For more than nine decades, the Walt Disney name has been preeminent in the field of

family entertainment. (The Walt Disney Company, 2014). The Walt Disney Company, typically
referred to as Disney, was founded by Walt and Roy Disney on October 16, 1923. Disneys
initial success began with the creation of Mickey Mouse in 1928. In the following years, Disney
began producing and introducing various different cartoon characters such as Pluto, Goofy, and
Donald Duck. In 1937 Disney introduced the first animated film to ever be produced, Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs (The Walt Disney Company, 2014). Snow White inspired the
creation of several animated films in the succeeding years. It also facilitated the launch of Walt
Disney Studios in Burbank California. In 1955, Disney extended its brand beyond cartoon
characters and animated films with the opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, California (The Walt
Disney Company, 2014). Disney continued to grow with various projects, from retail to the
continuing production of animated and live-action films, to the production of more theme parks.
In 1983, Disney went international with the opening of Tokyo Disneyland (The Walt Disney
Company, 2014). Over the next few decades, Disney kept growing with the introduction of the
Disney Channel, the acquisition of ABC in 1996 and the purchase of Pixar in 2006 (The Walt
Disney Company, 2014). Today, the Disney Company is one of the biggest businesses not only
in the US, but in the entire world, they comprise a portfolio of brands related to various forms of
entertainment.
The Walt Disney Company divides its operations into five business segments which
include Media Networks, Parks and Resorts, Studio Entertainment, Consumer Products, and
Disney Interactive (wikinvest, 2015). Media networks consists of their operations in television,
internet and the radio. Disney owns ABC television network, ESPN, Walt Disney television and
SOAPnet. Parks and resorts involves all of Disneys theme parks and resorts around the world

and the Disney Cruise line. Studio entertainment revolves around the production of movies,
music, and theater. The consumer products segment licenses the Disney brand for any type of
merchandise. It also encompasses the Disney store. Disneys interactive segment includes all of
their online sites.
Disneys revenue for 2014 was $48.8 billion dollars, which resulted in a net profit of $7.5
billion (The Walt Disney Company Annual Report, 2014). Of the total revenue, media networks
accounted for $21,152 million, parks and resorts made up $15,099 million, studio entertainment
attributed $7, 278 million, consumer products made up $3,985 million, and interactive
contributed $1,299 million (The Walt Disney Company Annual Report, 2014).
Being a diversified entertainment company, Disney faces a number of competitors in its
various segments. Disney's main competitors include other large media corporations such as
Time Warner, Twenty-First Century Fox, CBS Corp, and Viacom (Morningstar, 2015). Disneys
media networks businesses compete for viewers mainly with other television and cable networks.
For instance, ESPN faces enormous competition from the sports channels of Twenty-First
Century Fox and CBS. Disneys theme park segment competes with Six Flags and Universal
Studios. Disneys studio entertainment business competes with all forms of entertainment. Thus,
this segment competes with the studios owned by Time Warner, Sony Twenty-First Century Fox,
and Viacom.
Disney has several strengths that make it a highly competitive conglomerate. One
strength that Disney has is its incredibly strong brand awareness. Disney is regularly listed as
one of the best global brands of all time (Marketing 91, 2015). Another strength Disney has is
their tactical acquisitions. Disney has an admirable reputation of acquiring major companies that
enhance its growth profile. Following its purchases of Pixel and Marvel, they bought Lucasfilm,

owner of the vastly successful Star Wars franchise (The Walt Disney Company, 2014).
Diversification is another significant strength. Disney has moved far beyond its cartoon-oriented
roots. They are present in entertainment, retail, media, Theme parks and all of these sectors are
currently booming (Marketing 91, 2015). Disney also generates a healthy surplus of cash
through its operations. Accordingly, they have a considerable amount of flexibility when it
comes to adapting to ever-shifting consumer preferences and expanding its operations. This has
allowed them to remain an effective and sustainable company through the years. However, even
companies as successful as Disney have attributes that are not at all positive. One of Disneys
biggest weakness is that they lack a large online presence. Most of Disneys business is offline
and their interactive business is not strong. They are missing out on this additional revenue
source. Another weakness is Disneys high and increasing operational cost. It is expensive to
produce a feature film or build and maintain a theme park. Another weakness is Disneys
recurrent change in management. This can be detrimental to their growth. Although it does not
appear that this has been detrimental to their growth, it does create a lack of consistency in how
the company is managed.

References
Marketing 91. (2015). SWOT of Walt Disney. Retrieved January 27, 2015 from
http://www.marketing91.com/swot-walt-disney/.
Morningstar. (2015). Walt Disney Co. Retrieved January 26 from
http://financials.morningstar.com/competitors/industry-peer.action?
t=DIS&region=usa&culture=en-US.
The Walt Disney Company. (2014). About Disney: Disney History. Retrieved January 26, 2015
from http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about-disney/disney-history/1920-01-01--1929-12-31
The Walt Disney Company. (2014). Reports and Financial Information: 2014 Annual Report.
Retrieved January 26, 2015 from
http://cdn.media.ir.thewaltdisneycompany.com/2014/annual/10k-wrap-2014.pdf.
Wikinvest. (2012). Wiki Analysis: The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved January 26, 2015 from
http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Walt_Disney_Company_%28DIS%29