How to Invest in Marvel

Marvel has been entertaining consumers through unique characters and rich storytelling since its founding in 1998. The company has grown from a niche comic book publisher to a global brand by bringing its characters to life on the big screen.

Marvel became part of The Walt Disney Company (DIS -0.04%) family in 2009 when the entertainment and media giant acquired Marvel. Disney has since folded Marvel into its operations so that it's no longer an independent unit.

Many Marvel fans might wish they could own a piece of the company. While they can't directly invest in Marvel right now, they can hope it will one day complete an initial public offering (IPO) and become an independent company again. In the meantime, here's everything you need to know about how to invest in stocks like Marvel.

Is it public?

Is Marvel publicly traded?

Marvel is not a publicly traded company. It has been the property of Disney since the entertainment company acquired Marvel in 2009 for $4 billion. Before Disney's acquisition, Marvel was a publicly traded company.

When will it IPO?

When will Marvel IPO?

As of early 2024, Disney didn't have any plans to put a Marvel IPO on the calendar. While the entertainment and media company has struggled with lackluster box office results (due partly to some notable Marvel flops), it wasn't publicly considering an IPO of Marvel. Even though Disney was reportedly looking to sell some legacy properties, including ABC and ESPN, Marvel wasn't among the properties it sought to part with as it worked to boost its earnings. Marvel's characters continue to play an important role at Disney, including helping headline its movie theater strategy and providing a steady source of new content for its Disney+ streaming service.

How to invest

How to buy Marvel stock

Because Marvel is no longer a publicly traded company, you can't buy shares of the entertainment company in a brokerage account. However, you can get indirect exposure to the company and the trends driving its growth. Here are three Marvel alternatives to consider buying:

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is the most direct way to gain exposure to Marvel. It acquired Marvel in 2009 for $4 billion and continues to operate that company. Marvel is an important part of the Disney brand portfolio, which also includes Pixar, Lucas Films, and its iconic Disney characters. In addition to producing movies and streaming content based on Marvel and other characters, Disney also operates theme parks, cruise ships, and ESPN.

Warner Bros. Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD -2.17%) owns long-time Marvel rival DC. The company uses DC characters and stories to entertain audiences through films, television, consumer products, games, and themed experiences. In addition to DC, Warner Bros. Discovery's TV, film, and streaming portfolio includes Discovery Channel, Max, CNN, HBO, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, TNT, TBS, Travel Channel, and more. The company was formed in 2022 when AT&T (NYSE:ATT) spun off its WarnerMedia division and merged it with Discovery to create a leading entertainment company.

Comcast

Comcast (CMCSA 1.85%) is a leading global media and technology company. It offers customers broadband, wireless, and cable services through its Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky brands. It also produces, distributes, and streams entertainment, sports, and new content through brands like NBC, Universal, and Peacock. Comcast also operates several Universal theme parks, which feature Marvel characters.

Investors who want to buy one of these Marvel alternatives can purchase shares in any brokerage account. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to invest in stocks like Marvel.

Step 1: Open a brokerage account

You'll have to open and fund a brokerage account before buying shares of any company. If you still need to open one, here are some of the best-rated brokers and trading platforms. Take your time to research the brokers to find the best one for you.

Step 2: Figure out your budget

Before making your first trade, you'll need to determine a budget for how much money you want to invest. You'll then want to decide how to allocate that money. The Motley Fool's investing philosophy recommends building a diversified portfolio of 25 or more stocks you plan to hold for at least five years. You don't have to get there all at once. For example, if you have $1,000 available to start investing, you could begin by allocating that money equally across at least 10 stocks and then grow from there.

Step 3: Do your research

It's essential to thoroughly research a company before buying its shares. You should learn about how it makes money, its competitors, its balance sheet, and other factors to make sure you have a solid grasp on whether the company can grow value for its shareholders over the long term.

