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.

DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) received a nice gift from Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) today. The cartoon studio has been put on the institution's famous Americas Conviction Buy list, according to an article out on Reuters.

Goldman Sachs believes that the company should see a lot of prosperity in the next six months. The stock might even rise as high as $45 per share, if the price target is to be believed. The premium attached to 3-D movie tickets is part of the thesis here. As well as something else, something a lot more powerful: the franchise value of Shrek.

Disney (NYSE: DIS) desperately wants to get its movie business back in some kind of order. Look no further than the recent departure of Dick Cook. According to the Los Angeles Times, the studio head was forced to resign by CEO Bob Iger because of poor performance (Iger was right to do this, but I'm not sure he's any smarter than Cook, to be honest . . .). Unfortunately, Disney's latest project, Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis, might not do much to help the cause.

According to Boxofficemojo, Surrogates came in second over the weekend at domestic theaters, behind Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. The Disney film captured an estimated $15 million versus Meatballs' $24.6 million (final numbers are due later).

I read a surprising article over at Boxofficemojo by Brandon Gray. The author highlighted the foreign financial performance of News Corp.'s (NASDAQ: NWS) computer-animated cartoon Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, the third entry in the popular franchise. Amazingly, Dinosaurs has now grossed $667 million at theaters outside the domestic market.

What's so interesting about that? Well, it means that the project now occupies third place on the all-time foreign chart. Gray says the number-one film on this chart is Titanic, which was a co-production between News Corp. and Viacom (NYSE: VIA). Coming in second is Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

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.

Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) was tops at the multiplex yet again with a scary horror franchise that the teens seem to be enjoying. The Final Destination, according to Boxofficemojo, grossed $12 million at domestic theaters over the three-day weekend, as of early estimates available at the time of this writing. I'm sure Destination will retain its number-one status once Labor Day is figured into the equation.

All About Steve, from News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), was the second-place film. It actually came close to Destination's take, bringing in about $11 million. Inglourious Basterds, distributed by The Weinstein Company, was third, and Gamer, an interesting sci-fi flick courtesy of Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), was fourth. Sony's (NYSE: SNE) District 9, which came in fifth, has now gone beyond $100 million in total take.

Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect upcoming catalysts and the company's opportunity in subsalt. FBR raised its target on shares to $60 from $50.
• Citigroup upgraded Marvel (NYSE: MVL) to Hold from Sell on expectations the acquisition by Disney (NYSE: DIS) will close. The firm raised its target on shares to $50 from $31.
• JPMorgan upgraded Cubic (NYSE: CUB) to Overweight from Neutral on expectations the company will benefit from the Vix ERG acquisition and increased sales visibility. The firm raised its target on shares to $43 from $38.
• Siemens (NYSE: SI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein.
• Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT) was upgraded to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse.
• Thompson Creek (NYSE: TC) was upgraded to Sector Outperformer from Sector Performer at CIBC.

Some of the venom spewed at General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) every time I write about it, is getting kind of old. I understand the criticism of Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO who takes the blame for everything that is wrong with the company and the economy.

I too have felt that he might have done more. In particular, while I argued Monday that most of the companies divisions were well integrated, or at least related, I am not sure that entertainment has to be a part of the mix, and the company is on the record to jettison the appliance division already.

In considering the plight of the GE shareholder, myself included, what exactly is it that investors would like Immelt to do?

Analyst upgrades:

• Credit Suisse upgraded Motorola (NYSE: MOT) to Outperform from Neutral after the close Monday. The firm believes Motorola's devices segment will approach breakeven in 2010 while operating margins in nonhandset segments will expand, and that a break-up story will reemerge. Credit Suisse raised its target on shares to $9.50 from $7.
• UBS upgraded BHP Billiton (NYSE: BHP) to Buy from Neutral. The firm cites BHP's leverage to iron ore, coking coal, copper, and oil for its upgrade after raising its commodity price forecasts.
• Merriman upgraded Walter Energy (NYSE: WLT) to Buy from Neutral to reflect higher met coal price forecasts. The firm believes Chinese demand is strong and has a target range of $66-$72 on the stock.
• Intersil (NASDAQ: ISIL) was upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer.
• Coach (NYSE: COH) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Citigroup.

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.

This morning saw no shortages of deals, and now add one more. The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) said it is acquiring Marvel Entertainment Inc. (NYSE: MVL) for $4 billion in cash and stock. Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters, including Iron Man, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, among others.

MVL shares jumped about 25% in pre-market trade as shareholders will receive $30 per share in cash, plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share, which values each Marvel share at $50. MVL closed at $38.65 Friday. Meanwhile, Disney shares fell about 2.6% in pre-market, but have recovered after the beginning of trade.

Analyst upgrades:

• Oppenheimer upgraded Gymboree (NASDAQ: GYMB) to Outperform from Perform following the company's Q2 results to reflect valuation and square footage growth from Crazy 8. The firm has a $52 target on the stock.
• KeyBanc upgraded Lululemon (NASDAQ: LULU) to Buy from Hold on expectations sales and margins will improve in the near-term due to clean inventory levels. The firm recommends a pair trade of long Lululemon, short Under Armour (NYSE: UA).
• Keefe Bruyette upgraded Allied Capital (NYSE: ALD) to Market Perform from Underperform following the company's Q2 results and raised its target on shares to $3.50 from $1.
• Jack in the Box (NASDAQ: JACK) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan.
• LogMeln (NASDAQ: LOGM) was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Barclays (NYSE: BCS) was reinstated with an Outperform from Neutral at Credit Suisse.

I watch Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF) pretty regularly. I've written extensively about the company. I keep switching opinions on the stock. Is it a buy or a sell?

At this time, it definitely doesn't appear to be a great long-term investment. It's a bit too speculative for that. If you're looking for exposure to the media content industry, going with a Disney (NYSE: DIS) or a Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) might be safer. Those two entities are big conglomerates, of course, so if you want something safer than Lions Gate but would like a closer alliance with the movie sector, you might consider a business like Marvel Entertainment (NYSE: MVL).

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG) said its earnings report would not include a conference call.
• Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) shares rose after it reaffirmed the 2009 outlook and forecast further growth.
• Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) said its Q4 numbers tumbled despite cost-cutting efforts.
• Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) posted strong Q2 results, though its cash flow was flat.
• Crocs Inc. (NASDAQ: CROX) reported better-than-expected Q2 results and forecast a return to profitability.
• Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) revenue surged in Q1 and its narrower loss beat expectations.