Pixar (NASDAQ:PIXR) and Disney (NYSE:DIS) may be calling it quits after the release of Cars next summer, but for now, they're still enjoying the fruits of their relationship.
Last week, the 10th anniversary DVD release of Toy Story hit retail shelves. A couple days from now, you can catch The Incredibles on television via Liberty Media Group's (NYSE:L) Starz platform. And for those Sony (NYSE:SNE) PlayStation Portable users who want a bit of the Disney/Pixar magic, The Hollywood Reporter announced that The Incredibles will be available for the handheld system when the cartoon hits the UMD format on Nov. 15. If PSP people can't wait that long for the funny superheroes, there's always that Toy Story film, which is available on UMD right now.
Pixar may have faced some of the same issues that fellow Motley Fool Stock Advisor selection DreamWorks Animation (NYSE:DWA) confronted with higher-than-expected returns on DVD products, but long-term investors see where I'm going with this. Over time, the Pixar library should fare well, because there are so many ancillary channels to exploit after the big theatrical release. Sure, The Incredibles isn't necessarily on our minds as much nowadays because it's out of the theater and the excitement of its initial home video release is long past. But, hey, that isn't the whole tale. In fact, the arc of this particular story has a long half-life.
When you make a long-term bet on Pixar, you aren't just betting on the next movie (although even buy-to-hold owners would be disappointed by a flop since Pixar's portfolio is growing slowly, film by film). You're betting on its valuable library creating future revenue streams, small as that library may be today. You're betting on new formats. You're betting that at some point, every year will be a 10th anniversary of one film or another. The main risk here is that Pixar loses its touch and produces a streak of bad films: For a company with only a few films under its belt, that would be a problem.
It's hard to talk in strict quarterly earnings terms about a company like Pixar because its stream of income will ebb and flow with various periods when it releases movies. That's why these home video and pay-per-view markets are important in supporting the periods when Pixar doesn't have a tent-pole film in cinemas.
Pixar has great brand equity behind it, but I don't want to understate the aforementioned risk. Its batting average, while superb, could drop at any time. Who would have thought back in the day that Disney would at some point have trouble keeping up in the animated film business? For now, I see -- as best I can -- only good tidings for the company and its highly merchandisable offerings. No matter what, Pixar is going to collect some cool coinage off Woody and the gang even after a decade. Hopefully it'll be doing the same a little more than 10 years from now with Cars.
For more on this topic, see:
Fool contributor Steven Mallas owns shares of Disney. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
