The Walt Disney Company Class Action Lawsuit - DIS
Case Summary
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Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP has filed a class action lawsuit seeking to represent purchasers of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) common stock between December 10, 2020 and November 8, 2022, inclusive (the “Class Period”). Captioned 272 Labor-Management Pension Fund v. The Walt Disney Company, No. 23-cv-03661 (C.D. Cal.), the Disney class action lawsuit charges Disney and certain of its top executives with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
If you suffered substantial losses and wish to serve as lead plaintiff, please provide your information in the form on this page. You can also contact attorney J.C. Sanchez of Robbins Geller by calling 800/449-4900 or via e-mail at jsanchez@rgrdlaw.com. Lead plaintiff motions for the Disney class action lawsuit must be filed with the court no later than July 11, 2023.
CASE ALLEGATIONS: Disney, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the film and episodic television content production and distribution business. Disney offers direct-to-consumer (“DTC”) streaming service through Disney+.
As the Disney class action lawsuit alleges, defendants throughout the Class Period made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Disney+ was suffering decelerating subscriber growth, losses, and cost overruns; (ii) the true costs incurred in connection with Disney+ had been concealed by Disney executives by debuting certain content intended for Disney+ initially on Disney’s legacy distribution channels and then making the shows available on Disney+ thereafter to improperly shift costs out of the Disney+ segment; (iii) Disney had made platform distribution decisions based not on consumer preference, consumer behavior, or the desire to maximize the size of the audience for the content as represented, but based on the desire to hide the full costs of building Disney+’s content library; and (iv) Disney was not on track to achieve even the reduced 2024 Disney+ paid global subscriber and profitability targets, such targets were not achievable, and such estimates lacked a reasonable basis in fact.
On November 8, 2022, Disney reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year end October 1, 2022, missing analyst estimates by wide margins on both the top and bottom lines. Specifically, Disney’s DTC segment reported a monumental operating loss of $1.47 billion compared to a $630 million loss in the same quarter the prior year while revenue in the segment increased just 8% to $4.9 billion. Disney also reported a decline in its average revenue per Disney+ subscriber, as more customers subscribed through a discounted bundle with Disney’s other services. Notably, the bundled offering made up about 40% of domestic subscribers, confirming that Disney was relying on short-term promotional efforts to boost subscriber growth while impairing Disney +’s long-term profitability. On this news, the price of Disney common stock declined more than 13%.
The plaintiff is represented by Robbins Geller, which has extensive experience in prosecuting investor class actions including actions involving financial fraud. You can view a copy of the complaint by clicking here.
THE LEAD PLAINTIFF PROCESS: The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 permits any investor who purchased Disney common stock during the Class Period to seek appointment as lead plaintiff of the Disney class action lawsuit. A lead plaintiff is generally the movant with the greatest financial interest in the relief sought by the putative class who is also typical and adequate of the putative class. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the Disney class action lawsuit. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice to litigate the Disney class action lawsuit. An investor’s ability to share in any potential future recovery of the Disney class action lawsuit is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.
ABOUT ROBBINS GELLER RUDMAN & DOWD LLP: Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP is one of the world’s leading complex class action firms representing plaintiffs in securities fraud cases. The Firm is ranked #1 on the most recent ISS Securities Class Action Services Top 50 Report for recovering more than $1.75 billion for investors in 2022 – the third year in a row Robbins Geller tops the list. And in those three years alone, Robbins Geller recovered nearly $5.3 billion for investors, more than double the amount recovered by any other plaintiffs’ firm. With 200 lawyers in 9 offices, Robbins Geller is one of the largest plaintiffs’ firms in the world and the Firm’s attorneys have obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history, including the largest securities class action recovery ever – $7.2 billion – in In re Enron Corp. Sec. Litig.