3 Dates for Disney Investors to Circle in August, Including a Big Financial Update

It's been a cruel -- if not Cruella -- summer for Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) investors. Shares of the media juggernaut are trading just 4% above its March 52-week low. Disney stock has fallen 20% over the past year, but August offers all the promise of one last summer bash before the reality of going back to school for the fall.

Disney will report its fiscal third-quarter results next week. It also has a pair of movies hitting a multiplex near you and a literal stage for new CEO Josh D'Amaro to potentially make a defining move. Like coming home after a summer getaway, there's a lot to unpack. Let's take a closer look at some of the dates that shareholders should be watching in August.

Image source: Disney.

Aug. 5

The single August date having the greatest impact on Disney stock will come soon. Disney reports its latest financial results on Wednesday morning of next week.

Analyst expectations are notable. They see revenue rising more than 7% to reach $25.4 billion. It may not seem like a lot, but it would be Disney's strongest top-line jump in more than three years. Those same Wall Street pros are holding out for headier gains on the bottom line, with earnings per share rising 15% to $1.85. A favorable trend on the bottom-line front is that Disney has consistently topped analyst quarterly profit targets for more than two years. With Disney trading for less than 13 times next year's projected earnings, a strong report next week can be a sentiment shifter.

It's not just the numbers that will matter. Disney kicked off the new fiscal fourth quarter with a dud. The live-action Moana remake has generated just $235 million in worldwide ticket sales since its theatrical release three weeks ago, a far cry from Toy Story 5, a month earlier, which became Disney's first film to clear $1 billion at the global box office this year. Is Disney ready to brace investors for a charge on Moana? On the media networks front, is Disney ready to unload some of its non-essential properties in a time when buyers are hungry and paying a premium? Anything can come up during an earnings call.

The biggest concern could be the color it provides for its pivotal theme park business. Rival Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) warned investors that its domestic gated attractions -- located conveniently near Disney's own Southern California and Central Florida resorts -- began to see attendance soften in June and continued to weaken in July. Are Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida going through the same demand setback during what used to be the telltale summer travel season? The answer is now just a few days away.

Aug. 7

After three consecutive months of cranking out potential box office blockbusters -- The Devil Wears Prada 2 and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu in May, before Toy Story 5 and Moana in subsequent months -- expectations are lower in August.

Disney has a pair of movies hitting a theater near you. Next weekend it will be Super Troopers 3. The second installment in the comedy crime caper genre barely cleared $30 million in ticket sales eight years ago. The Dog Stars follows three weeks later. The dystopian post-apocalyptic film has a better shot at becoming a sleeper hit, but there's a reason Disney slated the film for the end of the potent summer movie-viewing season rather than earlier, when a possible blockbuster could make more noise.

Aug. 15

The biennial D23 Expo returns to California in two weeks. The three-day event for Disney enthusiasts officially kicks off on Aug. 14, but I'm circling the evening of the second night for some potential headline-making theme park news.

It was during the Disney Experiences Showcase two summers ago that Disney announced several major additions and expansions across its theme parks and cruise line. D'Amaro made many of those announcements before he was tapped as CEO earlier this year, and now he will take the stage with a weightier job at the company.

Will Disney refine the timeline for many of the additions it introduced two years ago? Is there something new in the works for its global collection of theme parks and rapidly expanding cruising operations? Is this when D'Amaro makes his first signature move since taking the reins of the media stock bellwether?

The rest of Disney's segments will get their moment to shine throughout the weekend. There will be plenty of movie and TV stars from its studio and network side, earning the spotlight. However, given how important Disney's experiences segment has become in recent years, this is the one that I'll be circling to check out.

Rick Munarriz has positions in Comcast and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends Comcast. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.