Investor Relations

When most people think of Disney, they think of its movies and characters and how children love it.  One thing people might forget is that Disney is a huge company that makes a ton of money. While being such a successful company, Disney must also abide by the regulations and post their yearly earnings along with other information for investors.  This information can be found on a sub page of their usual site. On this page, anyone can find up to date information on how the company is doing financially.  

The last annual financial report was for 2009 fiscal year.  Disney also goes as far as to post their quarterly report for the period ending on July 3rd, 2010.  In both of these articles, Disney uses them as a way to not only make sure they comply with government regulations, but also give the shareholders updated information on the company.

Like most annual reports, the first few pages are a letter from the president of the company to the shareholders.  In this letter, Walt Disney president, Robert Iger, discusses the high and low points of the last year.  He talks about the huge success of movies such as Up and The Princess and the Frog as well as how proud Disney is to acquire Marvel Entertainment and the right to distribute movies from Steven Speilberg.  Iger also gushes about how excited Disney is to have acquired the rights to build a new theme park in Shanghai.  The letter then takes a more somber tone when discussing the economic hardship the country's economy has faced and how it has effected Disney sales and profits.  It is quite clear that from a PR standpoint, Iger is doing his best to put a positive spin on anything bad, make the company look as optimistic as possible, and hopefully negate a majority of the bad things with positive things.  If I was an investor reading this letter I would feel extremely good and optimistic about the success of Disney.  Iger did a good job highlighting the success of the company and even though he did discuss "economic hardship," $36.1 billion in profits is still a significant chunk of change.  He seemed very sincere in his excitement for upcoming projects as well as Disney's dedication to be the best company they could be.  Overall, this letter contained optimistic information covering all aspects of the Disney company (Movies, ABC TV, theme parks, ESPN, cast members, ect) proving Disney's dedication to keeping those interested in the company informed.

The latest news release I could find that had to do with the company's earnings was just information about when the company would be discussing the company's earning.  On Sept. 3, 2010, Disney released a statement informing anyone interested that on November 11th, the company would be discussing the fourth quarter as well as full 2010 report via webcast.  I was surprised that after searching this was the most recent thing I could find.  It provided me with no information about how the company was doing and the article itself was posted nearly 2 months in advance of the actual event. 

In August though, Disney did release a news letter.  Within this news letter, readers can find information on movies made by Disney, the TV stations ran by Disney, upcoming events, new products, and even information on traveling.  While I was unable to find a quote from the CEO, the information provided was easy to understand and was not only believable but also reaffirmed my faith in the Disney company.  I think the newsletter was done very well.  Not only was it simple enough for an every day person to understand, but it also provided me with a significant amount of information.

No company is free from possible economic hardship.  Disney has proved however, that a company can still have the trust and loyalty of its investors as long as the company is honest, does their best to keep the public informed, and does their best to remind them of its wide success.