The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS | DIS Price Prediction) stock price has gone up for all the wrong reasons. Three aggressive investors want management out. ValueAct Capital wants management to change its turnaround plan. It joins activist investors Nelson Peltz and Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, former board chair of Marvel Entertainment. The target of their ire is Disney CEO Bob Iger.
The Trouble With Bob Iger
Bob Iger has the wind at his back with Disney’s theme park business. It is a steady earner, and the number of visits continues to grow, even though Disney has raised visitor prices. Consumer spending nationwide has been strong, and this has helped the theme park numbers. Disney’s parks in Asia and Europe also do well.
Iger has not figured out what to do with his legacy media assets, including ABC and ESPN. Advertising has been soft, which undermines ABC’s earnings. ESPN has lost advertising and some of its revenue from cable systems that carry the channel. Iger wants to sell a piece to a strategic partner, which might be one of the sports leagues. He has no takers.
Disney’s Largest Problem
If Bob Iger were up against a single hostile activist investor, it would be one thing. Three may be too much for him to handle.
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