Bob Iger returning to Disney as CEO?

[CastAStone]

We've seen these weird, sniping articles before. And he made it through even before hiring a fixer. I expect once the financials come in after these attendance increases and the implementation of Genie that only superfans will be calling for his head. People can even hate the product, but as long as they pay for it that won't matter.

Disney is valued as a growth company, not a blue chip. If Genie+ / other nickel and diming measures makes the company’s/parks Q scores or NPS fall (big investors LOVE those soft metrics) it will be lethal to the stock price.

 

[pdude81]

Disney is valued as a growth company, not a blue chip. If Genie+ / other nickel and diming measures makes the company’s/parks Q scores or NPS fall (big investors LOVE those soft metrics) it will be lethal to the stock price.

We'll see how it goes. I think they have some built in excuses and a year of "gimmes" for growth metrics. Disney+ is a huge variable but we've already seen that correction. They just need to weather the PR storm for 6 months or a year until these two new rides open and nobody is talking about Genie anymore. Especially if they make some minor adjustments to make it more user friendly. I worry more for Disney about Epic Universe eating their lunch in the long term.

Of course I could be very wrong about all of this. We'll get a sense in February whether he's in a hot seat or not.

 

[HauntedPirate]

I’m reading more business articles lately that are not favorable to Disney or $lappie. There’s surprisingly little faith in him on Wall Street right now. Reorgs, moving loyalists into positions of power, and his general lack of people skills, not to mention D+ lagging sub projections and $lappie announcing $33 billion in content production in FY22 for D+, have done little to inspire the sharp pencil people outside the company.

$33 billion for Disney+ content in one year, by the way, is $7+ billion more than all the domestic CapEx for domestic parks during Iger’s tenure as CEO combined. And D+ isn’t generating a profit right now. Long game, I know, but I still can’t help but think this was a huge gamble that may not pay off in the long run.

 

[larryz]

Rumors have been circulating recently about charging surge-demand prices for toilet Lightning Lane passes around World Showcase during festivals. No word yet if this one is circling the drain or if it could be flush with cash.

The press picked up on this rumor: urinal the papers.

 

[larryz]

So what you're saying is... if someone were to push Chapek off of a tall building in Burbank, he wouldn't be able to fly back to the top of the building? Hypothetically.

What I'm saying is there's an underground movement in Disney that's been exposed in episode 6 of Hawkeye. Watch it and see who the main villain reminds you of...

 

[larryz]

The success of getting Pandora in a Disney park is what I am talking about and I am sure you know that. Iger and Cameron had a good relationship, this is right from Cameron mouth. Without Iger it very well may never have happened, probably wouldn't of, This is not conjecture it's actually fact.

If you have to say "very well may never have" or "probably wouldn't have," it's not fact.

 

[CastAStone]

$33 billion for Disney+ content in one year,

The $33bn includes all programming across all platforms and all countries, including movies, Hulu, ABC, cable, and paying leagues/conferences for sports rights.

 

[Ayla]

I’m reading more business articles lately that are not favorable to Disney or $lappie. There’s surprisingly little faith in him on Wall Street right now. Reorgs, moving loyalists into positions of power, and his general lack of people skills, not to mention D+ lagging sub projections and $lappie announcing $33 billion in content production in FY22 for D+, have done little to inspire the sharp pencil people outside the company.

$33 billion for Disney+ content in one year, by the way, is $7+ billion more than all the domestic CapEx for domestic parks during Iger’s tenure as CEO combined. And D+ isn’t generating a profit right now. Long game, I know, but I still can’t help but think this was a huge gamble that may not pay off in the long run.

I don't follow Wall Street or investing news at all and even I'm seeing them. Chapek is making waves, but not in a good way.

 

[pdude81]

I don't follow Wall Street or investing news at all and even I'm seeing them. Chapek is making waves, but not in a good way.

This is very true. But remember when there was a narrative about how he was angering talent and people wouldn't want to work with Disney anymore? Poof.

Now if he goes full speed ahead on these programs and the sky doesn't fall, he's in great shape. If it does fall, he'll be crushed.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Iger was nowhere near as bad as some here make it seem.

1) January 24, 2006, under Iger's leadership, Disney announced it would acquire Pixar for $7.4 billion in an all-stock transaction.

2) In August 2009, Iger spearheaded negotiations that led Disney to acquire Marvel Entertainment and its associated assets for $4 billion. As of August 2014, Disney has recouped over $4 billion at the box office through the Marvel movies.[34

3) In October 2012, Iger signed a deal with film producer George Lucas to purchase Lucasfilm Ltd. for $4 billion following several months of negotiations. As a result, Disney acquired the rights to the Star Wars multimedia franchise and Indiana Jones.[37] Following its release on December 18, 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens grossed over $2 billion at the box office.

Roy Disney said of Iger: Animation has always been the heart and soul of The Walt Disney Company, and it is wonderful to see Bob Iger and the company embrace that heritage by bringing the outstanding animation talent of the Pixar team back into the fold. This clearly solidifies The Walt Disney Company's position as the dominant leader in motion picture animation and we applaud and support Bob Iger's vision.

