Shares of Walt Disney (DIS -0.04%) hit a fresh 52-week in February. The stock is also up 24% through the first two months of the year, a welcome market-thumping break for an investment that has trailed the market in recent years. Can it keep the rally going this month?
March will be tame given the newsworthy bookends of a blowout quarterly report in February and the proxy battle taking place at its contested annual shareholder meeting in April. It doesn't mean that the longer month of March won't have its moments. Let's take a closer look at the things to watch in the month ahead.
March 1
Disney theme parks have turned to festivals as a way to drum up more than just turnstile clicks. Disney World's Epcot kicked off the International Flower & Garden Festival on Wednesday. The park's second-most popular event will run through Memorial Day. The Disneyland Food and Wine Festival kicks off at Disney California Adventure this weekend, running through April 22.
It's a money machine for Disney shareholders. Guests may enjoy the festivals for their event-specific displays and activities, and the bump in turnstile clicks is naturally appreciated for any gated attraction. However, it's ultimately a way for the House of Mouse to sell unique food, beverage, and merchandise items.
Image source: Disney.
March 8
Spring Break is a busy time at Disney's stateside theme parks, and it's challenging to slap a hard timeline on the school holiday season because different states and counties schedule their weeklong springtime breaks at various times through March and April. It's still something investors and theme park visitors will want to keep in mind this time of year.
March 8 is when Disney World's Osceola County students get released. Neighboring Orange County -- with nearly 4 times the population -- gets out the following week. Parochial schools will get out closer to the Easter holiday that takes place at the end of the month. Most of the Disneyland school districts will be taking their breaks in the second half of March or the first week of April.
March 15
Things will be quiet for Disney at the local multiplex until May, but it doesn't mean that its namesake streaming service won't turn heads. Disney surprised investors -- and delighted Taylor Swift fans -- by announcing at its fiscal first-quarter earnings call that Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour would be streaming exclusively on Disney+ starting on March 15.
Swift's concert film topped $180 million in domestic ticket sales in the fall of last year, shattering records for theatrical releases of musical events. It's a big score for Disney, along the lines of the Hamilton musical it landed in the summer of 2020.
Disney naturally has a robust content catalog with its own franchises, but it doesn't hurt when a leading entertainment stock expands its appeal to a new audience. It will be that much harder to cancel Disney+ if you have a Tay-Tay fan in your home. Viewing the concert film isn't likely a one-time event, so the addition can only help subscriber retention rates.
