Disney to Buy Up to $8 Billion of Stock Starting Next Year

Walt Disney Co., the world’s biggest entertainment company, plans to buy back $6 billion to $8 billion of stock starting next year, stepping up efforts to increase investor returns as capital spending winds down.

Disney, based in Burbank, Calif., will borrow to finance some of the repurchases, Chief Financial Officer Jay Rasulo said Thursday at an investor conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., sponsored by Bank of America Corp. The company intends to maintain its debt ratings, he said.

The buyback comes as outlays shrink from a peak of $3.78 billion in fiscal 2012. In recent years, Disney has expanded parks in California and Florida, built cruise ships and developed a resort in Hawaii. A new destination in Shanghai is scheduled to open at the end of 2015. Read more...