If You Invested $1,000 In Disney Stock When DeSantis Became Governor, You'd Have This Much Now

One of the largest media companies in the world is at odds with a leading political figure.

Here’s a look at the stock performance of The Walt Disney Company DIS during Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's time in office.

What Happened: DeSantis, who won Florida's gubernatorial election in 2018 and 2022, recently announced his official candidacy for the 2024 presidential election.

This could be good news for Disney as it could mean the GOP favorite will spend less time worrying about the entertainment giant’s local theme park operations as he campaigns nationally.

DeSantis took offense when Disney spoke out in opposition to the Parental Rights in Education Act, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Since then, DeSantis stripped Disney of the self-governing powers the conglomerate has enjoyed over its Orlando, Florida territory since 1967.

In February, DeSantis signed a bill to strip Disney of the special powers it had and implement new board members to oversee the Florida territory.

“Today, the corporate kingdom finally comes to an end,” DeSantis proclaimed at the bill’s signing ceremony.

The Disney controlled Reedy Creek Board passed a clause prior to DeSantis' bill that could see it keep self-governing power until "21 years after the death of the last survivor of the descendants of King Charles II." This intensified the rivalry and resulted in lawsuits.

DeSantis, a Jacksonville, Florida native, has spoken out about the clause and even said he would consider selling off land near Disney or putting a jail near the theme park.

As the drama unfolds, with lawsuits that could potentially reach the Supreme Court, here’s a look at Disney’s stock performance ever since DeSantis took office.

See Also: Disney Vs. DeSantis Goes Directly To Classroom With Teacher Under Investigation

Investing $1,000 in Disney Stock: DeSantis, who previously served as a U.S. House of Representative for the state, narrowly won the Florida governor election in 2018 with 49.6% of the vote. A close battle that saw DeSantis win by 0.4% triggered an automatic recount.

Shares of Disney traded as high as $112.56 on the day DeSantis took office on Jan. 8, 2019. A $1,000 investment in the media company could have purchased 8.88 shares of DIS.

The $1,000 investment would be worth $777 today, based on a price of $87.50 for Disney shares at the time of writing.

The investment would be down 22.3% in the last four plus years.

For comparison, a $1,000 investment in the SPDR S&P 500 Global ETF Trust SPY would have returned 62.1% for investors over the same time period.

Shares of Disney have traded between $84.08 and $126.48 over the last 52 weeks.

Benzinga previously shared that DeSantis' re-election win in 2022 coincided with Disney's reporting quarterly financial results that missed expectations.

A battle between Disney and DeSantis is one of several items weighing on the company’s stock and a key item for investors to consider.

Read Next: DeSantis Says He's More Likely To Win The Election, Accuses Trump Of 'Moving To The Left' 

Image: Pixabay/Shutterstock