You don’t get a lot of chances to be part of something magical. Disney may not have any real magic, but it’s still an experience that many people find to be magical. By investing in Disney stocks, you can be part of the whole experience without having to work for Disney.
There’s no such thing as 100% certainty, but your chances of getting something positive out of a Disney stock investment are good.
How do you even get started?
Disclaimer: I’m not a financial expert, this is not a recommendation to purchase the stock.
This is a guide on how I bought Disney stock, and how you can do it too (if you choose to do so).
How to Buy Disney Stock
Here’s how you invest in Disney stocks:
- Research to know if you really want to invest in Disney
- Sign up for Robinhood
- Choose how much you want to invest
- Find Walt Disney and choose what kind of purchase the make
- Confirm your purchase
Learn More
Sounds easy, right? It’s pretty simple! But there’s a lot to learn that you might not have gotten from just that short list. Get the full story below with everything you need to know.
Step 1: Research Disney
Before you try to make any stock purchases, you have to make sure it’s something you actually want to do. This involves a little bit of research to learn more about Disney. No matter who recommends that you invest in any company, you shouldn’t do it until you learn more about that company for yourself.
You don’t need a business degree to do this. All you need is a little time to read about where they’ve come from, how they work, and where they’re headed. Make sure they’re on the right track and they’re not involved in something you disagree with.
Know Their History
The basic research you need to do is just to see how their stock prices have changed over history. Are they worth more now than they were before? Are there are lot of dramatic changes, or are the prices pretty consistent? Consistency and steady growth are great signs for the future of a stock.
Know Their Methods
One of the coolest things about owning a little part of a company is that you can earn some money from it every year, when the company makes a good profit. This is called a dividend. Not every company pays out dividends every year, however Disney pays out dividends. Who doesn’t want some extra money just for owning a stock? You can use that extra money to buy more stocks and get more the next year!
Know Their Prospects
Lastly, you just want to look at where Disney wants to go. Is there enough room for them to keep getting bigger and better? The realistic answer here is probably “yes”, but it’s worth taking a peek at the specifics anyway.
Buying a stock is basically buying a small part of a company. You want the company to keep improving, growing, and getting better so that your little piece will become more valuable over time. If a company doesn’t look like it’s got a rosy future, or things are starting to look a little bad, you may not want to invest there.
Step 2: Sign up for Robinhood
If you’ve made up your mind that Disney looks like it’s in a pretty good place to buy some stock, you’re now at the point that most people quit: figuring out how to even do that. If you found this page because you’re interested in getting stock but you just have no idea how to make it happen, you’re in the right place.
Again, I’m not a finance expert, but even I managed to get stocks using Robinhood. It’s a ridiculously simple app that you can use without having a bunch of finance knowledge in your brain. I know because I bought some Disney stock using Robinhood, and I’m certainly not a stockbroker or Wall Street guru.
Another great perk about Robinhood is you receive a free stock during sign up by using a referral link.
Click here to sign up using my referral link.
Robinhood isn’t the only way to buy stock, but it’s a great place to start. Basically, Robinhood is a free mobile app that lets you invest in stocks and a lot of other things with no stock purchase fees. Most online brokers charge commissions every time you buy stocks, but Robinhood doesn’t.
There are also a surprisingly low number of stockbrokers that have functioning mobile apps. This is one of the things Robinhood does really well, because their app is really easy to use. You can check out how your existing stocks are doing, buy more, sell stocks, and monitor everything without a lot of trouble.
Robinhood Costs & Making Money
Starting an account is free, buying stocks is free, and you get a free random stock when you sign up. The basic transactions on Robinhood are free, but they do make their money in other ways. You can get a premium account with more benefits than the basic account, there are fees for certain other types of investments, and a few other extra services add to their pockets. However, the basic stock buying is free and easy to do.
Step 3: How Much Money You Want to Invest in Disney Stock
If you’re just getting your feet wet with investing, you’ll want to take it easy. If you’re a veteran investor with a few other things going on right now, proceed with caution as well. Investing is like everything else in life: you don’t want all your eggs in one basket.
The 5% Rule
A lot of investors recommend something called the 5% rule. This rule says that you should never have more than 5% of your investments in the same place. That means if you’re planning to buy Disney stocks, you shouldn’t make it your only investment or your majority investment, unless you plan to do more later on.
