What do we do now with the stock of Walt Disney ? If you had the opportunity to hear activist investor Nelson Peltz, the defeated candidate for the Disney board, you did not get a definitive answer, as much as I pressed. We know that when Peltz tried to get on the board last time, he withdrew his candidacy in February 2023. He told me right on CNBC that he was happy with the changes that then-newly returned CEO Bob Iger said he would make. But, at the same time, Peltz took a nice profit on a big chunk of stock. When feeling that Iger was not delivering, Peltz came back and went through the formal process to get board seats but was defeated after what can only be described as a most bitter battle. In my CNBC interview with Peltz on Thursday, he assured us that he would be back if Iger didn’t deliver on his promises. “I hope Bob can keep his promises. I hope they can do all the things they assured us they were going to do,” Peltz told me. “We’ll only watch and wait. If they do it, they’ll never hear from me again. If they don’t, Jim, you may be seeing me on your show next year.” I know that may seem like a foolhardy exercise, but I think the opposite: if we go into proxy season next year and no candidates have been named to replace Iger and the cost takes outs weren’t made and Disney’s streaming isn’t profitable, Peltz will most likely get the votes of the index funds and will have a stronger challenge. Peltz said his issue was not with Iger, it was with the board. He stressed over and over Thursday, and in his argument for the seats, that a succession plan has been needed and the board has not delivered. In an earlier interview on CNBC on Thursday, Iger did address succession plans, particularly the failure of the last one that put Iger’s handpicked successor, Bob Chapek, at the helm, right as Covid was emerging and subsequently ravaged Disney’s main revenue streams of parks and movies during lockdowns. Iger said Disney has learned from the past and the board’s…
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