I haven't been bullish on Disney's (DIS) stock for quite a while. I own a long-term position, but I haven't added to it for years (I do, however, allow the annual dividend payout, too small that it is, to be reinvested). I'm waiting for the day when the shares finally break through $40. Disney hasn't seen $40 since, well, I don't even want to think how far back that price level goes.

This past week has been fascinating for the Mouse's investors. The media business was upgraded. There's been interesting activity going on in the company's options, as Schaeffer's Investment Research indicates. And the stock hit a fresh 52-week high of $33.22 on Friday; in fact, it closed at the 52-week high, right before the weekend, no less.

I love the media sector, so Tuesday, February 9, will be an exciting day for me. After the market finishes its trading activities, we'll get reports from two entertainment companies: one's a big player in Hollywood, while the other would like to be just as big someday.

Let's start with the big gun. The Walt Disney Corporation (DIS) has first-quarter numbers all set to go, and investors are hoping for an unambiguous beat on the bottom line. The call is for net income to fall somewhere around 39 cents per share, according to Earnings.com. Kind of lousy, considering the Mouse made 41 cents per share in last year's Q1.

The video game industry, as we are all aware, has taken a sharp turn from momentum growth. The various stocks in the sector, from my standpoint at least, are now becoming value-oriented plays. When this happens, the concept of consolidation comes into focus.

Trying to pick a stock that will experience a pop on a buyout is not for the faint of heart, or the impatient. And depending on the stocks you own, you might be hoping that you don't become involuntarily involved in an arbitrage scenario. That's why I was pleasantly relieved when I read an article stating that The Walt Disney Company (DIS) CEO Bob Iger may not be interested in purchasing a software publisher.

Disney (DIS), the media company behind Mickey Mouse and Buzz Lightyear, and whose colleagues in the industry include CBS (CBS), General Electric's (GE) NBC Universal, News Corp. (NWS), Sony Corporation (SNE), Time Warner (TWX), and Viacom (VIA), reported results for Q4 and the full fiscal year on Thursday after the bell. While the bottom line came in ahead of expectations, I have to say that the release was disappointing to this shareholder.

Earnings on an adjusted basis for the quarter came in at 46 cents per share, higher than the number predicted by analysts. Unfortunately, as I go through the data, I don't think I'm too comforted by such income performance.

Disney (DIS), a media business that competes with Viacom (VIA), CBS (CBS), News Corp. (NWS), and General Electric's (GE) NBC Universal, will be talking up its fourth-quarter numbers on Thursday after the bell. Are you a shareholder? If so, are you excited? Well, don't get too excited, because we might not be getting any growth, even if the Mouse beats on the bottom line. According to Earnings.com, the call is for 40 cents per share versus the 43 cents per share made in the comparable period.

You know what, though? For the most part, I'm not so concerned with exactly how much Disney makes this quarter. I'm a shareholder, and I want to see management at least come in at the estimate, of course, but I'll be more interested in the conference call. Way more interested this time around, in fact.

Disney (NYSE: DIS), a media business that competes with Time Warner (NYSSE: TWX) and Viacom (NYSE: VIA), is currently holding a four-day fan convention in California called the D23 Expo. According to Julia Boorstin over at CNBC.com, you might consider it a Comic-Con-like event strictly for the Mouse. As far as I can tell, this initiative is a smart marketing move. Disney is able to promote a lot of its content in a very targeted fashion.

Of particular interest is one piece of content that was highlighted in an article at the Los Angeles Times website. Disney is making a significant bet on an upcoming cartoon called The Princess and the Frog. It won't be a flashy 3-D production. Instead, it's animated in a 2-D environment.

Monday, August 31, 2009, will go down as one strange trading day. Disney (NYSE: DIS) buys Marvel (NYSE: MVL). BloggingStocks reported the details of the deal here.

As a long-time shareholder of Disney, I have to ask: Does CEO Bob Iger know what the heck he's doing anymore? I thought the news was quite surreal. I suppose we all knew that Marvel would be a takeover target someday but, honestly, I thought some other media conglomerate, like maybe News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), would do a deal before the Mouse would.

Disney (NYSE: DIS), a media conglomerate that does battle with the likes of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal, CBS (NYSE: CBS), and News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), changed things up this time around when it came to second-quarter earnings. When I reported on the company's first-quarter earnings, I observed that the Mouse missed expectations. Thankfully, Disney pulled itself together and went beyond the call of Wall Street.

Disney said it earned 43 cents per share on an adjusted basis when it issued its Q2 release on Tuesday after the bell. As I noted in my earnings preview, analysts were looking for 40 cents per share. While that's a nice beat, let's be realistic: Disney is still having a rough time. That 43 cents per-share figure represented a drop of 26% compared to the year-ago period.

