Is Hulu Publicly Traded?

Last Updated on 06/29/2021 by GS Staff

Hulu is not publicly traded. However, The Walt Disney Company has a majority stake in the streaming service. The company owns 67% of Hulu. Disney is a publicly-traded company. It trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DIS.

You can indirectly invest in Hulu by purchasing DIS shares, however, Disney is a multi-billion dollar company that has many subsidiaries. If you invest in Disney, you are investing in much, much more than just Hulu and the obvious theme parks.

What is the Hulu Stock Symbol?

Since Hulu is not a publicly-traded company, it does not have a stock symbol. You cannot buy shares of Hulu stock through a broker. Furthermore, the company does not have a stock price. Disney is the majority owner of Hulu with Comast being a silent investor as we will discuss later.

What Does Disney Own?

In addition to Hulu, Disney has ownership in the following subsidiaries. Keep in mind that these businesses are some of the most noteworthy and do not represent the company’s complete portfolio of businesses or subsidiaries. View our article titled What Does Disney Owns? for a more comprehensive list of businesses owned by Disney.

As you likely can tell from a glance of the above, Hulu is only a piece of the much larger whole that is Disney. You should not invest in Disney solely because you believe in the future growth of Hulu. The company is much more complex than just Hulu.

Comcast & Hulu

Comcast owns the remaining 33% of Hulu. Interestingly, there is an agreement between Disney and Comcast that allows Comcast to sell its stake to Disney for fair market value. Disney also has the ability to request to purchase Comcast’s stake. The agreement states that the fair market minimum valuation will be no less than $27.5 billion for all of Hulu.

Similar to Disney, Comcast is a public company that trades under the symbol (CMCSA). Some of the companies owned by the Comcast include DreamWorks Animation, Sky Broadcasting, XUMO, and NBCUniversal.

Will There Ever Be Hulu Stock?

In order for Hulu to exist on its own as a stock (public company), a spinoff would be required that is approved by Disney. Since Comcast owns 33% of Hulu, this would complicate the spinoff process. We would speculate that Disney would want to be 100% owner of Hulu before a spinoff would even remotely be considered. However, there is no indication that Disney will ever spinoff Hulu. The most likely scenario is that the company remains a subsidiary of Disney for the foreseeable future.

What Streaming Companies are Publicly-Traded?

Roku, Netflix, and Spotify are three companies that you may wish to research for a potential investment in streaming.

• Netflix – The popular video streaming service trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol NFLX. It competes directly with Hulu for monthly subscribers. It has close to 200 million subscribers compared to approximately 40 million for Hulu.
• Roku – Roku trades under the symbol ROKU. It allows users to access streaming services through their devices. For example, someone may purchase a Roku Player that connects to their existing TV. The Roku device allows the person to stream video or audio onto their TV using an internet connection. Today, many newer TVs come equipped with Roku so that streaming (i.e. Netflix or Hulu) can start almost immediately after the TV is set up and the user is logged into their streaming account.
• Spotify – The company trades under the symbol SPOT. It is an audio streaming service that earns revenue from its premium unlimited podcast and music service. It also has an ad-supported segment that earns money on ads that are presented to non-premium members. The company has approximately 155 million premium subscribers and about 350 million active users.

Other notable streaming services are Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV, and HBOMax.

Amazon Prime Video is owned by Amazon (AMZN). Of course, Amazon is not just a video streaming service with its huge presence as an online retailer, among other businesses.

YouTube is not publicly-traded, however, it is owned by the public company, Alphabet Inc. Alphabet trades under the symbol GOOG. It is the parent company of not only YouTube but Google as well.

HBOMax is owned by the public company AT&T (T). AT&T was once a phone business and has since morphed into an enormous media company that holds the WarnerMedia division. This division holds not only HBOMax but also other giants such as CNN and TBS.

Closing Thoughts

While Hulu is not a public company, it is a part of Disney that is publicly traded. An investment in Disney is a stake in a massive entertainment company that reaches far beyond just Hulu and the obvious theme parks/Disney TV channels. That being said, Hulu and Disney+ are compelling reasons to look into the company further for a potential investment or to pass on it for something better.