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The company is seeing major growth there and across divisions from brands it bought in recent years, including Pixar, which it bought in 2006 for $7.4 billion, Marvel Entertainment, which it bought in 2009 for $4.6 billion, and Lucasfilm, which it acquired in 2012 for $4.1 billion. The 91-year-old company also has its own powerful brands.
On its earnings conference call, Vasily Karasyov, an analyst at Sterne Agee, asked for clarification on Disney's three billion-dollar brands and was corrected by chairman and CEO Bob Iger, who said the company now had eight:
Karasyov: You mentioned that you now have three $1 billion franchise properties in consumer products revenue. I think I know two of them, Princess and Star Wars. Do you mind telling me what the third one is?
Iger: The third one is followed by five others and we have eight. Pooh, Mickey Mouse, Monsters, Star Wars, Spider-Man, Cars, Disney Junior, and Princess ... And all over $1 billion in global
As the world's top licensor, Disney generated a record $41 billion from licensed merchandise in 2013, a significant increase from $28.6 billion in 2010, according to a June report by Variety.
Also coming down the pipe (assuming Disney counts them separately), Disney could see major merchandise growth for Frozen and non-Spider-Man Marvel characters.
Iger specifically called out the success of Marvel, including its latest hit in "Guardians of the Galaxy."
"It's not just about a good movie, it's about that the Marvel brand has arrived," Iger said on CNBC.
Asked about further mergers and acquisitions, Iger said the company was "spending a fair amount of time and capital investing in the assets that we currently have."