Bob Iger Returns/Disney CEO Thread (2022)

[Parkscope Joe]

Posting this from the other thread:

Hilarious that they're doing this the Sunday night before Thanksgiving.

I honestly wonder if this is a mistake by Iger, though. Chapek was a bad CEO but many of his biggest challenges were outside of his control and some of his more unpopular decisions - streaming price raises chief among them - were probably gonna have to happen at some point.

Iger left having completely secured his legacy as a nice guy visionary who turned Disney into one of the most powerful companies on Earth. Now he'll have to figure out how to make money from streaming and keep the company afloat at a time when interest rates are high and cable TV is finally dying. Never count out Iger but I don't really see how you do that without pissing some people off.

Anyway, successor. Wonder if Peter Rice, who hasn't taken a new job since his ouster, was holding out for something like this to happen.

Igers ultimate legacy is failing for years to succession plan.

Honestly thinking he's going to stay until LA2028.

A lot of issues to fix. A lot of it his, but an incredible amount is Chapek, D'Amarro, and a lot of the executives involved right now. Thinking LA2028 being his new "Shanghai"; fixing and prepping the company to be back in full force from the 20CP Purchase feels logical.

Six sure is more than two!

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

My genuine guess:

Iger initially wanted out, didn’t plan a succession, so Bob was the easiest and most willing to take the job.

Literally no one liked him.

The first second Iger said he’d come back they took it and canned him. My guess is this all happened Friday and legal was working it out during the weekend. Insanity lol

 

[tielo]

Never occurred to me that a takeover could be coming. If it would be the Oriental Land Company, Disney would have a win, I can dream.
What is Disney's actual financial situation (take in account they need to pay Comcast $27B in 2024 for the remainder of Hulu)?

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Never occurred to me that a takeover could be coming. If it would be the Oriental Land Company, Disney would have a win, I can dream.
What is Disney's actual financial situation (take in account they need to pay Comcast $27B in 2024 for the remainder of Hulu)?

The financial situation was dire, hence the CEO change. It won't change overnight, but Wall Street was significantly shocked by the financial results and outlook with Disney losing on Streaming even thoughts it's their priority.

The parks continue to be utilized solely to lift revenue for other company projects.

 

[Mad Dog]

Ding dong, the witch is dead. > ...I'm betting Disney quits funneling soooo much money into Disney + (-)...Iger had been criticizing Chapek big time for that during the past two years. Though Iger had started
The streaming move, he expressed concern that Chapek had emphasized Disney + at the expense of the other company divisions.

 

[HandsomePete]

As I told my friends when they told me the news... at least as far as Parks & Resorts are concerned, this will go to show that nothing will really change and Chapek was never really the problem. Just the easiest scapegoat.

Chapek was genuinely unqualified for the role, but I’ve never really understood the level of vitriol for him. The penny-pinching existed before he arrived and will continue after he’s gone. Personally I think he became the poster child for a lot of broader issues. For example, it’s not Chapek’s fault that Orlando has become borderline unaffordable for the workers who are the backbone of the city’s economy. Blame Bob C became the new “thanks Shanghai” when it’s way deeper than that.

the real reason....hostile takeover approaching

A fund buying less than half a percent of a company and demanding a board seat despite not being one of the ten largest institutional holders isn’t a hostile takeover, it’s someone buying low and trying to get headlines for his fund in the process.

 

[Mad Dog]

CNBC is reporting that their sources said the Disney Board reached out to Iger on Friday. ....and that the Disney Board had not considered any other candidates. Disney's last earnings report deeply concerned the board and triggered this action according to CNBC sources......Disney stock price up apx. 10% at opening.

 

[MrBlonde]

What is Disney's actual financial situation (take in account they need to pay Comcast $27B in 2024 for the remainder of Hulu)?

As of fiscal year-end on 10/1/22, they had $11.6 billion in cash with another $12.6 billion due to them, down from $15.9 billion from last year. They'll be able to afford Hulu fine, most likely selling debt to do so.

Check page 18 on the PDF for the entire balance sheet.
q4-fy22-earnings.pdf (thewaltdisneycompany.com)

A fund buying less than half a percent of a company and demanding a board seat despite not being one of the ten largest institutional holders isn’t a hostile takeover, it’s someone buying low and trying to get headlines for his fund in the process.

It's not a hostile takeover. It's activist investing and that fund is influential on Wall Street. They could've tried to turn other investors against the management and bring their own Board in to turns things around.

Chapek would've been fine as a CFO, but he was a bad manager of people and the public. A lot of the ideas were not his own but as the face of the organization, he stood by them but didn't have that PR polish other CEOs had.

