Disney extends CEO Bob Iger’s contract through 2026, two years longer than planned

The Walt Disney Company will extend CEO Bob Iger’s deal by two years, extending his tenure through 2026.

Shares of the company were effectively flat after the news.

Iger told CNBC in February that he had no intention to stay longer than two years in his post, which would have taken him through 2024. Iger returned to Disney in November, retaking the job from Bob Chapek, who was appointed CEO in early 2020. Iger planned to prepare a his next successor during his new stint as CEO.

The succession process remains a key issue for Iger, who noted in a statement Wednesday that the board of directors of the company continues to evaluate candidates for the post. “I want to ensure Disney is strongly positioned when my successor takes the helm,” Iger said of extending his contract. “The importance of the succession process cannot be overstated.”

Iger has delayed succession decisions before, however. On four different occasions between 2013 and 2017, he extended his tenure as CEO after saying he planned to retire.

Iger’s second tenure at Disney has coincided with upheaval in the legacy media space. Big players like Disney have had to contend with a rapidly shifting landscape, as ad dollars dry up and consumers increasingly cut off their cable subscriptions in favor of streaming.

Yet the streaming space has been difficult to navigate in recent quarters, as expenses have swelled and consumers become more conscious about their media spending. The slowdown in streaming subscribers cut valuations for Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global roughly in half in 2022 — before several of the stocks rebounded in the first half of this year along with the broader market.

Since he returned, Iger has undertaken a broad restructuring of the company, including 7,000 layoffs.

“We’ve made important and sometimes difficult…