There were two farewells this past Sunday evening, Elton John’s Farewell Tour was live-streamed from Dodgers Stadium on Disney+ and The Walt Disney Company said goodbye to CEO Bob Chapek and hello … again … to Bob Iger.
Today, as the markets opened up, Disney stock [$DIS] soared as investors and fans alike cheered Iger’s unexpected return. At the time of writing, the stock is slightly over $100.00 a share. In pre-market trading, shares were up 8.5% over Friday’s closing.
It’s unsurprising that Wall Street reacted this way considering the rocky tenure of Chapek.
Chapek, who recently signed a new multi-year contract, had a disastrous Q4 earnings report, in which many people inside Disney, as well as investors, felt his tone anywhere from “happy-go-lucky” to “tone deaf.”
Immediately after Disney’s earnings report, Mad Money’s Jim Cramer said on CNBC’s Squawk Box, that Chapek should be fired. He went on to say that Chapek was incapable of running a “fantastic company” and that Disney needs “someone new.”
During his nearly three-year tenure, Chapek angered nearly everyone from Disney Cast Members and fans to investors on a number of subjects including his initial silence on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, incurring the wrath of Republicans when he spoke out against it, to his dispute with Scarlett Johansson.
Fans have been voicing their displeasure with Chapek about being “nickeled and dimed” at Disney Parks including various price increases on park tickets and annual passes, as well as the introduction of charges for services and features of things that used to be free like Disney’s Genie+.
In a press release, Disney stated that Iger has agreed to serve as CEO for the next two years “with a mandate from the Board to set the strategic direction for renewed growth and to work closely with the Board in developing a successor to lead the Company at the completion of his term.”
“I am an optimist, and if I learned one thing from my years at Disney, it is that even in the face of uncertainty—perhaps especially in the face of uncertainty—our employees and Cast Members achieve the impossible,” Iger said in a memo to employees seen by Reuters.
Are you happy to see Bob Iger return as CEO? If so, let us know in the comments below.
Check out our other covering on the ousting of Bob Chapek and Iger’s return:
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Just my opinion, I’m indifferent.
While I do think it’s good that Chapek is gone as CEO of Disney, I don’t think Iger is going to wave a magic wand and restore everything that made Disney magical. Although, he will most likely bring some much needed stability and vision that will be good for employees. This should positively impact us as well, even if it’s indirectly.
The truth is that the Disney Board of Directors is as bad or worse than Chapek himself. They literally just gave him a multi-year extension only to get rid of him shortly after. It’s clear to me that he board itself doesn’t know what it’s doing either and probably should get an overhaul as well.
We can say they did the right thing by removing Chapek as CEO, but the truth is, they should have never given him a contract extension. Their shortsighted decision to extend his contract right before replacing him, resulting in a much higher severance package and costing the company and its investors (including the board members themselves) millions of dollars. I don’t see how this should be overlooked, even if the right decision was finally made. I won’t be surprised if this is investigated, to be honest, we’re talking a lot of money here.
Iger should be able to right the ship regardless, but imagine what could be done with the right people on the board. It’s time for a board revamp, IMHO.
I know it probably won’t happen, but it really is what should happen in order to fix Disney long term.
I can’t agree more with you @Captain Chris — perfectly said.
What Iger does bring to the table is bringing the focus of the company BACK to story-telling. I don’t believe he’ll lower prices at the parks or as you say “wave his magic wand” and bring back the glory days of the parks.
I believe his optimism and vision will set the focus for everyone (from top to bottom) and this will invigorate cast members. I do believe he will begin the process of righting the ship and doing things in such a way that allows us “legacy fans” to beg them to take our money.
I hated the term “legacy fans” when Josh used it to describe people and families like me. I hope they quit biting the hands that have fed them for YEARS, and actually make it appealing to be a passholder (or DVC member) again. I truly have felt dismayed and insulted in the past 18 months by the way we’ve been treated.
I’m hoping Iger makes this right — or at least steers the ship in the right direction.
Yes I am Please get the prices back in line threre idiculous, and Things that were free like fast pack are expensive now
i am glad bob iger is back he has been a better ceo than bob chaypec and i hope bob iger will make it easeyer to get into the parks i miss the free fast passes i only got to go on two rides at disney because i dont use the magic bands and payed lightning lanes stand by is werse i miss the free fast pass lanes
YES!!!!!!! Best news EVER! Welcome back Mr. Iger. Looking forward to seeing Disney magic restored.
Best. News. Ever!!! Thank you so much, Mr. Iger, for agreeing to come back!! Now I can get excited about our upcoming WDW trip again. So happy to have hope for the return of the magic!
YES!!! I feel he was destroying Disney by the added prices hiking up and stuff that we should not be paying for, especially if we had already bought a ticket. When I heard he was preparing to do layoffs and a freeze, I knew something more worse might come. Why lay off when they had just done this during/after COVID?! They just resumed hiring! I thought that was a crazy idea.
I’m glad Bob Iger has returned and hope that he can help get Disney back on its feet! I am quite happy! I always will love Disney; I felt it was falling apart and I was afraid of the coming outcome.
I wish all of Disney well and am glad to hear of this! I feel this is a step in the RIGHT direction now! I love Disney forever!!
(This is my feelings alone-even if no one else agrees.)
I do want to clarify something. I’ve seen MANY reports and comments about perks of a Disney vacation being free and now they are not.
I never EVER considered these perks as “free.” They were a part of the cost each person paid for a Disney vacation, a Disney resort stay, or simply a Disney park ticket. They were all INCLUDED in the cost.
The bus from the airport to WDW aka Magical Express. The Fast-pass system. The simple colored Magic bands. Parking at the resorts. Etc. All of these were not free, but were INCLUDED in the cost of the vacation, the resort stay and the park ticket. It was this very package of “perks” that separated Disney from any of their competition. And believe me, ANY of them definitely nickeled and dimed you to death for all these things because their admission or quality wasn’t as on par with Disney. (Ok, Universal may be an exception).
But I never thought of these perks as free. They were included with your cost. NOW? They are NOT included with the cost. NOW these perks cost EXTRA. It’s THAT very fact that differentiates it from what we had before.
The value just simply hasn’t been there and has put quite a bit of a bad taste in many people’s mouths. It’s why–instead of going to WDW for my birthday last year (like I have done for so long)–I went elsewhere. I paid a fraction of the cost, had WAY less hassle, and a more relaxing vacation.
I am hoping that Iger brings back the value of a Disney vacation — regardless of how it looks. Bring back the value and the magic. Do that, and we’ll return to begging Disney to take our money!