Walt Disney Chairman And CEO Bob Iger Rings Opening Bell At NY Stock Exchange

(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

It’s the end of Disney’s Iger era (again)

Incoming CEO Josh D’Amaro is replacing Bob Iger on Wednesday, though Iger will remain a senior adviser through the end of the year.

Max Knoblauch

3/18/26 9:54AM

Wednesday marks the end of Bob Iger’s second stint as CEO at Disney, with incoming CEO Josh D’Amaro officially taking the reins at the company’s annual shareholder meeting this afternoon.

For Iger, it’s the end of a roughly 19-year stretch running the media giant. It’s also the second time in about six years that he’s being replaced by the head of his parks division.

In his first 15-year term, Iger oversaw acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel, LucasFilm, and Fox, and the launch of Disney+. Disney shares grew more than 460% during his initial tenure.

His second term has been far less about transformation than course correction: he pivoted away from pandemic-era streaming exclusives, put ads on Disney+, reduced content spending, and struck a deal with OpenAI. The company entered the sports betting arena, first with ESPN Bet and then in a DraftKings partnership. Disney’s box office cold streak ended with big hits like “Lilo & Stitch” and “Zootopia 2.” As of Tuesday’s close, Disney shares had grown about 9% over Iger’s second, shorter run as CEO.

Zooming out, Main Street (USA) has significantly underperformed Wall Street since Iger first took hold of Disney. If you invested $100 in Disney on Iger’s first day in 2005, your current return would be $423.51 — good enough for about two and a half Disney World tickets. Had you invested that $100 in the S&P 500 instead, your return would be $702.99 — a solid four days at the park with enough left over to buy a crewneck sweater with Stitch on it.

Now, D’Amaro takes over a company whose shares — outside of a pandemic streaming boom and subsequent fallback — haven’t notably moved in more than a decade. The company will have more big fish to compete with in entertainment, if Paramount is successful in acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery.

On the entertainment side, D’Amaro will have to continue battling Netflix and come up with an answer for new content rivals like YouTube and TikTok, which continue to nab more attention share. (Just a hunch, but “Verts” probably isn’t going to do it.) In its profit stronghold parks division, the company has been weighing how to squeeze out more profit with ideas like dynamic pricing.

Should D’Amaro not work out to the degree the board is hoping, there’s always the tried-and-true method of returning to Iger: the outgoing exec will remain a senior adviser through the end of the year.

Max Knoblauch6/15/26

Electronic Arts launches a platform to put more ads in its games

Video game publishing giant EA launched a new platform on Monday designed to make the process of selling immersive ad space in its popular games easier.

The company says the platform, called EA Advertising, allows brands to “integrate directly into gameplay through dynamic, real-time placements, from stadium signage to custom in-game content.”

More so than other studios, EA has incorporated advertising into its most popular titles. As Kotaku points out, the company’s ad efforts stretch as far back as 2006. Several of its sports franchises already feature partnerships with brands like Visa, Lowe’s, Red Bull, and PepsiCo.

In-game advertising hasn’t exactly been embraced by fans, but industry experts expect it to ramp up as companies seek more revenue to offset higher games budgets and surging memory costs. EA rival Take-Two has taken a different approach, with CEO Strauss Zelnick recently saying the company was “not at risk of doing brand partnerships” in the forthcoming “Grand Theft Auto VI,” and that ads in full-price games seems “unfair.”

The $55 billion deal to take EA private, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is set to close at the end of this month. Being the largest leveraged buyout in history, EA will likely look for more ways to boost revenue to cover interest payments.

Electronic Arts Makes Push for Ad Dollars Tied to Sports

Millie Giles6/11/26

JM Smucker says it sold $1 billion worth of Uncrustables in FY2026

After years of booming sandwich sales, JM Smucker has finally earned a billion-dollar crust.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for fiscal year 2026, highlighting better-than-expected profits driven by higher prices for coffee and sweet baked goods. However, at another point on the earnings call, CEO Mark Smucker pointed to one particularly jammy figure: in line with previous forecasts, the company sold $1 billion worth of its (almost always) crustless sandwiches, Uncrustables, in the last year alone.

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”

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