3 Dates for Disney Investors to Circle in September

Key Points

• Disney shares have declined in back-to-back months. It needs positive stories to bubble up the the surface.

• The multiplex will be quiet outside of the long-awaited playing of "Hamilton," but Disney+ and Hulu will be busy.

• An investor presentation on ESPN is timely, coming just two weeks after the availability of the sports juggernaut's new over-the-top offering.

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There's a lot on Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS) plate as it heads into the final third of the year. The stock is up 32% over the past 12 months, more than doubling the market, but it's lagging with a year-to-date return of just 7%. The stock has inched slightly lower in back-to-back months, and that's with Disney announcing big streaming news and reasonable quarterly results in August.

What can Disney investors expect for September? Can it start to move higher and revisit the 52-week highs it reached in late June? Disney's sports programming business will be in the spotlight at an investor conference later this week. It also has some notable content rollouts happening this month. Let's take a closer look at some of the dates that investors will want to watch out for in September.

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Image source: Disney.

Sept. 3

After a busy slate of theatrical releases this summer, including this country's only 2025 release to top $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales, Disney will take a breather on the multiplex front in September. We can turn our attention to Disney's now profitable streaming business, where the pipeline will be gushing.

Remember that $1 billion-grossing film from earlier this year? It's Disney's live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch. The movie hit the media stock's flagship Disney+ streaming service on Wednesday.

Then there's the highly anticipated fifth season of Only Murderers in the Building, which will premiere for Hulu and Disney+ subscribers on Sept. 9. Three new episodes will come out that day for one of the platform's biggest original shows. Weekly installments will follow through the end of October.

Other debuts rolling out in September include the new Marvel Zombies animated series on Disney+ and the Chad Powers comedy series on Hulu. Chad Powers stars Glen Powell as a nationally embarrassed university quarterback who reinvents himself in disguise at a small college. Powell's been in some pretty big films in the past couple of years, so the pivot to a TV series should draw some attention.

Sept. 4

Investor conferences don't typically merit investor attention. Companies have the most to say during their quarterly financial check-ins. However, it is interesting that ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro will be presenting at Bank of America's Media, Communications, & Entertainment Conference this week. He will be fielding questions around the middle of the Sept. 4 trading day.

Disney officially launched the ESPN Unlimited plan on Aug. 21. Unlike the ESPN+ app that's been around for a couple of years, the new pricier offering gives subscribers a more robust experience. It covers all of the sports programming that one would get as a cable or satellite television subscriber, but with even more content on-demand. This direct-to-consumer experience will set consumers back $29.99 a month, but that's less than the Venu Sports consortium it was working on with two other companies that would've cost $13 more per month. As a leader among sports stocks, Disney's ESPN wasted no time to go solo.

The timing of the presentation is important. ESPN's unlimited bundle rolled out a week after the company posted its fiscal second-quarter results. This will be the first time Disney offers financial insight since the needle-moving app hit the market. Any comments that the launch is going worse or better than expected should send the stock lower or higher.

Sept. 15

The peak summer travel season is fading in the rearview mirror of the family minivan. Disney's industry-leading theme parks historically see turnstile clicks slow once the new school year starts. But that doesn't mean new experiences stop coming.

Disney announced during its biennial Destination D23 event over the weekend that the high-tech Tron Lightcycle Run roller coaster will receive an update in the middle of the month. Promoting next month's theatrical release of Tron: Ares, the thrill ride will take on a new light overlay as well as an updated soundtrack.

It's a smart move, keeping one of its newest attractions from going stale. With the Magic Kingdom being the world's most visited theme park, it's also a great place to promote its upcoming movie. Disney plays to win.

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Bank of America is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Rick Munarriz has positions in Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.