Disney CEO Swap
Disney is one of the most iconic companies in the world. Adored by children and parents alike, the entertainment behemoth not only rakes in billions through their parks but through their streaming services and movies. Disney truly is one of the few brands that manages to touch the hearts of people of all ages all over the world in both the digital and physical realms. Disney recently shocked the world with a sudden CEO swap — replacing the current CEO (Bob Chapek) with a reinstatement of the former CEO (Robert Iger). The need for the change came after months of poor leadership and performance from Chapek. The final nail in the coffin came a few weeks ago on November 8th when Mr. Chapek hosted a conference call with analysts after Disney had just reported a loss of $1.47 billion in its streaming business. This loss was more than twice the loss reported in the prior-year quarter and had underperformed analysts’ expectations in revenue and income.Â
To make his perception worse, Chapek’s predecessor (Iger) was hailed as the savior of Disney during the pandemic. Indeed, Disney themselves released a statement explaining that “Disney was dealt a tough hand by the pandemic, yet with Iger at the helm, our businesses — from parks to streaming — not only weathered the storm, but emerged in a position of strength,” and that “In this important time of growth and transformation, the Board is committed to keeping Disney on the successful path it is on today, and Iger’s leadership is key to achieving that goal. Iger is the right leader at the right time for The Walt Disney Company, and the Board has full confidence in him and his leadership team”.
What do you think about the swap of CEOs, and will it help the future of Disney?
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I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.