DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY

[wabbott]

https://www.latimes.com/business/st...hapek-likely-leaving-with-at-least-23-million

Outgoing Disney CEO Bob Chapek likely to leave with at least $23 million

By Anders Melin
Bloomberg
Nov. 21, 2022 10:11 AM PT

Bob Chapek leaves Walt Disney Co.’s top job with exit payments and benefits that could be worth more than $23 million. And that’s not including the millions more he could collect in the coming years if the company’s share price recovers.

The amount is based on calculations by Bloomberg News using disclosures from regulatory filings. Disney hasn’t yet publicly revealed the financial terms of the chief executive officer’s departure, and a representative didn’t respond to a request for comment sent outside normal business hours.

Chapek’s contract entitles him to collect a salary for the full duration of his term, even if he’s ousted prematurely. His term was recently extended to mid-2025, and the paychecks between now and then add up to roughly $6.5 million.

He’s also entitled to the pension he’s accumulated over his decades-long career at Disney. As of October 2021, filings show it stood at $16.9 million. That money is his, regardless of the circumstances of his departure.

As for the rest, he probably will get more, but it’s unclear just how much.

He holds a trove of Disney stock options, most of which are underwater. If he had sold the shares at Friday’s U.S. market close, he would have collected around $3.5 million.

He also holds stock awards he received in prior years that haven’t yet vested. Some of them will probably continue to vest even though he’s no longer at Disney. How much they’ll be worth — and how many shares he’ll receive — will depend on the stock’s ’ trajectory after plunging 41% this year. If they pick back up, both the stock and the options will swell in value.

Disney shares jumped 8.7% to $99.82 at 9:32 a.m. in New York, the most intraday since Aug. 11.

Finally, Chapek has a so-called nonqualified deferred compensation plan, which is akin to a super-sized 401(k) that many large companies set up for high-earning employees. It usually lets them invest some of their earnings into a selection of equity and bond funds. Around a year ago, Chapek had about $8.5 million in his plan, a figure that has likely changed given the recent market volatility.

For now, hardly any of this is etched in stone. It’s not uncommon for boards to strike bespoke exit agreements with CEOs, especially in contentious situations where they are cutting the person’s contract short. And if a board concludes that a CEO broke company policy or didn’t fulfill the commitments of their employment agreement, it may decline to pay the person at all. (Disney’s statement announcing Chapek’s departure and the reinstatement of his predecessor, Bob Iger, didn’t provide reasons for the switch.)

While Chapek’s payout by most measures is a generous one, it’s far from the rich entitlements that some chiefs in the entertainment industry have enjoyed in the past.

When Chapek took over as CEO in 2020, the board set his target pay in the bottom quartile for media chiefs. The move followed years of controversy over Disney’s executive compensation, where everyone from shareholders to lawmakers and a Disney family heir had derided Iger’s pay.

 

[RivShore]

Everyone wants "automatic money." Everyone. Streaming was the Next Big Thing. Easy to do - just sign up customers and the dollars roll in. In the real world it don't work that way. If it's easy to do, there's no money in it. I learned that rule doing industrial/construction sales and estimating for 20 years.

Think of it this way. How many $8/month D+ subscribers do you have to sign up to replace a family of four that drops $5 thousand to $6 thousand twice a year at WDW or DLR/DCA?

Very true and, even more relevant to streaming, how many $8 subscriptions are needed to replace the cable subscribers they are losing every day. The cable companies pay a per subscriber fee for every single ABC/Disney/ESPN/FX/etc. channel, whether the cable companies' subscribers watch them or not. That is a big nut to crack.

 

[RivShore]

And lets not forget that amazing market sear, Jim Cramer, boisterously (the only way he says anything) called for Bob 2.0's firing just days before he was fired...who knew the board were fans?

 

[wabbott]

https://www.ft.com/content/a9277a18-18f6-42ea-a1fb-7e762120846a

Disney executives staged revolt against ousted chief Bob Chapek
Rebellion by senior staff hastened reinstatement of predecessor Bob lger
Anna Nicolaou and James Fontanella-Khan in New York and Alex Barker in London

Senior Walt Disney executives led a rebellion against chief executive Bob Chapek in recent weeks, which resulted in his ousting and replacement with predecessor Bob Iger, according to people familiar with the matter.

