Recent comments by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of the social-media platform X, ‘have no relevance to the Walt Disney Co.’
— Robert Iger, Disney
The day after the Walt Disney Co. vanquished an activist-investor challenge to its board, Disney’s emboldened chief executive, Bob Iger, dismissed any capacity of the actions of Elon Musk to sway shareholders.
Comments from Musk, who supported billionaire Nelson Peltz in his failed bid to gain two board seats, “have no relevance to the Walt Disney Co.,” Iger said in an interview aired Thursday on CNBC.
Iger deemed the attempt to gain board sway by billionaire Peltz’s Trian Fund Management and another hedge fund, Blackwells Capital, as nothing beyond a “distraction” and said that Peltz ”didn’t have any ideas.”
During a brief presentation to woo shareholders Wednesday, Peltz spoke briefly but did not outline turnaround plans for Disney.
Disney, whose stock has rebounded in recent months, was already focused on making the Disney+ streaming platform profitable, reviving its movie business, and cementing the company’s succession plan.
Iger’s contract runs through 2026.
Dana Walden, co-chair of Disney Entertainment, the business segment in charge of movies and TV shows, is a contender to succeed Iger, according to published reports. If picked, Walden would be Disney’s first woman CEO.
Meanwhile, Peltz, who has eviscerated Disney’s lackluster stock-market performance in recent years, blasted the Magic Kingdom for promoting “woke” themes.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Peltz said: “Why do I have to have a Marvel that’s all women? Not that I have anything against women, but why do I have to do that? Why can’t I have Marvels that are both?”
“Why do I need an all-Black cast?” Peltz said of the Marvel blockbuster “Black Panther.”
The pressure campaign of Trian, which owns more than $3.5 billion in Disney stock and spent $30 million to sway fellow shareholders, has had tangible effects on Disney’s current strategy, according to Wall Street analysts.
Indeed, Iger acknowledged that Disney+ needs to increase user engagement, reduce marketing costs, “program more smartly” outside the U.S. and limit password sharing.
Iger told the cable news channel CNBC that Disney intends to crack down on password sharing in June, starting with a few countries, before a wider rollout in September.
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