Walt Disney (DIS 2.07%) wrapped up the first three months of 2023 on an encouraging note. The shares closed above $100 on Friday, something they haven’t done in more than three weeks. The media stock bellwether is also up 15% this young year, beating the market for a change.
Can it keep the good times coming? April won’t be boring. Let’s check out some of the dates that could move Disney stock in the month ahead.
April 3
Investors will have to wait until May for Disney’s next quarterly report, but you may want to stay close on Monday, when the media giant virtually hosts its annual shareholder meeting. This promised to be a clash earlier this year, when activist investor Nelson Peltz was ready to wage a proxy battle, but he backed down in early February after Disney announced some of the changes he was advocating. Disney’s move to shave $5.5 billion in costs and steer Disney+ to profitability by the end of fiscal 2024 pleased Peltz.
It’s not just the annual shareholder shareholder meeting happening on Monday. Down in Florida, Disney World will switch its nighttime shows at its two oldest parks. Epcot Forever and the Magic Kingdom’s Happily Ever After will keep guests at the park later to wait until the nightly fireworks and projections performance, and that’s just good business.
April 4
It’s not just an upgraded nighttime show coming to the Magic Kingdom next week. The world’s most visited theme park will also be getting a shiny new roller coaster. Tron Lightcycle Run will officially open on Tuesday. The Tron-themed thrill ride has been offering preview rides to guests for nearly two months.
Tron Lightcycle Run initially opened in Shanghai’s Disney resort in 2016. Its stateside arrival was announced a year later. The coaster is finally here, after nearly six years of waiting. To be fair, Disney did say back in 2017 that its goal was to have the ride ready in time for Disney World’s 50 anniversary in late 2021. By turning its golden anniversary into an 18-month celebration that came to a close on Friday, it’s barely late.
Nothing drums up a surge in turnstile clicks like a new ride, and the timing works with the peak spring break season wrapping up later this month. It will be the fastest ride in the park, and its presence should be attractive teens and adults who crave some of the white-knuckled thrills offered at rival gated attractions.
April 7
The lion’s share of Iger’s cost cuts — $3 billion of the $5.5 billion target — will come from its content division. It remains to be seen what the pipeline of shows and movies will look like by the end of next year, but for now Disney is still feeding its streaming services fresh programming.
Tiny Beautiful Things will make its debut on Hulu next week. The series stars Kathryn Hahn as someone who reluctantly and anonymously takes the reins of an advice column under the pseudonym Sugar. Disney is the controlling shareholder in Hulu, but some analysts speculate that the House of Mouse may be looking for a buyer to focus on its Disney+ and ESPN+ strongholds if the price is right. Hit shows will naturally help no matter which way Disney goes.
April 21
Disney is still hitting your corner multiplex with theatrical releases. Late this month it will be Chevalier‘s turn to face the music. The biopic tells the story of Jospeh Bologne, the son of an African slave and a French plantation owner who climbs the social ladder in Europe as a celebrated violinist-composer and fencer.
The film isn’t likely to be a blockbuster the way Disney’s superhero and action flicks tend to become box office winners, but a sleeper hit as an indie film would still make it successful. The big hits will come in May, when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and the live-action The Little Mermaid reboot hit the silver screen.