So, Disney (NYSE: DIS) shareholders are bracing themselves for another big weekend at the box office. Remember when we were bracing ourselves for the release of the Jonas Brothers concert film? Yeah, that failure. I certainly hope Miley Cyrus does a lot better with her project.

But I have my doubts. Hannah Montana: The Movie opened Friday at over 3,100 domestic theaters. I just don't feel the kind of buzz I had hoped to be feeling at this point surrounding the movie. I don't have the sensation that I've been inundated by the feature's brand equity.

Then again, I'm not the target demographic. Perhaps Disney is reaching all tweens as we speak via the platforms that they frequent and I'm just not aware of it. Tough to tell. Nevertheless, I've seen some of the commercials, and they don't seem overwhelmingly exciting.

I'm sure you've heard about this by now. It's been all over the blogs and discussion boards. An article at The New York Times has spurned discussion over whether or not Disney's (NYSE: DIS) next Pixar film, Up, is shareholder-friendly. In other words, has it been designed so that it can make a lot of money? Or, is it instead just another self-satisfying exercise for its creators, shareholder value be damned?

Well, here's a quote that's gotten some play. Co-director of Up, Pete Docter, has stated that he doesn't really care about the money potential of a project. He said: "We make these films for ourselves. We're kind of selfish that way." Oh, gee, thanks a lot, you overpaid Pixar punk. Just out of curiosity, do you care at all about shareholders like myself who have held Disney for a really long time? Do you realize that the dividend received no raise this year?

Another day, another item about excessive compensation. While American International Group (NYSE: AIG) pays out a ton of money to its own employees, the Hershey (NYSE: HSY) board has seen fit to bestow a rich compensation package to CEO David J. West.

Oh well, what can you do, I suppose. I always hate reading these reports. They always get under my skin. If you're a shareholder of Hershey, you're not doing that great right now. The stock will probably do well over the long term, but in the meantime, your shares are down over the last several years.

This was a big weekend for me. Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience was released in over 1,200 theaters. No, I had no plans to see the movie at my local IMAX (NASDAQ: IMAX) auditorium. The reason I was so excited is because I own shares of Disney (NYSE: DIS). And I was praying that the film would firmly cement the Jonas Brothers in the collective consciousness of tweens across the globe.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. In fact, the Jonas movie failed at the domestic box office. Don't even try to spin it. According to Boxofficemojo, the film came in second place with a little under $13 million (keep in mind I am working off estimates, final figures will be released later). Lions Gate Entertainment's (NYSE: LGF) latest Tyler Perry project, Madea Goes to Jail, was number one again for the second week in a row, grossing about $16 million. This is really, really disappointing.

Disney (NYSE: DIS), a media company that competes with Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), and General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal, is famous for having several happy theme parks. The branding always centers on the "Disney magic." But there isn't any magic for employees who will be getting the boot.

According to news reports from last week, the theme-parks division will be streamlined, and buyout offers to 600 employees have been made. New attractions might be delayed. In addition, ABC made some cuts (200 jobs gone, in fact) and combined its studio and programming units. Also, ESPN instituted a hiring freeze.

Whoa, what a terrible quarter for Disney (NYSE: DIS)! Forget the magic. There's no magic going on at Disney. For the fiscal first quarter, revenues decreased 8%, earnings per share decreased 29%, operational cash flow decreased 60%, and free cash flow was negative. Decrease, decrease, decrease! Looks like Disney's brands cannot fend off a recession, no question. Sorry, Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana.

Disney, which competes with Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), CBS (NYSE: CBS), Viacom (NYSE: VIA), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) and General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal, earned, after taking out a $0.04 per-share benefit from an investment sale, $0.41 per share. According to my earnings preview, the call was for around $0.52 per share. Well, I thought the Mouse was going to miss, but I think I characterized the potential miss as maybe being on the "slight" side. Yeah, this wasn't a slight miss.

Disney (NYSE: DIS) will be reporting earnings for the fiscal first quarter Tuesday after the market close. There shouldn't be any growth in the bottom line. Of course, no one should be surprised by that. After all, this is Disney we're talking about, a company which provides goods and services that can easily be cut out of any consumer budget. Remember, conservation of cash is becoming quite the fad.

According to this source, Disney may earn $0.52 per share.That would represent a contraction of $0.11, or 17%. The big question is whether or not Disney will miss. If it does, investors won't be happy, because it'll be the second miss in a row. Wall Street was previously accustomed to seeing the Mouse religiously beat the analysts at their holy game. But Q4 changed the story.