If the performance of Robert Iger, since he took over the CEO spot from Michael Eisner in October 2005, is any indication of the future, The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) has some great years ahead of it.
A good example is the peformance in the last quarter, where the company was able to grow operating profits at most of its divisions at a double digit pace, even with a slowing economy and consumers tightening their spending.
Iger is good at saying the right things at the right time, and proved it again recently when the richest man in the world this year, Warren Buffett, gave high praise to Iger as one of the leading CEOs in America, saying he has done "an absolutely terrific job since coming in a couple years ago. It's not an easy company to manage, and he's done a first-class job."
Iger's response was to pass the credit on to his people: "The success of our company rests, more than anything else, on the commitment of our 137,000 employees and cast members."
In his short tenure at the company, he has already accomplished some extraordinary coups, as he made up quickly with Steve Jobs, which resulted in the acquisition of Pixar, and he has aggressively pursued the digital space, which he says won't pay off for another 2-3 years.
All of that is important, but with the multiple platforms and businesses Disney has, are nothing without the creative franchises that must come down the pipeline if they are going to make a lot of money. He's excelled there, as in the brief time at the company, he has taken it to two strong franchises to ten, where now the company can plug the franchises into the various platforms across the company, and ensure an ongoing plethora of sales and opportunities. And it seems he's just getting started.
Another big change he made soon after taking over the reins, was to decentralize the decision-making in the company, and get rid of the despised Strategic Planning Group of Eisner's, which was considered the graveyard where creative ideas were sent to be buried.
All these things and more are reasons to feel upbeat about Disney, and know you will be able to count on them, and Iger, to continue to be a very profitable company in the years ahead. The last five years they've averaged 15.3 percent return to shareholders, beating out the S&P 500 during that time.
Disney is positioned and ready for the future, and should be able to keep shareholders happy for a long time to come.
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