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What’s the Disney (DIS) equivalent of white smoke for a new pope?
We’re not quite there yet. But Elsa, Mickey, or whoever’s in charge is gathering the combustibles.
The person nearing a job offer is looking to be the head of the theme parks division, Josh D’Amaro, Bloomberg reported. While putting the guy in charge of Disney World and cruises might seem like an anachronism in a world dominated by digital media, the numbers speak for themselves.
The experiences division, which includes theme parks, resorts, and cruises, has generated the most profits for Disney since 2020. And on Monday, when the company reported quarterly results, that unit posted quarterly revenue of $10 billion, the highest ever, with attendance at US parks up 1% and spending per customer rising 4%.
If the board ends up approving D’Amaro, he will take charge of the world’s most iconic entertainment company, stepping into the role defined by Bob Iger. Iger ran Disney from 2005 to 2020 and then attempted to rescue the company in a post-COVID return in 2022.
But whatever standing Iger might have on Wall Street (he either shepherded a legacy brand through the streaming transition or waited too long for it to happen), his problems will soon be D’Amaro’s.
The parks guy will have to deal with a TV business in decline, a successful parks business that faces political tensions with decreased foreign tourism, heightened competition in streaming, and whatever disruptions and creative tensions will come from AI. Iger himself has warned whoever follows him that “trying to preserve the status quo is a mistake.”
After earnings on Monday, Disney’s CFO framed the company’s recent accomplishments as a jumping-off point for its next leader.
″Turbocharging the parks, bringing streaming to profitability and double-digit margins, and improving the theatrical business bodes well for a new CEO,” said Hugh Johnston in an interview with CNBC.
A playbook for the future, sure. But those same achievements are also challenges, and the very same ones that Iger has had to contend with after Disney fired the other Bob, former CEO Bob Chapek.
What Disney will ultimately do with its linear business is another major question for the company. And it’s playing out as Warner Bros is attempting to split its assets and merge with Netflix — even as Paramount is fighting to block that merger and take Warner Bros. for itself.