For those that have some other investments already (think retirement funds, pensions, long-term savings accounts, etc.), look at how much you’ve already invested. If you’ve got $10,000, $50,000, or even $500, you’ve got a place to start. Find out what 5% of your total investments equals, and use that as your general guideline. If your investments are on the smaller side, as in the $500 example, you can go over the guideline a bit because you’re still growing your investments at this point.
For anyone that doesn’t have anything going on yet with investments, it’s time to jump in. Don’t go too crazy with it, but you have to start somewhere. Remember that stocks can be purchased in fractions, meaning you don’t have to buy whole numbers of stocks at once. Find out how much you can afford to invest, even if it’s $50-$100 at first, and make it happen. You can put some money towards other stocks in the future too!
Minimum Requirements
A quick note about how much you should invest. Stocks can be listed on different exchanges, with the largest in the US being the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). They usually require you to buy a minimum of 1 whole stock per order. This means you probably won’t be able to invest less than the price of at least 1 Disney stock.
Use that as your minimum if your calculated minimum isn’t enough. If Disney stocks are too much, you can look at other stocks instead. Most likely if you’re looking to invest in Disney you’ll be able to get at least one share, which is better than not having any shares!
Step 5: Choose the Right Order Type
Once you’ve got your Robinhood account and you’re ready to go, it’s time to get your stocks. Open up the app, or go online to the site, log into your account, and start your order. You need to make sure you make the right kind of order. Choose the option to buy stocks, not ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, or anything else. You want to place an order for stocks, so you’ll get the free trade option.
Search for Disney stocks. They’re listed as “DIS” on the NYSE, so you can search that code to find them quickly. Once you’ve found Disney listed, click to view their stock details. You’ll see an option that says “Trade”, which when clicked gives you the option to buy or sell. Click on the buy option.
Types of Orders on Robinhood
You’ll be given an option to select the order type you want. There are a few different types of orders you can make:
- Market
This is a normal purchase where you specify how much you want to spend or how many shares you want to buy. You’ll buy shares based on the current market price, or as close as you can get to it. The price you pay has to be within 5% of the most recent publicly traded price.
- Limit
This type of order allows you to limit the amount you’re willing to spend on each stock. You can up a maximum limit on the stocks you’re buying so you don’t overspend. It also lets you put in a lower price so the app will automatically buy if the stocks reach that price.
- Stop Loss
These orders let you buy more of a stock automatically if it reaches a certain price. You can set it up to do the work for you, so you won’t miss out on some good returns.
- Stop Limit
If the stock reaches your stop loss price, you can put a stock limit keep the app from automatically buying over a certain price. You may want to buy when it reaches a price, but not after it gets too pricey, so you can stop it with this kind of order.
- Options Trading
This isn’t a normal stock purchase. Options trading is a bit more complex and deserves a conversation all on its own.
If you’re looking to get the stocks quickly, a market order is probably what you want. But, limit, stop loss, and stop limit orders are also useful if you want to automate your investment process a little more.
Step 6: Purchase Disney stock
After you’ve chosen your order type, input all the details. Choose how many shares you want to buy, set your limits, or do whatever else your order requires. Confirm the order to lock it in. Once you’ve confirmed, you can swipe up on the app or click to confirm on the website to submit the order.
Congratulations!
You’re done! It’s really that simple. You can buy stock within just a few minutes. Download the app and get started whenever you’re done with your research. It’s simple, easy, and a really convenient way to try out stock investment for yourself.
Plus, you get a random stock just for signing up, so that’s a nice added bonus. Get your piece of the Disney magic today. I’m glad I did it, and I think you’ll be happy you did as well.
Related Questions
Is it a good time to buy Disney stock?
The stock market goes through a lot of ups and downs. Most companies listed go through their own rounds. Check if the stock is consistently going up over the years, and if it’s at a “peak” or a “valley” right now. Peaks are high price points while valleys are low price points, when compared to past prices.
What other options do I have to buy stock online?
There are tons of options! Other big names in the trading space are Ally, E-Trade, Fidelity, Merrill Edge, Interactive Brokers, etc. However, Robinhood is the only one that actually offers free stock trading, so that’s something to consider before you make your choice.
How do I make money from my Disney stocks?
Disney stocks pay dividends, which is your own slice of the company’s profits that year. Others just grow in value, which lets you sell the shares at a higher price in the future. Stock trading is a long-term investment strategy, not something that will make you money right away.
