Yesterday afternoon, upon the close of the New York Stock Exchange, the Walt Disney Company’s individual share worth was $114.01. For Disney, this is equivalent to a $169.96 billion market cap. This is a colossal number for one of the largest media conglomerates on Earth. To put such a value into perspective, we can look to the past. Just over a decade ago, on February 27, 2009, that same Walt Disney Company (DIS) was listed at a stock price of just $16.77. CEO Bob Iger has taken drastic steps to improve the Company’s worth and portfolio since he was promoted in 2005. Iger was named CEO in a stockholder uprising against longtime CEO Michael Eisner, who had let shares dwindle to record lows. Thus, Iger emphasized market value and boosting stocks when he was put in power and entrusted with an American classic.
Iger intuitively sought new business strategies wherein the Walt Disney Company could increase their intellectual property (IP) holdings and simultaneously maximize the synergistic profits made off of their high-profile brands. His first move in charge was to buy the Pixar Animation Studios for $7.4 billion in 2006. Though Disney had already been distributing the films made by Steve Jobs’ young company, Iger made this move to bring the entire company under the Disney umbrella for good. This vastly expanded the Disney animation cast of characters, and reinvigorated the Walt Disney Animation Studios itself into a revival of sorts. In 2009, Iger announced the purchase of Marvel Entertainment for $4.24 billion. The CEO simultaneously announced the beginnings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the giant superhero franchise which owns the box office today was born. With this transaction came thousands of Marvel characters which will prove to provide a steady catalog of stories and a steady stream of revenue for years to come. Just three years later, in 2012, the Walt Disney Company purchased Lucasfilm Ltd. from legendary filmmaker George Lucas for $4.05 billion, meaning Star Wars and Indiana Jones would also be providing fresh new content for Disney fans for decades to come. At this point, it seemed Iger was done expanding Disney’s properties. But, being Disney, the grand finale had yet to come. In 2018, Disney and 21st Century Fox reached a landmark deal in which Fox would be merged into the Walt Disney Company in a $71.3 billion acquisition. Overall, these transactions leave Disney with Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, Buzz Lightyear, Luke Skywalker, Indiana Jones, Captain America, Deadpool, Wolverine, the Na’vi, Sid the sloth, Blu the macaw, Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin, and many, many more characters and franchises.
As a result, Disney Parks have become more and more IP-based. Iger has emphasized the idea of “synergy” throughout the Walt Disney Company. This means that each division of the company should work in tandem to promote each other’s endeavors in order to increase the popularity of the brand. Thus, now more than ever, you will find “Star Wars lands” or “Avatar lands” or “Marvel lands” in Disney resorts around the world. Gone are the days of massive, big-budget attractions based on completely original, unproven storylines. When movies sell, their iterative rides almost certainly will do the same. In that regard, Iger has been the most forward-thinking executive in the business, and the Walt Disney Company has reaped the rewards.