Disney's new leadership is beginning to focus on its stockholders rather than Netflix's, as evidenced by its most recent earnings report.

The iconic company earned an EPS of $0.70 in the first quarter of 2021, up from 63 cents in the prior year. In addition, revenue came in at $23.51 billion, up 8% for the quarter and ahead of analyst expectations.

This is all thanks to better gains from the company's theme parks and smaller losses from the streaming businesses. Management cheered the company's results while defining the company's pro-shareholder strategy for the future.

"After a solid first quarter, we are embarking on a significant transformation, one that will maximize the potential of our world-class creative teams and our unparalleled brands and franchises," Disney CEO Robert A. Iger said in a statement following the release of the first-quarter results.

"We believe the work we are doing to reshape our company around creativity, while reducing expenses, will lead to sustained growth and profitability for our streaming business, better position us to weather future disruption and global economic challenges, and deliver value for our shareholders."

That's music to the ears of traders and investors, who sent the company's shares sharply higher on Wall Street on Thursday morning, re-igniting a broad rally.

David Trainer, CEO of New Constructs, a Nashville-based equity research firm, sees more gains ahead for Disney's shares.

"Disney's (DIS) stock is a buy and that the stock could rise 50% from current levels if profitability returns to pre-pandemic levels," he told IBT. "Disney's current stock price suggests that investors have meager expectations for its ability to increase cash flows, which sets the stock up nicely for a continued rally if CEO Bob Iger can turn the company around."

Trainer is optimistic about Iger's strategy to revive the iconic brand and unleash tremendous value for shareholders, as was the case back in the old days when he was CEO.

"For most of the last decade, Disney has had to deal with Netflix (NFLX), a highly irrational competitor that used capital as a weapon by spending too much money on content," he added. "Disney was forced to either match Netflix's money-burning strategy or maintain capital discipline and focus on profitability. We believe the market's renewed focus on profitability instead of subscriber growth bodes well for Disney."

Still, Trainer warns investors not to chase the broader market rally fueled by Disney's report, especially the shares of profitless companies that are most sensitive to interest rate hikes.

"The worries that rattled markets last year are still with us, " he explained. "Inflation remains high, the Federal Reserve is unlikely to throw markets a bone and pause its rate hikes, and plenty of profitless companies are trading at sky-high valuations."