Trian’s Disney Shares Have Gained $500 Million in Value So Far This Month. Why Is Activist Investor Nelson Peltz Still Unhappy?

After skidding to multi-year lows in late-2023, Disney stock has rebounded more than 20% thus far in 2024 as two activist investment firms have launched a proxy fight.

Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo, who are fighting to get themselves elected to the Disney board against the company’s wishes, said today they’re not out “to fire the CEO.” Peltz of Trian Partners has been publicly bashing the company and Iger for a year. Rasulo hasn’t taken the stage publicly until today as the two answered questions from shareholders on a live webcast.

EXCLUSIVE: Filming is due to begin this month in LA on neo-noir thriller Lips Like Sugar, which will star Oscar-nominees Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson.

Disney CEO Bob Iger remains committed to turning the ship around, but in doing so, admits the company has had to make some hard choices and cancel projects the studio didn’t have 100% belief in. “You have to kill things you no longer believe in, and that’s not easy in this business,” Iger said, speaking at a conference hosted by Morgan Stanley in San Francisco on Tuesday (via THR).

Disney CEO Bob Iger said the studio has “killed a few projects already that we just didn’t feel were strong enough,” as the company tries to reverse a box office slump.

Disney CEO Bob Iger called the proxy fight being waged by two activist investors a campaign that “is, in a way, designed to distract us, to take our eye off all [that’s] necessary to do what we need to do to generate returns for shareholders.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney CEO Bob Iger acknowledged that the company is behind Netflix in terms of technical capabilities — and that the Mouse House is in the process of catching up. “We need to be at their level” of technical capability, in order to reduce marketing expenses and cut churn rates, Iger said about Netflix, speaking Tuesday at the 2024 Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. Iger reiterated that Disney is on track to achieve profitability in the streaming business — which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ — by the fiscal quarter that ends September 2024.

EXCLUSIVE: Great American Family is about to drop another installment of its Candace Cameron Bure Presents series. The movie is called Just in Time and stars Broadway’s Laura Osnes, Peter Bryant (Family Law), and Greyston Holt (The Night Agent).

The Queen is coming back.

The Wiz is returning to Broadway for the first time in 40 years later this month!

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners, which is agitating to get two seats on Disney’s board, on Monday released a lengthy white paper analyzing the Mouse House’s financial performance — and suggesting strategic fixes. The recommendations, according to Trian, are aimed at turning around Disney‘s stock performance, which has trailed most of its peers (except Warner Bros.

A new boutique gym and spin cycle studio is opening in a former city centre cocktail bar this month.

Rudie Obias editor If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, Variety may receive an affiliate commission. Since its debut in 1977, Star Wars has gone from one movie into a full-blown pop culture phenomenon with a successful film franchise, animated series like “The Bad Batch” and “The Clone Wars,” video games, action figures and toys, holiday gifts and even tabletop trading card games.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The descendants of Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney have weighed in on the bid by two activist investment firms to win seats on the board of the Walt Disney Co. Nelson Peltz, the activist investor who runs hedge fund Trian Partners, is waging a proxy-fight battle to install himself and ex-Disney CFO Jay Rasulo as directors; Peltz’s stated aim is to drive up the price of Disney’s stock.

Disney has revealed a first look photo at the upcoming movie Tron: Ares!

In two open letters to shareholders of the Walt Disney Co., grandchildren of Walt Disney and his brother Roy O. Disney came out in support of CEO Bob Iger and current management, which is being assailed by two investment firms trying to change the makeup of the company’s board.

K-Pop is a tough industry!

EXCLUSIVE: Auli’i Cravalho is coming back toreprise the voice of Moana in Moana 2.

Sister Wives‘ Meri Brown has announced she is single.

“Wannabe” a grandmother just yet. Victoria Beckham had a hilarious reaction when asked by Vogue if she is “excited” to become a grandma. “Jesus.