The covert campaign to overthrow Chap ek, which began in the summer, came after the outgoing chief executive lost the confidence of some members of his top team during a tumultuous 33 months at the helm of the media empire.

“A lot of people were approaching the board, Iger loyalists who felt marginalized,” said one person with knowledge of the talks.

Shares in Walt Disney rallied by as much as 10 per cent on Monday as investors wagered that Iger, one of America’s most celebrated media executives, could lift morale and boost returns at the company’s costly streaming unit. The company’s stock price remained up more than 5 per cent in early afternoon trading in New York.

Susan Arnold, chair of Disney’s board, contacted Iger a few months ago seeking advice on how to fix the problems at the company, said two of the people. “[The board] were clueless about what to do,” one person added.

Shortly after those talks, Disney executives began approaching the board to express concerns about Chapek’s leadership. Christine McCarthy, chief financial officer, was among the executives who complained, three of the people said. Disney declined to comment.

The final straw was Disney’s bruising earnings release on November 8, during which Chapek reported that the company’s streaming business had lost $1.5bn during the most recent quarter. Three days later, Chapek announced job cuts, telling staff in an email: “We are going to have to make tough and uncomfortable decisions.”

Iger, who ran Disney for 15 years before leaving in 2021, stunned Hollywood on Sunday night by agreeing to replace Chapek. Iger had handpicked Chapek as his successor after he won plaudits for his management of Disney’s theme parks division.

The changes at the top come after the company’s stock had fallen by nearly 40 per cent this year as Disney and others spent heavily to compete in streaming, a business that has been costly and less profitable than cable television or cinema.

Relations between the “two Bobs” quickly soured as Iger bristled over Chapek’s handling of Disney’s creative output and his management shake-up, which introduced more centralised decision making and empowered Chapek’s allies.

The decision to reinstate Iger, brokered by Arnold, came less than six months after Disney renewed Chapek’s contract for a further three years, quelling speculation of a potential exit. People close to Chapek said he became aware of the moves against him some weeks ago but was caught off guard by the speed of events.

The abrupt dismissal will entitle Chapek to a significant payout. Under his old contract, at the end of 2021 he was entitled to an estimated $54mn in cash and stock in the event of early termination. The company has not published the full details of his most recent contract.

Iger, 71, has agreed to stay on for two years to help steady the ship and choose another successor.

Iger, who delayed his retirement four times before finally leaving the company, said in a memo to staff on Sunday that he felt “a bit of amazement” that he was returning to the company.

As recession fears grow, investors have become increasingly concerned about the high costs of streaming, weighing on the valuations of all major US entertainment companies this year.

MoffettNathanson analysts expect Iger to “re-examine” Disney’s streaming strategy.

Steven Cahall, a Wells Fargo analyst, said: “While the announcement doesn’t solve all of Disney’s problems, we think investors will embrace it as it puts perhaps the best leader in media at the helm with a mandate to shake things up.”

 

[Jrb1979]

Very true and, even more relevant to streaming, how many $8 subscriptions are needed to replace the cable subscribers they are losing every day. The cable companies pay a per subscriber fee for every single ABC/Disney/ESPN/FX/etc. channel, whether the cable companies' subscribers watch them or not. That is a big nut to crack.

IMO I don't see Streaming ever being as profitable as cable was. ESPN and ABC got a lot of money with subscriber fees due then being on lower tier cable. You add in the cost of creating new content it's not going to be as big as many originally thought.

 

[irlandaise]

Over the past few months, several high level Disney executives told the board they were considering leaving under Chapek's leadership, the Disney exec told Insider.

More than a "few months" ago, but they lost Joe Rohde in 2020, a huge loss to Disney Imagineering and therefore the spirit of the company.

 

[BrianL]

IMO I don't see Streaming ever being as profitable as cable was. ESPN and ABC got a lot of money with subscriber fees due then being on lower tier cable. You add in the cost of creating new content it's not going to be as big as many originally thought.

Advertising is going to be where it is at. Advertisers want those eyeballs, and they will get them, even when everything is streaming. There will be no ad-free tiers, though possibly reduced ad tiers.

