The Walt Disney Company will have the attention of many investors come Wednesday.

The entertainment giant will put out its third-quarter financial results for fiscal 2023 in the afternoon, with a call for analysts and investors slated to follow shortly thereafter. They will mark the third set of earnings that CEO Bob Iger has presided over as CEO since coming back to Disney late last year. 

Here are some issues that have been top-of-mind for Disney investors.

Iger Succession

Under the contract extension Iger signed in mid-July to add two years to his current stint at the helm of Disney, the CEO will continue in his role until the end of 2026. 

Iger said in a statement about the extra years that Disney’s board “continues to evaluate a highly qualified slate of internal and external candidates.” Mark Parker, the chairman of the entertainment giant’s board, has led that effort. 

Reports have suggested Disney Entertainment Co-Chairs Dana Walden and Alan Berman and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products Chair Josh D’Amaro have emerged as potential candidates from within the House of Mouse. 

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Iger also reportedly recently rehired Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, who have been tasked with giving advice on Disney’s legacy television businesses. 

Potential spinoff of TV assets

Iger indicated in a mid-July CNBC interview that Disney could possibly be open to spinning off the traditional TV assets it currently owns. He told the outlet the company was being “expansive” in its thinking, adding that the assets “may not be core to Disney.” 

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For ESPN, Iger said Disney was “going to be open minded there too.”

“Not necessarily about spinning ESPN off, but about looking for strategic partners that could either help us with distribution or content, but we want to stay in the sports business,” he said, according to a CNBC transcript.

Disney’s linear networks brought in $6.6 billion in the second quarter, marking a 7% decrease from the $7.1 billion they saw in the same period last year.

Disney shares underperforming S&P 500

Disney’s stock has been trailing behind the S&P 500 on both a year-to-date and 12-month basis. 

The broad S&P 500 index has experienced an over 17.6% rise from the start of 2023 as of Tuesday’s market close. Comparatively, the value of Disney shares have seen little change, dropping just under 1% in the same timeframe. 

Over the past 12-months, Disney’s stock has gone down 18.5%; meanwhile, the S&P has climbed about 9.1%. 

Desantis-Florida conflict

Disney and Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are currently engaged in a legal battle. 

That started after the Florida State Legislature moved earlier this year to pass legislation that made it so that the people on the board running the special tax district encompassing Disney World were appointed by the governor. The new board has since taken over what is now called the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. 

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Iger has accused DeSantis of seeming to be retaliating against Disney’s stance on the Parental Rights in Education law and trying to punish the company. Disney, while led by former CEO Bob Chapek, had expressed opposition to the state law.

Joe Toppe contributed to this report.

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