Showcasing how much the paradigm has changed in just a few weeks, Netflix has now become worth more than Disney on the stock market – for now.
Variety reports that Netflix stock has closed at a record high of $426.75 per share, bringing its overall market capitalization to nearly $187.3 billion. That puts it ahead of Disney whose market cap now stands just below that at $186.6 billion. Compare that to just two months ago – Netflix was at $166 billion and Disney was at $251 billion.
Netflix is one of the few businesses to have soared during the current global pandemic with so many people self-isolating. The company has nearly 170 million subscribers worldwide, and analysts expect it to add more than 7 million new subscribers in Q1 2020.
In addition, as it’s a streaming service it doesn’t rely on theatrical releases to generate revenue and has very little in the way of brick-and-mortar costs whilst at the same time demand for its product is way up with so many people stuck at home.
Disney on the other hand has been hit hard and is reportedly bleeding around $30 million of cash a day right now as its theme parks, cruise ships and film and TV productions are all shut down indefinitely. Disney’s smart push into streaming with Disney+, ESPN+ and full control of Hulu has helped mitigate that a bit. Disney+ recently passed 50 million subscribers worldwide. The trouble is streaming remains a relatively small part of their overall business.
