Disney Stock History: From 1946 to Today
This. Was. Fascinating. I mean, really fascinating. Especially if you enjoy watching the ups-and-downs of the stock market and Disney stock, in particular.
- Do you know, if you purchased 1000 shares of Disney stock when it was first offered in 1946 it would be work just shy of $90-million?
- If you purchased 360 shares in 1957 you’d have just over $16-million now.
Walt Would Be Proud
He wrote:
With Disney, it pays to look at the big picture through time. Yes, 2020 is not a year for the record books — at least not in a good way. For the next decade, though, Disney still seems well-positioned. Online content is going to be the battleground in the entertainment industry; there’s no getting around that. Disney has prepared itself well through acquiring strong assets and building out its own Disney+ service. Once theme park gates reopen and the company can get back to the box office, the puzzle should all fit together nicely for this blue-chip stock.
And why all this optimism? After all, the author explained Disney is down 20% for the year.
I’m An Optimist!
Again, go to the tale of the ticker tape:
- Disney’s IPO pricing for the original OTC stock was $5 per share back in 1946. Investing $5,000 would have netted you 1,000 shares of the company. The important thing to take into account here is that the stock has split multiple times through its existence. With seven splits in total from that initial offering, an initial purchase of 1,000 shares would have become 768,000 shares today. [See above…]
- Keep in mind, however, that this was based on Disney’s original OTC stock… It was far more likely that the average person invested in this offering. A $5,000 investment at $13.88 a share would have gotten you 360 shares. Factoring in all the stock splits would have turned those 360 shares into 141,312 today. [Again, see above.]
Okay, so who has $5000 sitting around? Particularly these days? Not a heck of a lot of people. But, I get Butler’s point. And it makes me feel good about my eight shares.
But What Do You Think?
Just wondering: Do you have Butler’s confidence about The Walt Disney Company? Let me know in the comments or hit me @jmbishopjr on Twitter.