Was Disney+ a Big Mistake?
You probably didn't get a birthday invitation, but Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS) namesake streaming service blew out three candles on Saturday. By most accounts, Disney+ is a huge success. It had a whopping 164.2 million paid subscribers by the end of September, a mind-blowing accomplishment in a short amount of time.
Yet despite the digital platform's impressive growth spurt, investors aren't exactly wowed by the sum of its parts. Disney stock is 31% lower than it was three years ago. And don't let the general market's weakness over the past year and change delude you into thinking that the media giant's return is acceptable. The S&P 500 has risen a respectable 29% since the launch of Disney+.
Most will argue that Disney+ was a genius move by the House of Mouse, burying its own legacy businesses before somebody else beat it to the shovel. However, with Disney+ still at least two years away from profitability -- and potentially hurting more than helping the media conglomerate right now -- it's time to wonder if the service isn't the success we think it has become.
Source Fool.com