Nelson Peltz, founding partner and CEO of Trian Fund Management, speaks with CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin on July 17, 2013 in New York.
Heidi Gutman | CNBC, NBCU Photo Bank, NBCUniversal via Getty Images
Aren't you entertained, Nelson Peltz?
disney Shares rose 6% in after-market trading Wednesday after the The company posted a profit and flooded the area with new ads intended not only to excite its employees and shareholders but also to put activist investor Nelson Peltz in his place.
Peltz has launched a proxy fight against Disney, asking investors to nominate him and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo to replace current board members Michael Froman and Maria Elena Lagomasino. Both Disney's increased profits and series of content and partnership announcements appeared to directly refute Peltz's concerns about the company.
“The last thing we need right now is to be distracted by an activist or activists who have a different agenda and don't understand our company,” Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger told CNBC's Julia Boorstin in an interview Wednesday.
During his company's first-quarter earnings conference call, he added, “we've turned the corner and entered a new era.”
Peltz, who first took a stake in Disney last year only to walk away and then renew his threats of a proxy fight, responded with a statement to CNBC that he won't back down this time.
“It's déjà vu again,” says Trian Fund Management, Peltz's company. he said in a statement. “We saw this movie last year and we didn't like the ending.”
It was hard to keep up with Disney's announcements this quarter:
- ESPN finally set a launch date for its direct-to-consumer service: August or fall 2025.
- Disney is buying a $1.5 billion stake in Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite. It's “Disney's biggest foray into the gaming space,” Iger told Boorstin.
- Taylor Swift's Eras Tour movie is coming to Disney+.
- Disney increased its dividend by 50% compared to the last dividend paid in January.
- Disney announced that a sequel to “Moana” will hit theaters in November, which will likely be the studio's biggest box office hit of the year.
- Disney is on track to meet or exceed its planned spending cuts of $7.5 billion by the end of fiscal 2024.
- The company said it expects Earnings for the entire fiscal year 2024 will increase by at least 20% over 2023.
All of these announcements came a day after Disney broke more big news, revealing that it is launching a joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox to offer ESPN in a new, slimmed-down linear network package catering to sports fans. at the end of this year. It will be the first time that cord cutters and cord cutters will have access to ESPN outside of the traditional cable package.
It is logical that the mountain of announcements has occurred this quarter, given the activist pressure of Capital of Trian and Blackwells. Iger has a vested interest in pushing back against critics of his performance and strategy.
Peltz has been vocal about criticizing Iger's leadership as the stock has plummeted in the past year, underperforming the S&P 500. Trian has launched a website, Restorethemagic.com, that claims Disney “has failed to act for the shareholders”.
“I am saddened that the board did not welcome me,” Peltz said last month. “This company is just not working properly.”
Iger said he has not spoken to Peltz recently and has no intention of speaking with him. In a filing last month, Disney said that “in deciding not to recommend Mr. Peltz, the directors considered a number of factors, including the fact that in a two-year search for a seat on the Disney Board, the Mr. Peltz had not actually presented a single strategic idea for Disney.”
WATCH: Disney CEO Bob Iger on new streaming package partnership: 'I'd rather be a disruptor.'
