When Bob Iger rode off into the sunset after 15 years as one of the most powerful men in the land, he had well earned his happily ever after. However, the outbreak of Covid-19 had other ideas for his fairy tale ending, and just months after handing over the role of chief executive to Bob Chapek, Iger found himself back in the lurch, trying to save Disney amid a global pandemic.
At the time Iger left his post, Disney was too big to fail. Their 14 theme parks delivered a record profit in 2019, with a yearly attendance of 157 million people, while their eight film studios controlled almost 40 per cent of the US domestic box office. The theme parks are now shuttered, and the film cameras turned off, at least for the foreseeable.
According to leading media analyst, Michael Nathanson, Disney’s fortunes have gone: “from great to good to bad to ugly.” He added: “Recession will cause further pain.”
Bob Chapek and Bob Iger will disclose the extent of the damage tomorrow, however, the full impact of Covid-19 will truly be realised in the summer. At present analysts are expecting a reduction in per-share profits of 45 per cent.
Since the start of the pandemic, Disney has furloughed some 100,00 employees, and has cut the pay of executives by 50 per cent. They have also taken out a $5 billion line of credit on top of an existing $8.25 billion from March in an effort to bolster their liquidity.
It is unclear exactly what the future holds for Disney and their executives, however, it seems their happily ever after will be postponed, at least for a little while.
