The stock market received much attention during the late 1990s when the so-called dot-com "bubble" resulted in spectacular profits for some investors, and spectacular losses for others. Investment clubs gained publicity as individuals sought to become better-educated about the market, and increasingly numbers of individuals invested their retirement funds in the stock market through 401(k) plans and similar retirement vehicles. The exuberance over the stock market has declined in recent years as the markets have lost some of their value, and the returns are no longer as dramatic as they once were. Nonetheless, a company's stock performance can provide much information about the performance of the company itself, including its prospects and its challenges, and individuals considering working at a particular company, or investing in a company, can learn much with some basic research about recent stock performance and a company's recent history. This research considers the stock performance of the Walt Disney Company over the past two months, and whether this company represents a good investment opportunity or a good employment opportunity.
The Walt Disney Company is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol DIS and is one of the 30 that is included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) ("Dow Jones" 1). In selecting this company for analysis, several different factors were taken into account. Disney is a well known company with worldwide operations that span a variety of industries, including filmed entertainment, hotels and resorts, and theme parks. As an investor or as a potential employee, there is considerable opportunity in this diversity and thus the company is attractive from this standpoint. In addition, the company has been in the news over the past several months as some key investors, including Walt Disney's nephew, have sought to remove the chief executive officer, Michael Eisner. Eisner is...