Jon Markman
Now if a sideways market does emerge to taunt the bears, our attention turns to potential winners within the Dow. One that catches my eye is Walt Disney(DIS Quote - Cramer on DIS - Stock Picks). It's been fairly nonvolatile all year, putting in a disappointing -1.3% performance that's well below the Dow's 6.1% gain this year. The most it was ever up this year was around 5% in May, and shares have just lolled around ever since -- never being pulled under by the credit crunch, but not rising as a safe haven, either. If it were a Disney World attraction, you'd have to call it something like Mr. Iger's Mild Ride.
I have always liked Disney because it consistently creates first-rate content. Disney characters continue to be among the most popular in the world, and most of the company's new ventures, including its ABC television network and ESPN sports network, will keep it at the forefront of American industry for a long time. Mickey never goes off patent and will not be surpassed in quality or cost by a cheap Asian import. Indeed, Disney does exactly what you would expect from a modern business -- it's never content to make just one product stand on its own. It integrates each product and wrings as much value out of it as possible. New ideas start with the theatrical release of an animated or live-action movie, then you have DVD sales, TV licensing deals, sequels, merchandising and often a theme-park attraction. And, of course, all of the filmed portions add to an outstanding, growing library that can be reused in countless ways at increasing profit margin.
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