In December 2005, the Disney Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.27 per share, or approximately $520 million in total, making this our 50th consecutive year of dividend payments to shareholders. This year's payment represents a 12.5% increase over the prior year and the second consecutive year of double-digit growth in our dividend.

From August 2004 through December 2005, we invested more than $3.9 billion to purchase approximately 154 million shares of Disney stock. During fiscal 2005 alone, we repurchased more than 91 million shares of Disney stock, for roughly $2.4 billion. Our repurchase activity not only reflects our discipline in returning cash to shareholders, but also our confidence in our ability to grow shareholder value over time.We expect that we will continue to return value to our investors through share repurchase in fiscal 2006.

Over the long run, we strive to outperform the broader stock market, measured by total return to shareholders. Disney's executive compensation plan supports this goal, with significant components of compensation linked to Company performance relative to the S&P 500⁶. For the 20-year period from fiscal 1985 to fiscal 2005, an investment in Disney yielded a compound annual return that was more than 300 basis points above the S&P 500. Looking back over the medium-term, Disney's stock price performance has lagged the S&P, especially during the period between 1998 and 2001, as we struggled with performance issues and external challenges at certain of our businesses, and as near-term results were dampened by the substantial capital investment we made in our theme parks. Since then, however, as our performance has improved, so has the performance of Disney's stock. From fiscal 2002 through fiscal 2005, Disney stock modestly outperformed the S&P 500. We are working hard to continue and improve on this trend.

 

6 For more information on Disney's executive compensation structure, refer to Disney's 2006 Proxy Statement.