All I know anything that Iger may have started or been aware of like charging for a new skip the line scheme fell and falls on Chapek. Chapek could of reversed course when he came in. It is debatable Iger would of ever gone through any of these so called in the works plans anyhow. That's like saying out current president couldn't change course on Afghanistan in the several months he actually had to change course once he saw what was happening, but not doing so blaming his predecessor for a deal the predecessor made a year before when things were completely different.

All I know is some of the best trips of my life happened under Iger's watch and the worst WDW trips have been under Chapek. Unfair maybe, but Chapek made decisions that I feel were blamed on Covid that looking back I feel may have had little to do with Covid. Covid was used as an excuse to make these changes that never could of happened under any other circumstance without enormous blow back. Chapek made the decisions during Covid that he made, so it's on him, period.

So for me Iger in heartbeat, no way he couldn't have done at least as well as Chapek has, in my eyes anyhow.

By Iger's own admission he wasn't a parks guy. His legacy will be the acquisitions.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

By Iger's own admission he wasn't a parks guy. His legacy will be the acquisitions.

This won't be popular around here, but, while I would agree that Iger generally wasn't good for the parks, it is an open question for me whether the parks were in a better position after he left than when he became CEO.

I think the value proposition was undoubtedly worse. That has probably had the biggest impact on me personally as it has almost erased my desire to go to WDW. The hoards keep going and the investors demand ever-growing profits, so to some extent he and the executives have done exactly what our entire economic system instructs them to do, though. The unthemed resorts in the final years as well as the suffocating IP mandate were also undoubted negatives, as was underinvestment in new attractions during Iger's early years.

On the other hand, he did clear away most of the cheapness and tackiness of the late-Eisner period. In some cases, such as DCA and DLRP, the quality notably rose. In the case of Epcot, the park was in bad shape when he took over and when he left. We rightfully pick over the ugly crêperie now on here, but when Iger took over new additions tended to be along the lines of a carnival ride in the middle of Adventureland or a new part of a dismembered Mickey Mouse being draped over a park icon. I don't like the IP mandate, but at least they put some effort into quality these days. That wasn't the case when Iger took over as CEO.

 

[TikibirdLand]

This won't be popular around here, but, while I would agree that Iger generally wasn't good for the parks, it is an open question for me whether the parks were in a better position after he left than when he became CEO.

I think the value proposition was undoubtedly worse. That has probably had the biggest impact on me personally as it has almost erased my desire to go to WDW. The hoards keep going and the investors demand ever-growing profits, so to some extent he and the executives have done exactly what our entire economic system instructs them to do, though. The unthemed resorts in the final years as well as the suffocating IP mandate were also undoubted negatives, as was underinvestment in new attractions during Iger's early years.

On the other hand, he did clear away most of the cheapness and tackiness of the late-Eisner period. In some cases, such as DCA and DLRP, the quality notably rose. In the case of Epcot, the park was in bad shape when he took over and when he left. We rightfully pick over the ugly crêperie now on here, but when Iger took over new additions tended to be along the lines of a carnival ride in the middle of Adventureland or a new part of a dismembered Mickey Mouse being draped over a park icon. I don't like the IP mandate, but at least they put some effort into quality these days. That wasn't the case when Iger took over as CEO.

Wonder what the parks would have been like had Wells not died. I think he and Eisner made a great team. I don't think DCA would have turned out as bad as it did -- even with the utter failure of Euro-Disney. I'd speculate that we'd get something like GE for less money; that difference could have been used to maintain the rest of the park. All of that is water-under-the-bridge. I, too, have lost a lot of interest in returning to the parks. Disney WAS live entertainment. Not anymore.

 

[VJ]

I wish there was A Disney still somewhere in the leadership, maybe they would at least have some pride at what their Grandfather or Great Uncle created and care about seeing it continue to be the Most Magical Place on Earth, rather than a Cash Machine to please Wall Street.

I don't think the living Disneys are interested enough in taking over the company (or having anything to do with the company at all, see Abigail).

 

[JoeCamel]

I don't think the living Disneys are interested enough in taking over the company (or having anything to do with the company at all, see Abigail).

I think they should give her a shot at it, what could go wrong?

 

[Crunchie9]

I wish they would have built a 5th park that will target the demographics that universal
does. The villain park would be a perfect high thrill park.

disney doesn’t have anything in that range. Instead they build a theme hotel.

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

As Bob Iger Departs, Disney Investors Also Look to Get Off the Ride

Right....where are all our "I'm a stockholder" peeps on this Forum? They could shed some "insider" light here.....

 

[Lilofan]

Right....where are all our "I'm a stockholder" peeps on this Forum? They could shed some "insider" light here.....

Part of my investments is in mutual funds in Vanguard. I'm a long term investor and some of the funds have almost 8% of their portfolio betting on TWDC. Vanguard is the largest investor owning millions of shares of Disney.

 

[Crunchie9]

Right....where are all our "I'm a stockholder" peeps on this Forum? They could shed some "insider" light here.....

I sold.

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

Part of my investments is in mutual funds in Vanguard. I'm a long term investor and some of the funds have almost 8% of their portfolio betting on TWDC. Vanguard is the largest investor owning millions of shares of Disney.

Thank you for your insight.......

Leverage buyout in your future?

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

I sold.

Might have held it a bit longer.......