Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
He supposedly lobbied them hard. But the DuPont thing may have poisoned that well
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News The Walt Disney Company Board of Directors Extends Robert A. Iger’s Contract as CEO Through 2026
- Thread starter DCBaker
- Start date
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
I still think their major voting blocks declared early and in a coordinated fashion to claim an early lead. I’d agree that 30+% is not great. 40% is not going to be a true victory at all.
We’ll see in two days. But with the three major funds declaring presumably for the company, it shouldn’t be that close.
Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
MCU had THREE top ten hits in 2022 and one in 2023. We’ve gone through this. It’s true even if it’s inconvenient for you.
Slpy3270
Well-Known Member
Yeah I imagine they made their decision before the February quarterly report.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
Not sure I see the contradiction. I'd prefer Iger plan for the company's future beyond his time as CEO, but 2026 is also a few years into the future which gives him time to execute the plans he's talking about.
Slpy3270
Well-Known Member
What plans? He's had 10 years to think of a plan the moment their cash-cow TV networks and ESPN started losing subscribers. People aren't gonna wait til 2026 to see that plan executed, especially if pay TV overall is no longer profitable by then. Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery might not even exist by then; you want Disney to join that group?
Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
What plan do you suggest?
Slpy3270
Well-Known Member
That's the thing. No one has a plan, but time is rapidly running out to formulate one.
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
Yeah so what’s Iger’s plan?
WoundedDreamer
Well-Known Member
But the improvements in the quarterly earnings have been driven primarily by reducing expenditures. That's an admirable move from a financial discipline perspective, but doesn't change the fundamental structural problems facing Disney. Namely, that the linear channels are in terminal decline and the movie studios are struggling to generate profitable content. Nothing has changed to indicate Disney's woes in those two areas are going to end. There are potential fixes, but with no guarantees that they will succeed.
Disney has spent tens of billion of dollars on its "transformation" both in acquisitions and losses on Disney+. Money was no issue as Iger and his hand-picked successor spent $100 billion on Fox, Bamtech, Hulu, and streaming losses. We're still in the midst of Disney's struggle, not because Disney didn't have enough resources. Instead, they failed because their strategic decisions and creative decisions have been terrible. Disney has destroyed tens of billions in shareholder value.
That's not to say there's no reason for optimism. But count me as skeptical that Iger has solved the two major problems facing Disney. I'm waiting to be proven wrong.
WoundedDreamer
Well-Known Member
This is a huge win for Iger and the Disney board! 1 down, 2 to go!
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
Nah…gonna take at least until 2030 to get the new yacht in the water
Serpico Jones
Well-Known Member
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
Streaming- Spinning off India into a JV. Taking a moderate streaming approach (curated Netflix as opposed to Netflix). Increasing ARPU via subscription cost, ads and password sharing. Full US integration of Hulu to help with value and retention.
Sports- ESPN streaming. ESPN linear sporting joint venture.
Parks- A massive capex upgrade for Parks with targeted expansion of all gates over time. DCL new ships (speculative but probable).
Studios- Iger being Iger. Which I think they are hopeful is better than Chapek being Chapek.
Succession - Board lead - a major board refreshment to add people with experience for the process, probably Dana Walden in a COO role 18 months before his scheduled departure.
I think a linear sale might still be slightly on the table, but maybe off?
BrianLo
Well-Known Member
Not technically at this current juncture. I’m really not counting the detached from reality streaming bubble when most of their other core business were closed.
Now if the current run doesn’t ‘stick’, fair enough!
I’m cognizant that the stock can’t continue to post another 20-30% or then we are way overheating again unless their overall revenue as you say changes. Margins only get you so far. I think there is more revenue in D+ to come though, we still haven’t seen the December price hikes play out.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
That’s just the company line…
Nobody is asking how they’ll generate the profits necessary to do…really anything they would need…from their standalone streaming service?
…there’s a reason why
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Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
Hollywood is skeptical that Disney CEO Bob Iger will step down in 2026 as successor search continues
“It wouldn’t surprise me if he stays,” the Disney source said of Iger. “He is ageless and there aren’t many internal successors who are ready.”
nypost.com
Slpy3270
Well-Known Member
I've read one Wrap article suggesting Iger won't sell the networks because he's worried Disney will immediately become a takeover target.
That's exactly what happened when Time Warner spun-off Time Inc. and its magazines in 2014 and was followed a month later by Fox's infamous $80 billion bid; Jeff Bewkes said no thanks and investors never forgave him for that.
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
This fundamentally will not work long-term. Netflix’s fire hose of mostly mediocre/bad content means a never ending flood of new stuff that covers a variety of demos. They completely avoid theatrical. Disney’s curation hinges on unevenly-received franchise series, for the D+ side, which throws theatrical releases into imbalance (see: The Marvels). Curation will lead to plateauing sooner rather than later at this scale.