Walt Disney
stock dropped on Friday after Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy’s decision to step down. Her departure adds another layer of uncertainty to the entertainment giant’s road ahead.
Disney stock (ticker: DIS) was down 1.5% to $91.56 in Friday trading. The stock is up just 2.9% in 2023, lagging the
S&P 500
‘s gain of 15%.
The company said Thursday evening that McCarthy will step down from her role and take a family medical leave of absence. Kevin Lansberry starts July 1 as interim CFO. Disney has been dealing with a wave of executive turnover, amid layoffs and shifts in corporate structure. Bob Iger most notably took back the reins as CEO in November following the firing of Bob Chapek.
Iger must navigate a volatile political environment in Florida and an uncertain path forward for the transition from television to streaming. Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall wrote Friday that the departure “adds another wrinkle to an already-complex story.”
“It will be followed by a [planned] CEO transition within another one to two years, while ESPN and [the direct-to-consumer business] present discrete operational challenges,” he wrote. “We think it’s an opportunity for this kind of upside on such a large-cap stock, but no doubt it will take time for the pieces to come together.”
Cahall has an Overweight rating on Disney stock and $147 price target. He thinks investors see more risks than opportunities in the medium-term for the stock, pointing to softening growth in the parks business amid continued pricing and wage inflation. Investors are also focused on when margins in the streaming business will improve, and how moving ESPN from TV to a fully streaming-focused business will impact the business. The firm also must make a decision on the purchase of
Comcast
‘s minority stake in Hulu.
“Separately these are speed bumps to the stock,” he wrote. “Together they’re obstacles.”
KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Brandon Nispel called the move unexpected, but argued in a Thursday note it will be neutral event for the stock. He notes Lansberry was chief financial officer of the Disney parks, experiences and products (DPEP) segment. He has an Overweight rating on Disney stock with a $107 price target.
“With McCarthy stepping down for nonbusiness-related reasons and Lansberry having been leading DPEP under McCarthy since 2017, we would expect a straightforward transition and would not expect any changes strategically,
with no changes mentioned to financial targets,” Nispel wrote.
Write to Connor Smith at [email protected]
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