Entertainment giant Disney (DIS) has been watching its P’s and Q’s rather closely lately. Anyone who has seen popular daytime chat show The View likely remembers the series of “legal notes” the hosts were obliged to read not so long ago. But the recent settlement with incoming President Donald Trump has left parts of Disney very unsettled. Investors are just fine, though, as shares are up nearly 1.5% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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A Wall Street Journal report noted that ABC News is not happy about Disney’s planned settlement with Donald Trump, giving him $15 million in settlement cash as well as $1 million outright to his lawyer. While the money will not be going to Trump, but rather to a “future presidential foundation and museum,” the end result is still an “internal backlash” at the news division.
Disney—under advice of general counsel Horacio Guiterrez—decided to settle to avoid not only a difficult court battle, but one that also might have hurt journalism as a whole, the report noted. But ABC News staff is now concerned that the precedent established may do just as much harm to journalism. As law professor Sonja R. West noted, “No one wants to send the message to potential future plaintiffs that defamation lawsuits against the press are likely to end with a big payday.”
Ka-Bluey
Meanwhile, for anyone doubting that the Bluey franchise is a juggernaut for Disney, just look to your future box office. A new report from Hollywood Reporter details how Bluey—the charming stories of an Australian blue heeler dog and her family—will get a feature film in theaters in 2027. It will also migrate to Disney+ not long after its premiere in theaters.
With Bluey standing as one of the biggest names on Disney+ right now—a special episode, The Sign, managed to land over 10 million viewers worldwide—a Bluey feature will likely see plenty of tickets sold for its premiere, assuming most do not just wait for the arrival on streaming. There is some risk, though, that the lag involved might mean the film will release into an environment that has moved on.
Is Disney Stock a Buy or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on DIS stock based on 16 Buys and six Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 23.13% rally in its share price over the past year, the average DIS price target of $125.68 per share implies 9.69% upside potential.