Step 4: Place an order

Once you've opened and funded a brokerage account, set your investing budget, and researched the stock, it's time to buy shares. The process is relatively straightforward. Go to your brokerage account's order page and fill out all the relevant information, including:

• The number of shares you want to buy or the amount you want to invest to purchase fractional shares.
• The stock ticker (DIS for Disney, WBD for Warner Bros. Discovery, and CMSCA for Comcast).
• Whether you want to place a limit order or a market order. The Motley Fool recommends using a market order since it guarantees you buy shares immediately at the market price.

Once you complete the order page, click to submit your trade and become a shareholder in one of these media and entertainment stocks.

Investors would follow a similar process to buy an IPO stock like Marvel if Disney decided to complete an IPO of that company in the future. If shares become available to the public, fill out the order page at your brokerage account with Marvel's selected stock ticker and submit your trade.

Profitability

Is Marvel profitable?

While Disney continues to operate the Marvel brand, it doesn't break out that segment's profitability. Disney restructured Marvel in 2015, making it part of Walt Disney Studios.

However, although we don't know if Marvel would be profitable as a standalone entity today, Disney is solidly profitable. The entertainment giant reported almost $89 billion of revenue in its 2023 fiscal year, up 7% from fiscal 2022. Meanwhile, the company earned $2.3 billion, or $1.29 per share, of net income for that fiscal year. Disney also generates lots of cash. Cash provided by operating activities totaled almost $10 billion in fiscal 2023, while free cash flow approached $5 billion. All three of Disney's business units (entertainment, sports, and experiences) were profitable.

Disney is working to improve both Marvel and overall profitability by cutting costs. The company restructured Marvel again in 2023, laying off key staff and merging its comic book publishing and some consumer products operations into a larger Disney business unit. The further integration of Marvel into Disney suggests the entertainment giant has no plans to complete an IPO of the unit.

Should I invest?

Should I invest in Marvel?

Although you can't invest directly in Marvel, you can buy shares of Disney to gain some exposure to Marvel. There are many reasons why you might want to invest in Disney, including:

• You want to invest in a company behind some of your favorite brands and characters, like Marvel.
• You believe the company's investments in streaming will increase its profitability and stock price.
• You think the company's cost-cutting efforts, including its decision to reduce costs at Marvel, will increase shareholder value over the long term.

However, you might also determine that Disney isn't the right investment for you. Some reasons why you might decide against buying shares of the entertainment giant include:

• You don't like the direction Disney is heading, including how it's managing Marvel.
• You're specifically interested in investing in Marvel, not Disney.
• You don't think the entertainment giant can turn things around, including Marvel's box office slump.

Related investing topics

ETFs

ETFs with exposure to Marvel

Many investors prefer to invest passively instead of actively managing a portfolio of stocks. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) make it easy to be a passive investor.

Because Marvel isn't a separate publicly traded company, you can't gain exposure to it directly through an ETF. However, you can use ETFs to passively invest in its parent, Disney. Some of the top ETFs with exposure to Disney include:

• Vanguard Communication Services ETF (VOX 2.98%): This ETF tracks the performance of the communication services sector. It held shares of 118 companies as of early 2024, including Disney (4.1% of its assets). The fund had a 0.1% ETF expense ratio.
• Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Communication Services ETF (NYSEMKT:RSPC): The ETF provides equal-weighted exposure to the communication services sector within the S&P 500. This fund held shares of 26 companies in early 2024, including Disney (4.3% of its holdings). The ETF had a 0.4% total expense ratio.
• iShares Global Comm Services ETF (IXP 3.14%): This fund aims to track the global communication services sector. The fund held shares of 65 companies in early 2024, including Disney (4.2% of its assets). The ETF had a 0.42% expense ratio.

The bottom line on Marvel

Marvel is part of the Disney family of brands. It will likely remain part of Disney, which sees it playing a key role in supporting its streaming platform. Although that means you won't be able to own shares of Marvel directly, you can get some exposure to the company by investing in Disney.