 

[Mad Dog]

One thing to look at is Chapek's influence on the Theme Parks management goes much further back than his time as CEO . Iger's management style was always to delegate a lot of responsibility
to the individual division heads. So when Chapek was in charge of the theme park division, he had considerable decision making power. Chapek conversely was a micro manager. He, for
all intents and purposes, was making the decisions on the theme parks and d'Amaro was essentially just a lackey figurehead. So the Chapek footprint on the parks has been present for a long time.
Iger will probably return a lot of the decision making input to the various division heads for the movies, parks etc.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

Six sure is more than two!

More than two, yes! But I think the Board's going to want him to fix the issues in place: and I don't think it can be solved in two years.

 

[Mad Dog]

from the NY Times....CNBC Jim Cramer had called for Chapek's firing after the recent quarterly report, Cramer said that Chapek was 'incapable of running a fantastic company', and ''we
need someone new at Disney'. Cramer added 'that balance sheet is the balance sheet from hell' Times also reports that investors were upset with Chapek's nonchalant attitude during the
earnings call session. and that 'the comments by Cramer ricocheted among senior executives at Disney, who had become increasingly irate, with a few telling each other that they had lost
confidence in Mr. Chapek's ability to lead Disney out of it's slump'.........This all sounds like this was a serious revolt coming from Investors, the Board, and internal Executives.

 

[HandsomePete]

One thing to look at is Chapek's influence on the Theme Parks management goes much further back than his time as CEO . Iger's management style was always to delegate a lot of responsibility
to the individual division heads. So when Chapek was in charge of the theme park division, he had considerable decision making power. Chapek conversely was a micro manager. He, for
all intents and purposes, was making the decisions on the theme parks and d'Amaro was essentially just a lackey figurehead. So the Chapek footprint on the parks has been present for a long time.
Iger will probably return a lot of the decision making input to the various division heads for the movies, parks etc.

The notion of Josh being a lackey in his current role is way more accurate than most would think. People remember his reputation from being a site president or his first stint at WDW, but he’s good at reading the room and protecting himself. For example, Josh was completely against paid FastPass until he couldn’t be against it any longer.

But also Staggs was just as much of a micromanager than Chapek, perhaps more so. Like… made final decisions on light fixtures levels of micromanaging… so we should probably be glad he never got the CEO role.

the comments by Cramer ricocheted among senior executives at Disney

Jim Cramer playing the unlikely Disney hero wasn’t on my 2022 bingo card - I thought the guy was a washed up blowhard.

 

[Mad Dog]

The notion of Josh being a lackey in his current role is way more accurate than most would think. People remember his reputation from being a site president or his first stint at WDW, but he’s good at reading the room and protecting himself. For example, Josh was completely against paid FastPass until he couldn’t be against it any longer.

But also Staggs was just as much of a micromanager than Chapek, perhaps more so. Like… made final decisions on light fixtures levels of micromanaging… so we should probably be glad he never got the CEO role.

Good comments. Seems accurate looking at the history. ......I recall the days when Magic Bands etc. was conceptualized. Seems Iger's role was more of an outside boss who only bought into it when the Theme Park
heads told him it would get Disney more money out of their guest's wallets. Iger always seemed embarrassed, and not very informed, at quarterly investor calls when challenged on any return on investment from the costly Magic
initiative.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Chapek is a symptom not the disease inside the company.

 

[Mad Dog]

While the last quarterly report was really bad, I'm speculating that the 'internal' numbers since Oct. 1, and 2023 projections, were looking down also, therefore accelerating the necessity of the move.

 

[Jerroddragon]

It wont happen but if Bob wants a easy win for the company announce Star Wars Episode ten, set 50+ years after episode 9 with George Lucas Directing with Dave Filoni writing and producing it.

Set up a new Era beyond the Skywalker Legacy while still giving room for Rey show/movie inbetween if that can ever happen.

 

[shiekra38]

I don't like either Bob, but one Bob is better than the other Bob

While the last quarterly report was really bad, I'm speculating that the 'internal' numbers since Oct. 1, and 2023 projections, were looking down also, therefore accelerating the necessity of the move.

"Disney+ will be profitable by 2045" - Bob Chapek on his future plans for Epcot

 

[Fear2010]

I’m actually waiting for a biopic movie about both Iger and Chapek decades from now called “The Battle of The Bobs: Who Is The Bobbiest Bob of All?” Sounds like an instant classic.

 

[shiekra38]

I’m actually waiting for a biopic movie about both Iger and Chapek decades from now called “The Battle of The Bobs: Who Is The Bobbiest Bob of All?” Sounds like an instant classic.

Disney will own all media by 2024, they'll never allow it

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I’m actually waiting for a biopic movie about both Iger and Chapek decades from now called “The Battle of The Bobs: Who Is The Bobbiest Bob of All?” Sounds like an instant classic.

Disney War 2 - Electric Bobiloo