Disney | Fundamental Analysis | MUST READ ⚡️In determining whether a company is suitable as a great dividend asset, you first need to ask yourself a few basic questions. First, has the company paid dividends over time? Second, has it been able to increase its payouts on a regular basis? And finally, does it have the means to continue to do so?
Disney suspended its dividend payments in the early days of the pandemic in May 2020 and has yet to pay them back. While the decision was understandable at the time in light of the uncertainty created for its theme parks and other ventures, now is a good time to see if Disney can achieve dividend greatness again.
The Disney empire encompasses valuable properties, including networks such as ABC, Disney Channel, and ESPN, streaming services such as Disney+, movie studios, and theme parks.
A testament to the combined strength of the business is that Disney's revenues for the first half of its fiscal year (ended April 2) rose 29 percent to $41.1 billion. In a sign of how quickly the company has recovered from last year, when results suffered after COVID-19 began, adjusted diluted earnings per share nearly doubled to $2.14 in the same time period.
Disney's outlook also looks good. The company is preparing to release a sequel to its popular movie, and other trends, such as park spending, are improving. Its streaming business also continues to do well. In the second quarter, the number of paid subscribers to Disney+ increased 33 percent year over year to 137.7 million. This comes amid stiffer competition. For example, Netflix lost nearly 1 million subscribers in the last quarter, in addition to 200,000 subscribers in the previous quarter.
When looking at Disney's free cash flow (FCF), it is best to look at the full year as it eliminates seasonality. Last year, despite orders and blackouts negatively affecting business, the company generated about $2 billion in FCF, down from $3.6 billion.
Before the board suspended the 2020 dividend, Disney was making semiannual payments. In addition, the company has regularly increased its dividend. In 2012, it paid $0.75 a year, increasing the amount to $1.76 before the suspension.
Disney previously said, "Over the long term, we expect dividends to remain part of our capital allocation strategy." However, the company does not plan to resume payments until "we return to a more normal environment."
The company has good characteristics that investors will undoubtedly find attractive. These include terrific properties that have contributed to sales and profits. But without a fixed date or the promise of an imminent renewal of payments, income-seeking investors should look to other companies to find great dividend stocks.
Investors looking for the best dividend stocks can start with dividend aristocrats - members of the S&P 500 who have raised dividends for at least 25 consecutive years. If you want to cut the list even further, you can look at Dividend Kings, an even more elite group. These are S&P 500 companies that have been raising dividends for at least half a century.
