The Walt Disney World
Company is preparing for a future without
current CEO Bob Iger.
Iger returned two years
ago to a changing media landscape. He was the longtime CEO, bringing Disney to
new heights with a stock price nearing $200 a share.
The stock price was down
to $90.81 in trading on Wednesday.
Iger revealed he will be
stepping down again as CEO in 2026, saying he is 100 percent positive. Disney
has already begun searching for a replacement, but nearly everybody agrees that
Bob Chapek, who replaced Iger two years ago, did not work out as well as hoped.
Disney is still involved
in a feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Iger is embroiled in a battle
with investor Nathan Peltz, who owns about $3 billion in Disney stock.
The company’s market cap
is still $166 billion, but collectively, shareholders said they have lost $70
billion since last February.
The company is looking at
cost-cutting measures and is rumored to be in the market to sell ESPN and ABC.
However, the company wants to expand its signature Walt Disney World theme park
in Orlando.
The company is said to
spend $60 billion over the next ten years in all of its theme parks.
Disney announced the
return of dividends to investors and will begin returning $0.30 per share in
2024. Peltz is not looking to replace Iger but wants to fill several board
seats with like-minded allies. That is, he wants to have people who have
shareholder value as one of their main concerns.
Iger did say two months
ago that he would try to quell
the dispute with the Florida governor.
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