Marvel Needs No Bailouts

One look at Marvel's (NYSE:MVL) updated movie production schedule is enough to tell you that the company is standing on its own two feet. No need to hang on to partners like News Corp.'s (NYSE:NWS) 20th Century Fox anymore -- Marvel is fully capable of financing every project it wants to take on, all by itself. And then, Marvel gets to keep all of the profits.

Here's what Marvel's feature film schedule looks like after the company reported spectacular earnings on Tuesday:

Compare and contrast with the release patterns of Marvel's recent past:

Sure, Marvel still hands off many less glamorous projects like animated TV series to smaller studios, and Lions Gate (NYSE:LGF) seems fond of doing direct-to-DVD superhero movies. And of course, Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) makes most of Marvel's branded toys. But the big-ticket items, like the rain in Spain, stay mainly in the plain in-house production studio. I bet Marvel would have been happy to release the Wolverine movie under its own power, too, if it didn't have to honor old development contracts with Fox.

Marvel has $105 million of cash on hand, plus $44 million of restricted cash that is tied to specific development contracts. The company generated $179 million of free cash flow in 2008, carried mostly on Iron Man's broad and heavily armored shoulders. From here on out, I don't expect to see any more co-production deals backing Marvel movies. These guys have proven that what once looked like a risky business was indeed a smart move. Self-financing is the way to go.

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