We recently published a list of Unknown Billionaire Phill Gross’ 10 Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential. In this article, we are going to take a look at where The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) stands against unknown billionaire Phill Gross’ other stock picks with huge upside potential.
Phillip “Phill” Gross is a seasoned investor and influential figure in the world of institutional asset management, best known as the Co-founder, Managing Director, and Healthcare Portfolio Manager of Adage Capital Management. While Robert Atchinson, his longtime collaborator and fellow Co-founder, serves as the firm’s Portfolio Manager, Gross’s leadership and strategic vision have played a foundational role in shaping Adage’s long-term investment philosophy and reputation. The two met in the mid-1980s while working as Harvard University’s endowment analysts. Their professional synergy led them to leave Harvard Management Company in the 1990s, following public scrutiny over performance-based bonuses. With the backing of an initial $1.8 billion investment from Harvard and an agreement for the university to receive 10% of the firm’s earnings, they launched Adage Capital Management in 2001 alongside an 18-person team.
Under Gross’s co-leadership, Adage has become a key player in managing assets for prominent institutional clients such as Harvard University, Dartmouth College, Northwestern University, the American Red Cross, and the Getty Foundation. The firm specializes in long/short equity strategies guided by fundamental analysis and engages in risk arbitrage and event-driven opportunities when market conditions are favourable. Adage Capital Management and its predecessor, the Select Equity Group at Harvard Management Company, have consistently outperformed broader market benchmarks by an average of 3.5% over the past 15 years. This is a testament to the disciplined, research-driven investment framework that Gross helped instill.
Gross himself brings a deep background in healthcare investing, having served for nearly two decades at Harvard Management Company in various roles, including Healthcare and Retail Analyst, Equity Research Director, and Partner. His academic credentials include a B.S. in finance and economics (1982) and an M.S. in investments (1983), both from the University of Wisconsin. He remains actively engaged with his alma mater, serving on the advisory boards of the Steve Hawk Center for Applied Securities Analysis and the Nicholas Center for Applied Corporate Finance. In recognition of his professional accomplishments and ongoing contributions, Gross received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Wisconsin Business School in 2006.
Beyond finance, Gross is a committed philanthropist. He co-founded Strategic Grant Partners, an organization focused on driving systemic change in education and family services throughout Massachusetts. He also serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors for Youth Enrichment Services, a nonprofit that provides urban youth with outdoor recreational experiences. In addition, he holds board positions with the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, where he is Vice-Chair of the Investment Committee, and with the T2 Foundation.
Adage Capital Management’s latest 13F filing for Q4 2024 reported $57.19 billion in managed securities, with the top 10 holdings comprising 31.7% of the total portfolio, demonstrating a strategic yet diversified approach to asset allocation. While Atchinson oversees day-to-day portfolio management, Gross’s enduring influence and expertise, particularly in healthcare investing, continue to shape the firm’s long-term success and institutional credibility.
We searched through Adage Capital Management’s Q4 2024 13F filings to identify unknown billionaire Phill Gross’ stock picks with the highest upside potential. We compiled the equities with upside potential higher than 34% at the time of writing this article and discussed why they stood out as strong potential investments. Finally, we ranked the stocks based on the ascending order of their upside potential. To assist readers with more context, we mentioned the hedge fund sentiment around each stock using data from 1,009 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 363.5% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 208 percentage points (see more details here).
Walt Disney Company (DIS): Among Unknown Billionaire Phill Gross’ Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential
A packed theater of moviegoers watching a blockbuster film produced by the entertainment company.
Number of Hedge Fund Holders as of Q4: 108
Adage Capital Management’s Equity Stake: $205.23 Million
Upside Potential as of May 2: 37.94%
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) is a global leader in mass media and entertainment. In the first fiscal quarter of 2025, ending December 28, 2024, Disney reported strong financial performance, reflecting its strategic focus on profitability and growth. Revenue rose by 5% year-over-year to $24.7 billion, up from $23.5 billion in the same quarter of fiscal 2024. Income before income taxes climbed 27% to $3.7 billion, while diluted earnings per share increased 35% to $1.40. Additionally, total segment operating income grew by 31% to $5.1 billion, and adjusted earnings per share saw a significant 44% jump to $1.76. These figures underscore the company’s ability to adapt and thrive amid shifting industry dynamics.
Despite this growth, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS)’s stock remains undervalued compared to historical benchmarks. Currently trading below its levels from one, three, and five years ago, Disney’s share price does not fully reflect the underlying progress of the business. Since fiscal 2019, the company has increased its revenue by 31% and improved operating profits. A major contributor to this upward trajectory is the transformation of Disney’s streaming operations, which became profitable a year ago after a period of sustained investment and losses. While its linear TV networks continue to experience subscriber decline due to cord-cutting, they still generate significant cash flow. Disney has leveraged this capital to invest heavily in its theme parks and content development, reinforcing its long-term strategy.
In the competitive landscape of theme parks, The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) has continued to hold its dominant position despite heightened rivalry from Comcast’s Universal brand. Historically, even significant expansions at Universal parks did not stifle Disney World’s attendance or revenue. Instead, Disney has responded with high-impact attractions like Avatar Flight of Passage, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, which have revitalized visitor interest and attendance. Rather than cannibalizing each other’s market share, major developments by competitors often increase overall tourism in the Orlando area, benefiting Disney as well. With a solid financial foundation and a legacy of innovation, the company continues to reinforce its leadership in both media and themed entertainment.
ClearBridge Value Strategy stated the following regarding The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“While we had already begun to shift toward a more defensive positioning entering the quarter, we made a number of adjustments in response to the rapid-fire developments in both economic and political policy. Among our largest new positions during the period was The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), as we believe that it has turned a corner on building out its streaming service, which should help margins inflect higher and help drive better earnings than the market currently anticipates. The shift in management’s strategy, from “market share growth at all costs” to a more focused approach on improving pricing should also help to improve both profitability and margins, and we believe that there remains meaningful upside compared to other streaming service providers at similar scale.”
Overall, DIS ranks 8th on our list of unknown billionaire Phill Gross’ stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential of these stock picks, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than DIS but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
