It's a month of tricks. It's a month of treats. Walt Disney (DIS 1.94%) shareholders are hoping for the latter. The last quarter was a wash for the media giant's stock. September washed away the back-to-back monthly gains from July and August. It's pretty wild. Disney stock was at $94.40 at the end of June. It closed at $94.33 three months later.
October will be relatively quiet for Disney. Its fiscal fourth-quarter results won't come out until early November, and it doesn't have any big films hitting theaters until later this year. There are still some dates for investors to circle. Let's take a closer look at some of the dates that could get Disney moving in October.
Image source: Disney.
Oct. 10
Inflation isn't just happening at the gas station or supermarket. Inflation is coming to your living room, too. Disney is jacking up prices for its premium services. Hulu rates are going up next week. The most popular ad-supported tier will go to $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year, an increase of $1 a month or $10 for the year if paid in advance. If you hate ads, you'll be facing an even bigger bump. The ad-free tier is going from $12.99 to $14.99 a month.
The bigger move for entertainment behemoth will come in December when Disney+ pushes through a more dramatic hike. The monthly rate for Disney+ is soaring 38%. An important wrinkle here is that Disney will also introduce an ad-supported tier at the older price of the ad-free service.
Oct. 13
Disney+ already gave us Hocus Pocus 2 at the end of September, perfect timing as we head into the month of Halloween. October's slate is a bit lighter, so let's hone in on a series finale. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is the latest show to take a Marvel franchise and give it a fresh spin. The ninth and final episode hits the Disney-branded streaming service next Thursday.
Reviews for the show are mixed. Critics generally like it, as 87% of the reviewers tracked by Rotten Tomatoes are recommending the show. It's a different story for audiences, as just 35% of them have positive ratings for the show.
The popularity of Disney+ itself is impressive. There were 152.1 million subscribers worldwide on the platform at the end of June. It is the second-most popular premium streaming service, and it got there in less than three years. Leaning on its Lucasfilm and Marvel acquisitions, the service got its first big hit with The Mandalorian shortly after its launch. All the Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universe spin-offs haven't been hits, but the cadence of new releases has been strong enough to make up for that.
If superheroes as attorneys aren't your thing, don't worry. Disney+ is debuting a star-studded Into the Woods singalong the very next day.
Oct. 25
Disney World has now been open for more than two years since a four-month pandemic-related shutdown in early 2020, but it still hasn't returned with all of its offerings. It will take another step in bringing the magic back later this month when character breakfasts return to the world's most-visited theme park.
Disney World's Magic Kingdom brought back Winnie the Pooh characters to interact with guests dining at its Crystal Palace restaurant last month. It's currently limited to lunch and dinner dining, but on Oct. 25 it expands its operations to cover breakfast. We'll get more pre-pandemic classics coming later this year. Disney expects to bring back Fantasmic -- the nighttime show it runs at Disney's Hollywood Studios -- later this year.
There's never a dull month for the medi a stock bellwether. October will be interesting. November will be even more important with Disney's fiscal fourth-quarter results and the big screen premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The stock may have marched in place in its latest quarter, but things should be different -- one way or the other -- this time.
