Jim Cramer Calls for Bob Chapek’s Firing
The Walt Disney Company suffered a multi-year low in its stock price immediately after it reported the best fiscal earnings in its storied history.
Such is the chaotic nature of Wall Street in 2022. However, at least one high-profile analyst has called for CEO Bob Chapek’s termination in the wake of these events.
Folks, we’ve got Jim Cramer vs. Bob Chapek squaring in a steel cage grudge match as today’s main event. Who ya got?
What Just Happened?
The past 24 hours have legitimately been one of the wildest news cycles in recent memory, especially for Disney fans.
Photo: Getty Images
Yesterday, Tropical Storm Nicole analysts noticed a pattern that hinted at hurricane status late today.
That led to a rainy night at what happened to be the inaugural Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party for 2022.
It’s a Very Merry Rainy first night of @WaltDisneyWorld’s Very Merry Christmas Party. But that doesn’t stop us Disney die-hards 😉 #DisneyParks #DisneyHolidays @accuweather @weatherchannel @fox35orlando pic.twitter.com/cIYwM9JapA
— MickeyBlog.com (@MickeyBlog_) November 8, 2022
Simultaneously, the United States held its mid-term elections, whose results are still being tallied as we speak.
Then, after the stock market closed at 4 p.m., Disney reported its fiscal earnings.
Photo Credit: AP Photo/Richard Drew, File
Disney’s report covered the fiscal fourth quarter of 2022. However, it also summarized the year. Here’s an article I wrote yesterday that summarizes the report.
I’ll highlight this point I made toward the end:
Here are Disney’s fiscal revenue totals for the past five years:
- 2018 — $59.434 billion
- 2019 — $69.607 billion
- 2020 — $65.388 billion
- 2021 — $67.418 billion
- 2022 — $83.745 billion
When you look at that, you’re impressed, right? Well, yesterday was crazy, and people weren’t quite themselves. So, Disney’s stock tanked.
In fact, in after-hours markets, the price of DIS fell 7 percent in less than 10 minutes. As I type this, DIS is in the range of $87-$88.
Photo: Getty
That’s the lowest price since March 2020 or, more specifically, the pandemic’s earliest days.
DIS had reached $197 in March 2021. Since then, the company has lost more than half its valuation. Just since October 28th, DIS has taken an 18 percent shave.
When that happens on Wall Street, people panic. And when you speak extemporaneously live on camera, you sometimes say stupid stuff.
To wit, here is CNBC’s answer to Skip Bayless, Jim Cramer, discussing Bob Chapek:
Cramer Wants Chapek Fired
You can watch the whole video, but a little bit of Cramer goes a long way for many people. So, I set the time stamp for the relevant comments.
Here’s the quote that will set Disney communities ablaze for the next few days.
“If this were the NFL where they have tremendous accountability, and we were watching their program on Sunday morning, we would — everyone together would say, “He should be fired.” And then Schefter would say, “You know what, he is gonna be fired.”
Source: CNBC.com
First, Cramer obviously doesn’t watch a lot of football since the Indianapolis Colts just hired a guy with zero experience to coach the team.
Second, the other CNBC commentator pressed the point. He asked, “Would you own Disney stock with Chapek as CEO?”
Photo: CNBC
At this point, Cramer shook his head no, but then he went back to NFL and ESPN discussions again.
Soon afterward, he debated the pronunciation of chimerical. This is a real thing that happened. It’s at the 3:06 mark if you want to watch the gibberish.
In The Simpsons vernacular, Cramer’s mind may no longer be in mint condition.
Still, no matter what you think of Cramer, his opinion carries weight on Wall Street. He’s a combination of celebrity, analyst, and influencer.
Bob Chapek needs Wall Street to love him, and yesterday’s events have caused a setback here.
Not that long ago, Chapek appeared comfortable and confident during a Wall Street Journal interview.
Today, I suspect Chapek has remembered that momentum is tomorrow night’s pitcher.
One shaky quarter in Wall Street’s estimation can lead to chaotic takes like this.
Photo: Charles Krupa/AP
Right when Chapek thought he was safe and comfortable, he finds himself in trouble again.
