Hulu Stock is something most people would love to have in their portfolio. They have had incredible growth numbers over the years and it would be nice If you could actually buy it. Did you know that right now, Hulu has roughly 32 million paid subscribers and is now the largest name in live TV streaming? All that being said, unfortunately there is no direct $HULU stock to invest in.

So what’s the Hulu stock price? Well, you can’t invest in Hulu because it is currently owned by Disney and Comcast. Read on for the details though, there are some changes coming.

With the tremendous success of the Netflix IPO, many investors are wondering how much the Hulu stock price is, and you can’t blame them. It’s an attractive investment idea based on the growth of digital streaming.

If you invested in Netflix in 2007, when it began its streaming service, that investment would have paid off. Big.

On May 23, 2002, the IPO for Netflix happened at $15.00 per share. An investment of just $990 on Netflix’s initial public offering, would have grown to over $462,000 after stock splits. For those of you rusty on math, that’s a gain of 46,100% over almost 18 years! 

What Is Hulu Stock Price & Is It Publicly Traded?

• Unfortunately, this is where I burst your bubble: Hulu is a private company and is not available on public stock exchanges. As a result, there is no Hulu stock price. But even though Hulu isn’t a public company, there is an indirect way to get a piece of this streaming giant, and we will tell you how below.

If you want more information on other stocks, make sure to check out our stock trading service.

An Investing Opportunity In It’s Own Category

Not so long ago, there was no streaming alternative to cable or satellite, and would-be cord-cutters faced a tough choice. You either subscribed to the pricey bundle with a long-term contract or nothing at all.

For those of you on the lookout for investment opportunities, the answer could be staring you right in the face. Chances are, you look at it for about 8 hours a day.

And you use it for all sorts of things from booking flights, updating your status’ to streaming TV shows and movies.

Did you know that in 2019 alone, the global video streaming market size was pegged at $42.6 billion? That’s right. This is a huge industry that savvy investors want to capitalize on. 

The global streaming market is the new diamond in the rough. Growth outlooks are promising, and forecasters expect it to register a CAGR of 20.4% from 2020 to 2027. 

While there may be no Hulu stock price, check out our stock alerts for other trading ideas updated weekly. We trade stocks like $NFLX, $ROKU, $AMD, MSFT and many more.

Could Hulu Stock Be the Diamond in the Rough?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’m sure you’ve probably heard of Netflix. But what exactly is Hulu? To summarize, Hulu is a video and TV streaming service that provides access to premium shows. And not just other people’s shows. Hulu creates some pretty killer original content.

With partnerships with a wide array of studios from MGM, Warner Bros., and Sony to joint ventures with NBC and Fox, users have access to the cream of the crop. 

Not only do you get the latest and greatest shows, but you also get access to the oldies and hard to find shows. You’re probably wondering, “what’s the catch?”

And let me tell you, there isn’t one. If you cough up a few dollars each month, you have access to everything on Hulu; and that includes unlimited streaming. I’ll hand you the scissors so you can cut your cable. In my house,  we cut the cord years ago. Like many, our household has saved thousands over the years. And watched a lot less commercials! 

Does Hulu Have an IPO?

• Rumor has it that in 2010, Hulu explored an IPO. But Wall Street pushed back at the idea. Now, there are likely a few reasons why but I’d guess it was because they streamed their content for free and had no monetization plan in place.

Hulu Is a Growth Engine

In the world of investing, Netflix is not a shabby investment by any means. But, it’s not likely to see a 40% growth in subscribers in a year ever again. To be honest, the market is just too saturated with Netflix accounts.

As of May 2019, Hulu had 32.1 million subscribers. I understand that many investors will likely scoff at that number, considering Netflix has more than 52 million. 

By all means scoff, but remember that when we look at investing, we want not only numbers but growth potential. Hulu had 22.8 million subscribers at the end of the first quarter of 2019 – that’s nearly 50% growth over the course of 6 months!

Hulu, in comparison to Netflix, has lots of room for growth. What was missing before the Disney acquisition was a controlling backer with the right mix of content ready to go. 

Now with the Disney acquisition, that problem is solved, and both Netflix and Amazon have nice, big targets on their backs. Hence we could see a Netflix vs Hulu stock price emerge. 

The streaming market is becoming more saturated, as well. Disney has added Disney+ to the mix along side of Hulu, Comcast has rolled out their streaming service called Peacock, AT&T has HBONow, and a new service called Quibi was launched in April of this year. While the streaming wars continue to heat up, the real winners will be consumers, who will have more choices for less than ever.

How Can I Invest in Hulu Stock?

• Even though you can’t buy Hulu stock directly, Disney ($DIS) owns 90% of company. In a $52.4 billion deal sealed last year, the Walt Disney Co. bought the bulk of 21st Century Fox’s holdings, which included a 33% stake in Hulu. Disney also purchased the 10% stake that AT&T owned, and will be acquiring the remaining 33% currently held by Comcast by 2024. Disney’s original investment in Hulu was in 2009, so they’ve been involved with Hulu since nearly the very beginning. 
• So by simply purchasing shares in Disney, you can own a piece of Hulu! And with Disney Stock…you really can’t go wrong. My great uncle bought shares in the 60s..and hasn’t sold ONE share! He’s made over 50,000% since then. You young folks reading need to think long term, like he did. Disney has been hit extremely hard by the pandemic, but one would have to believe that this company will recover and return to growth. 

Why Disney Is a Fantastic Investment

With Hulu, its own streaming services, and its red-hot franchises like Star Wars and Marvel, Disney’s potential for growth this year and on is enormous.

Disney (NYSE: DIS) had a big 2019 — a 32% share price gain notwithstanding. Disney’s total enterprise value (share price times number of shares outstanding, plus total debt, and minus cash) was about $320 billion; which would imply a third of the whole business’ value is just streaming.

Disney has some pretty solid fundamentals worth digging into. This report is courtsey of stock rover and was taken reported in late April. For the most up to date research report check out StockRover.

Not to mention, in the past 12 months, the stock has returned 30% compared with the S&P 500 returns of 26%. Check out our post about Disney’s Marvel Comics Stock. 

Who owns the rest of Hulu? Comcast. For now.

Comcast is also a major stakeholder in Hulu. For now. The cable company giant announced in May 2019 that it had agreed to sell its control to Disney.  The two companies reached an agreement for $DIS to purchase Comcast’s 33% stake in the company as early as 2024. Apparently deals this big take time to migrate, so be prepared for news to pop up in the headlines about this deal, which will inevitably cause some volatility in Disney’s stock price. 

Comcast stock report via StockRover – you’ll want to check a fresh report weekly to get a look at this stock if its a part of your portfolio.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully we’ll see a Hulu stock hit the open market with an IPO. Disney will be reporting Q3 results on August 4th, so make sure to tune into that to see how Hulu has continued to grow – plus it will be interesting to see how badly Disney’s revenue was hit last quarter with theme parks, movie theaters, and sporting events all closed.

But the truth is, trading is hard. Buying stocks can be nerve-racking. Investing in good stocks for the long haul, well…that is another story.