A top contributor to the Fund, film studio DreamWorks Animation (NASDAQ:DWA) gained 16% for the year after a substantial 48% rise in the fourth quarter—an example of how quickly payoff patterns can move. The company had a box office success with the late March release of the movie Home, which continued to do well in home video and streaming. In December, DreamWorks announced a co-production deal with DHX Media, demonstrating that the company’s efforts to develop television content has progressed into recurring revenues. The New Media segment, which contains AwesomenessTV, had impressive revenue growth and margins. License renewals helped drive strong revenue and earnings growth in the consumer division. CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg’s push in the Chinese film distribution market via the 45% Oriental DreamWorks JV has potential for meaningful upside.
From Longleaf Partners Small-Cap Fund Commentary for 4th quarter 2015.
