Why Disney Is the Best Buy in the Entertainment Sector

Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) went through a long period of disarray. Its legendary movie studio struggled through the 70s and early 80s, only turning around when the so-called Disney Renaissance began in the mid-1980s under then-CEO Michael Eisner.

The company began its turnaround buying by ABC and ESPN, then revived its fortunes when films including Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin helped it get its mojo back. After that, of course, the company went on a buying spree, paying $7.4 for Pixar, $4 billion for Marvel, and $4 billion for Lucasfilms (Star Wars).

Those deals gave the company the content it needed, and Harry Potter, the fictional wizard, inadvertently spurred the company to invest in its U.S. theme parks: adding worlds based on Potter made Comcast's (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Universal Studios a viable rival for the Disney parks. That forced the House of Mouse to make a series of moves which it's just starting to benefit from.

Source: Fool.com