Wells Fargo bullish on Disney, says Iger ‘will come out swinging’

Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall thinks returning Disney CEO Bob Iger "will come out swinging" on the upcoming fiscal Q1 earnings call "to fend off criticism." The firm sees a refocus on intellectual property instead of subscribers, aggressive cost action and the potential for earnings upgrades. Wells expects Disney to back away from fiscal 2024 direct-to-consumer subscriber targets, in favor of empowering content creation and streaming profitability. The analyst thinks the company will announce a $2B direct-to-consumer cost reduction program focused mostly on non-programming costs. With a proxy battle looming, management’s best avenue to defend against activism is a higher stock price, writes the analyst. Wells is bullish on Disney shares into the results and keeps an Overweight rating on the name with a $125 price target.