Craman Countdown panelists Robbie Whelan and Kenneth Leung explain Disney’s battle against Trian Partners.
All eyes will be on Disney late Tuesday morning as the entertainment giant releases its long-awaited second-quarter results to investors.
Bob Iger’s company said it plans to release results before the morning stock market opens. This marks a change from the entertainment giant’s typical after-the-report run in recent quarters, including last quarter.
Ahead of the company’s earnings, here are some topics that are top of mind for many Disney investors.
CEO succession
Disney CEO Bob Iger (Axel/Bauer Griffin/FilmMagic/File/Getty Images)
Disney reinstated Iger as CEO in November 2022, then signed a contract that extended his contract for another two years until the end of 2026. Since Mr. Iger took back the reins from Bob Chapek, the question of who will ultimately succeed Mr. Iger has been looming. again and again.
“The list appears to have been narrowed down to four division executives, which we view as a clear shortlist,” Wells Fargo’s Stephen Cahall said in an April 22 research note. “We believe it is important that the board begin to suggest one or two potential successors.”
| ticker | safety | last | change | change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIS | walt disney company | 116.47 | +2.81 | +2.47% |
Disney Experience chairman Josh D’Amaro, ESPN chairman James Pitaro, and Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Dana Walden and Alan Bergman are among the top insiders the company is eyeing, according to reports. That’s what it means.
Disney wins proxy battle with activist investor Nelson Peltz
In January, Disney, which is in the midst of a proxy battle with Nelson Peltz and the Trian Group, said it “remains committed and proactive in the high-priority task of succession planning.” . The company has a succession planning committee dedicated to that.
ABC riot
President Kim Godwin’s retirement announcement shook ABC News’ leadership over the weekend. (Eric Thayer/Bloomberg/File/Getty Images)
ABC News experienced a leadership shakeup over the weekend with the retirement of Kim Godwin. Debra O’Connell, who was recently promoted to president of Disney Entertainment News Group and Networks, has joined to lead the division.
FOX News Digital reported that Godwin said she was “confident” that her decision to retire from journalism was “the right one for me to look to the future and prioritize what’s most important to me and my family.” That’s what it means. Even before this development, some people within ABC News were reportedly unhappy with her leadership approach.
ABC News president Kim Godwin resigns after reports of chaos within the network
ABC News is part of Disney’s Linear Networks business. The division, which faces continued challenges, had first-quarter sales of $2.8 billion and operating income of $1.24 billion, down 12% and 7%, respectively, from the same period last year.
streaming business
Disney’s streaming business consists of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. (Rafael Enrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket/File/Getty Images)
Disney aims to make its streaming business profitable, and the latest progress toward that goal is expected to be announced this morning.
The company’s streaming business consists of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. These platforms had 224.5 million direct-to-consumer subscribers worldwide as of the end of the first quarter.
Efforts to achieve profitability include tightening password sharing across the board and rolling out a “Hulu on Disney+” feature on its namesake streaming platform. The latter became available to people in the US in the Disney bundle in late March.
Regarding the crackdown on password sharing, Disney+ users can expect to get “new features that allow renters to start their own subscriptions” this summer, CFO Hugh Johnston said in early February. Following this, account holders will be able to pay an additional fee for people outside their household to stream on their subscription, expected “later this year.”
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Wells Fargo said in a research note that Disney expects Disney+ Core will have a net increase of 4 million subscribers in both fiscal years 2025 and 2026, exceeding previous projections.
“Furthermore, we have analyzed the cancellation benefits from the Hulu tile, which includes Disney+, and believe we could potentially add nearly $400 million in additional OI,” the memo said.
Johnston said in February that Disney is “more than ever on our path to building a strong, sustainable streaming business with long-term subscriber growth and ultimately double-digit operating margins.” I’m confident.”
Revenue from Disney’s streaming business combined was $6.075 billion in the first quarter. Meanwhile, operating losses fell by 79% to just $216 million.
Fox News Digital’s Lindsay Kornick and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
