Is The Walt Disney Company (DIS) a Buy?

Colleague CBS also posted strong first quarter earnings of $0.73 per share, better than the $0.68 per share Wall Street economists were looking for, and up 23.7% from the same quarter a year ago.

Driving the results were higher revenue and a rise in affiliate and subscription fees. CBS remains optimistic and expects growth momentum to continue through 2013. Streaming deals with Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) will also serve CBS well.

Where dreams come true

As good as The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s performance in the quarter was, there was a snag.

The company’s ABC network, TV production studio and local channels were a bit of a turn off. Operating income for the television business dropped 40% to $138 million. Revenue dipped 2% to $1.5 billion.

Despite the segment’s lackluster showing, Iger remains upbeat. The chief anticipates that new series such as Marvel’s upcoming “Agents of SHIELD” will propel the network forward.

“We are pleased with our overall performance, confident in our strategy and thrilled with the stock price that keeps reaching new record highs,” Iger said during the conference call.

In an effort to keep reaching for the stars, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) bought Lucasfilm late last year for $4 billion (the franchise was valued at around $30 billion at the time.) Big plans have been mapped out for the newly acquired Star Wars franchise. The Star Wars universe is comprised of 17,000 characters, living on thousands of planets in a timeframe of over 20,000 years. The franchise gave birth to six blockbuster movies that still retain a cult-like following as well as a number of classic video games.

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is scheduled to release a new Star Wars film in 2015, with a new sequel to be released every two to three years. Additional one-off films, related merchandise and theme parks are also planned. The possibilities for the property are out of this world.

Additional Marvel films to follow “Iron Man 3” are also planned to continue the global phenomenon. The film scored the second best opening of all time with $174.1 million, and it’s on the way to surpass the $1 billion mark soon. Two more films in the same universe are currently filming, and at least three more are in pre-production.

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is one dreamy company that is set to thrive in the coming years as both a manly and mousey monarch.

The article No Mickey Mousing Around at Disney originally appeared on Fool.com.

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