 

[Jrb1979]

Advertising is going to be where it is at. Advertisers want those eyeballs, and they will get them, even when everything is streaming. There will be no ad free tiers, though possibly reduced ad tiers.

Yes but it will never be as profitable as cable is. When you add 4-5 streaming services per household, as most have more then a few they subscribe to, you're back to paying cable prices.

 

[wabbott]

https://www.ft.com/content/a9277a18-18f6-42ea-a1fb-7e762120846a

Disney executives staged revolt against ousted chief Bob Chapek
Rebellion by senior staff hastened reinstatement of predecessor Bob lger
Anna Nicolaou and James Fontanella-Khan in New York and Alex Barker in London

Susan Arnold, chair of Disney’s board, contacted Iger a few months ago seeking advice on how to fix the problems at the company, said two of the people. “[The board] were clueless about what to do,” one person added.

That right there is a gret big ol' red flag. All ya'll better pay attention next spring when you vote your proxies for directors.

 

[Jwaire]

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/21/dis...iger-friday-after-concerns-over-earnings.html

I was wrong. It was CFO Christine McCarthy that contacted Iger and started the revolt. This is going to be such a good book someday.

 

[Cfabar1]

Stock is performing well on the news. Hopefully price can rebound.

 

[Jwaire]

Why are only half the posts showing up on this thread?

It was CFO Christine McCarthy that got Chapek fired and reached out to Bob Iger. I guess I'll forgive her for her portion size comment now.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/21/dis...iger-friday-after-concerns-over-earnings.html

 

[wabbott]

I was re-reading this story and this jumped out at me.

https://www.ft.com/content/a9277a18-18f6-42ea-a1fb-7e762120846a

Disney executives staged revolt against ousted chief Bob Chapek
Rebellion by senior staff hastened reinstatement of predecessor Bob lger
Anna Nicolaou and James Fontanella-Khan in New York and Alex Barker in London

Susan Arnold, chair of Disney’s board, contacted Iger a few months ago seeking advice on how to fix the problems at the company, said two of the people. “[The board] were clueless about what to do,” one person added.

This should be a big red flag. All y'all need to pay attention next spring when you vote your proxies for director slots.

 

[Jwaire]

I was re-reading this story and this jumped out at me.

https://www.ft.com/content/a9277a18-18f6-42ea-a1fb-7e762120846a

Disney executives staged revolt against ousted chief Bob Chapek
Rebellion by senior staff hastened reinstatement of predecessor Bob lger
Anna Nicolaou and James Fontanella-Khan in New York and Alex Barker in London

Susan Arnold, chair of Disney’s board, contacted Iger a few months ago seeking advice on how to fix the problems at the company, said two of the people. “[The board] were clueless about what to do,” one person added.

This should be a big red flag. All y'all need to pay attention next spring when you vote your proxies for director slots.

It's like 1990's Apple all over again. A bunch of clowns.

 

[RivShore]

I was re-reading this story and this jumped out at me.

https://www.ft.com/content/a9277a18-18f6-42ea-a1fb-7e762120846a

Disney executives staged revolt against ousted chief Bob Chapek
Rebellion by senior staff hastened reinstatement of predecessor Bob lger
Anna Nicolaou and James Fontanella-Khan in New York and Alex Barker in London

Susan Arnold, chair of Disney’s board, contacted Iger a few months ago seeking advice on how to fix the problems at the company, said two of the people. “[The board] were clueless about what to do,” one person added.

This should be a big red flag. All y'all need to pay attention next spring when you vote your proxies for director slots.

That jumped out at me to. Scary that the board can be that bad. Vote them all out!

 

[RivShore]

And lets not forget that amazing market sear, Jim Cramer, boisterously (the only way he says anything) called for Bob 2.0's firing just days before he was fired...who knew the board were fans?

In other news, we may soon be able to buy an ETF based on Cramer's picks, either long or inverse

https://nypost.com/2022/11/21/jim-c...tock-prompting-critics-to-joke-time-to-short/

 

[wabbott]

Kareem Daniel's just quit

 

[Nabas]

Kareem Daniel's just quit

I don't think he quit. "Asked to leave" is a nice way to say it.

