Edmund Shing explains that with the record-breaking success of new blockbuster Star Wars: The Force Awakens, now is the perfect time to invest in The Walt Disney Company. Here are five things you need to know about Disney (US code: DIS).
1) A huge company
Disney, is a huge multinational firm. It is a member of the benchmark S and P 500 Index in the US. It is worth $167.73bn (£116.49bn) at the current share price of $101.46 (as of 13 Janaury).
2) Movies, TV and theme parks
Disney is a media conglomerate with film distribution including Walt Disney Pictures, Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm, producers of the Star Wars franchise.
It also is involved with television, owning the ABC network in the US, the ESPN sports network and the Disney channel.
And it also owns theme parks, including the famous Disneyland Paris and Disney World in Florida.
3) Future films
On the film side, Disneys growth will be driven not just by the huge blockbuster success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but its impressive line-up of future features. As well as more planned Star Wars films, Pixar is releasing sequels to its popular Toy Story and Cars series, and Marvel Entertainment has sequels to Captain America, The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy in the pipeline.
4) Shanghai Disney Resort
The theme park division of Disney should also experience growth with the opening of the new Shanghai theme park on 16 June 2016, the first in mainland China.
5) Good value
Despite this, Disneys stock has fallen from $120 at its recent peak to hovering just above $100 today, meaning it currently represents much better value with a P/E Ratio of 17.72 (2016 estimate).
Edmund Shing is Global Head of Equity Derivative Strategy at BNP Paribas in London. He holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence.
