Come on, Fools... Gather your wits about you and chill out.

No, Disney's 4th quarter numbers weren't exactly outstanding. But what did you expect? It has only been within the past year that their restructuring measures (cost-cutting, elimination of non-core assets, etc.) were launched. Did you really think that this would cause an immediate financial turnaround for the company?

Of course not! Just as it took time for DIS to get in this position, it will take time for them to get out. And we're talking years, not quarters.

Disney is finally becoming a more lean company. They're getting out of businesses that don't make them enough money. They're expanding their most profitable assets--theme parks--in California, Florida, and Paris. They're likely to build a new park in Hong Kong that will require miminum investment but should yield decent returns. They're totally overhauling and organizing their international management teams, which is great because there's a fortune to be made outside of America. They've scaled back on releases of VHS movies in order to increase the demand for them down the road (even though this results in loss of revenue right now). DVD is increasing in popularity at a fast rate, and will provide a great money-making opportunity for the company.

Sorry, but I don't see where all the doom and gloom is coming from. If you want to sell DIS, that's fine. But no Fool should be doing it just because yesterday's earnings (which were no surprise) were disappointing. Do it because you don't believe the company will ever turn around again.

Personally, I think they WILL turn around. It's going to take time, and it's going to take patience. But isn't that what Foolishness is all about?


PHF