governed by strict regulations around who they do business with, so you will be asked where you work and what your profession is.

You may have the option of choosing between a cash account and a margin account. Cash accounts limit you to making trades with your own money, while margin accounts permit you to borrow from the broker. Unless you have experience, taking on this kind of debt is expensive and risky, so stick with a cash account for the time being.

Place a Buy Disney Stock Order

Once your account is open, you can fund it through an electronic transfer by linking a standard checking or savings from another financial institution. It may take a few days for your deposit to be available for trading, so plan ahead – particularly if your strategy includes acting quickly when new information is released.

From the “trade” screen of your brokerage account, do a search for Disney by name or symbol (DIS). You will see the current price, so you can determine how much to buy. There are several options for placing an order to buy. The two most common include market orders and limit orders.

Market orders essentially instruct your broker to make the trade as soon as possible, regardless of share price. That means your final cost could be slightly different than your calculation.

Limit orders allow you to set a maximum threshold in terms of what you want to pay. If share prices exceed that amount when the broker attempts the transaction, your order will not be processed.

The simplicity and affordability of self-directed online brokerage accounts has made the stock market accessible to all sorts of investors. Take advantage of the opportunity to develop a portfolio and grow your wealth, beginning with Disney stock.

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The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Financhill has a disclosure policy. This post may contain affiliate links or links from our sponsors.