The past decade or so has been a particularly lucrative one for owners of Walt Disney Company (DIS) stock. Between 09/2008 and 09/2018 The House of Mouse returned approximately $65B to its shareholders via dividends and stock buybacks. At the same time, money spinning acquisitions for Marvel Entertainment and Lucasfilm were completed to tune of around $8.5B. By my count Disney covered pretty much the entirety of this activity though net profit.

For the time being the company’s excess cash generation is needed somewhere else. Faced with a need to satisfy the ratings agencies following its $70B merger with 21st Century Fox, Disney is diverting surplus cash toward debt reduction. The good news for stockholders is that this necessary period of belt tightening should prove temporary. Once fiscal 2020 is done and dusted the company should be in a position to pump out surplus cash by the boatload.

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