 

[wabbott]

I don't think he quit. "Asked to leave" is a nice way to say it.

You are correct. But as I was on my afternoon stint on my exercise bicycle and watching CNBC, I only caught the headline. I hurriedly entered the post on my phone, so I have an excuse. And then I had to do my evening viewing of Ducktales, with Uncle Scrooge and Flintheart Glomgold at each other's throats again. Reckon what Scrooge would do if he suddenly was put in charge of DIS?

So there's that.

And now, the complete and unedited "note" sent out from Iger this afternoon regarding the changes to the pecking order of DMED, Disney Media and Entertainment Division.

https://www.laughingplace.com/w/new...ut-as-bob-iger-plans-corporate-restructuring/

Dear DMED Employees,
As we embark on the transformative work that I mentioned to you in my email last night, I want to begin by offering my sincere appreciation and gratitude to each and every one of you. Over the coming weeks, we will begin implementing organizational and operating changes within the company. It is my intention to restructure things in a way that honors and respects creativity as the heart and soul of who we are. As you know, this is a time of enormous change and challenges in our industry, and our work will also focus on creating a more efficient and cost-effective structure.

I’ve asked Dana Walden, Alan Bergman, Jimmy Pitaro, and Christine McCarthy to work together on the design of a new structure that puts more decision-making back in the hands of our creative teams and rationalizes costs, and this will necessitate a reorganization of Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution. As a result, Kareem Daniel will be leaving the company, and I hope you will all join me in thanking him for his many years of service to Disney.

Our goal is to have the new structure in place in the coming months. Without question, elements of DMED will remain, but I fundamentally believe that storytelling is what fuels this company, and it belongs at the center of how we organize our businesses.

This is a moment of great change and opportunity for our company as we begin our second century, and I am so proud to be leading this team again. I can’t say it enough: I’m incredibly grateful for the tremendous work you do each day, and for your commitment to maintaining the level of excellence Disney has always been known for.

I know change can be unsettling, but it is also necessary and even energizing, and so I ask for your patience as we develop a roadmap for this restructuring. More information will be shared over the coming weeks. Until a new structure is put in place, we will continue to operate under our existing structure. In the meantime, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, and thank you again for all you do.

Bob

 

[wabbott]

https://deadline.com/2022/11/bob-iger-pay-package-disney-ceo-1235179514/

Bob Iger’s Pay Package Is Revealed As Exec Spends His First Day Back In Disney CEO Chair
By Dade Hayes

November 21, 2022 3:30pm

Bob Iger, who was reinstalled as CEO of the Walt Disney Co. yesterday, will be eligible to receive up to $27 million in each of the two years he is under contract to lead the company.

The compensation targets covering Iger’s new contract window, from November 20, 2022, through December 31, 2024, were disclosed disclosed today in an SEC filing. The exact amount of Iger’s pay ultimately will depend on a host of factors, including how the company performs as well as his own progress toward financial targets.

The reinstallation of Iger in the top job, which he held for 15 years before ceding the role to company veteran Bob Chapek, has stunned the media industry and the larger business community. While some CEOs, among them Howard Schultz at Starbucks and Steve Jobs at Apple, have successfully returned to their alma maters, encores are hardly the norm. In the shakeup last night, Chapek was ousted and key deputy Kareem Daniel left the company today as Iger looks to put his stamp on the organization.

Iger will get a salary of $1 million a year, according to the filing, as well as an incentive bonus of another $1 million. He could collect up to $25 million in equity awards depending on a number of variables.

The 47-year Disney vet, who officially capped his prior tenure at the company at the start of 2022, made $47.5 million in total compensation in 2019, his last full year as chairman and CEO, with the package falling nearly 28% from the $65.6 million he made in 2018.

Abigail Disney, the heiress whose great-uncle was Walt Disney and grandfather was Roy O. Disney, has been vocal in recent years in criticizing her namesake company’s executive pay practices. In 2019, she labeled Iger’s pay as “insane.”

SEC documents.

https://sec.report/Document/0001744489-22-000200/
https://sec.report/Document/0001744489-22-000200/fy2023_q1x8kxex101.htm