Well, there is a difference between maximizing value in the short term and actually maximizing value for real, which means over the long haul. The former is ultimately disastrous for a company. And, yes, there are unethical and corrupt CEO's who use the former for personal benefit while not caring what happens to the company or its shareholders in the long term. And, unfortunately, "the market" often incentivizes looking at what happens in one quarter over what is happening long term.
That being said, not every company and every CEO is like that. Companies that want to last and prosper can't just look at what is happening today. I do not know Bob Iger personally and am not likely to ever meet him. I can't say what personally drives the man. But looking at his tenure with the company, there is significant evidence to suggest that he is willing to make significant investments in development that will only pay off over the long term.
For example, right now, we are seeing the single largest expansion in the theme parks that the company -- probably any company, for that matter -- has ever undertaken. You may not agree with every decision being made in the parks. You may think the entire thing is a bad idea and needed to go in a different direction. But there's no question that the company is spending capital today for returns that won't be seen for years. That is not the mark of a CEO trying to maximize a quarter's worth of profit for his own gain.
I'm not saying Bob Iger is the perfect CEO or that Disney is making all the right decisions. However, to argue that he is making a string of bad decisions solely with the purpose of driving up value over the next few quarters to enrich himself at the expense of the company's long-term viability seems totally counter to the actual evidence of what the company is doing.
