The Disney King will be declared today: Key vote decides if movies stay ‘woke’ plus the future of Hulu, ESPN, Star Wars and Disneyland

The battle for Disney’s future comes to a head on Wednesday afternoon.

It could shape the films it makes, the future of Disney+ and Hulu, and how much the company will continue to invest in its sports streaming and theme parks like Disneyland.

Billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz launched one of the most high-profile proxy fights in history against the current Disney leadership, led by Bob Iger, last year, and votes will be counted today.

Iger represents the Disney establishment and has the support of major players like Star Wars creator George Lucas, Steve Jobs’ widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, and the grandchildren of Walt and Roy Disney.

But Peltz, Brooklyn Beckham’s father-in-law, has the support of anti-establishment players like Elon Musk and investor Bill Ackman — both of whom have been outspoken opponents of diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) in recent months.

Nelson Peltz is Brooklyn Beckham’s father-in-law and receives the support of anti-establishment players such as Elon Musk and investor Bill Ackman

Peltz has argued through his “Restore The Magic” campaign that Disney has “lost its way.” In particular, he has attacked the company for producing “woke” films that underperformed at the box office.

He has long been an advocate of taking politics out of America’s boardrooms and focusing on delivering returns for shareholders.

At the company’s annual shareholder meeting, investors will elect a new slate of twelve board members who will serve for another year.

Peltz hopes to win two seats through his asset manager Trian. Disney, on the other hand, has its own set of twelve nominees that it directs shareholders to vote on.

Disney’s 2024 Annual Meeting kicks off at 1:00 PM ET/11:00 AM PT and everyone can follow along via a live stream.

At the beginning of the meeting, Peltz and Trian will have the opportunity to address the shareholders. Shortly thereafter, Disney’s general counsel will announce that voting has closed and announce the preliminary results.

The voting rights of shareholders are proportional to the number of shares they own. The Walt Disney Company, which now owns Hulu and ESPN, currently has 1,832,000,000 shares outstanding and a market cap of approximately $225 billion.

Activist investors like Peltz often believe they can unlock a company’s value by advocating for changes in leadership or strategy.

In open letters to Disney investors, Peltz has been critical of the direction of the company under Iger’s leadership.

In particular, he has criticized Iger’s failed attempt to appoint Bob Chapek as his successor in 2020.

After 15 years as CEO, Iger chose Chapek to take over the company, but that did not last long. In November 2022, he was ousted by the board and Iger was reappointed as CEO.

Peltz has also attacked current Disney leadership for poor box office results in recent years and generally poor stock price performance.

Despite hitting an all-time high of over $200 in March 2021, it is now up just 6.8 percent from five years ago at $123.

Trian wants to remove Disney directors Maria Elena Lagomasino and Michael Froman from the board and replace them with Peltz and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo.

Iger and his investor relations team have been traveling around the country in recent weeks trying to convince shareholders not to seat Peltz.

Peltz nominated himself and former Disney CFO Jay Rasulo (right) to the entertainment giant’s board of directors, calling Iger “underperforming”

Disney launched the website voteisney.com in an effort to encourage smaller shareholders to vote for their own nominees and reject Nelson Peltz.

Poster for the 1934 Shanghaied film. From left: Mickey Mouse, Pegleg Pete and Minnie Mouse

The company has also launched the website voteisney.com, where it plans to make the case against Peltz and convince retail shareholders that Iger’s leadership will take the company in a promising direction.

Trian, on the other hand, has adopted the slogan ‘Restore The Magic’ for its campaign and launched the website restathemagic.com.

While small investors are important, large institutional investors will be important players. Money managers such as Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street together own more than 16 percent of the company’s shares.

This week, the Wall Street Journal reported that BlackRock and T. Rowe Price are among the major investors backing Disney.

Peltz’s daughter, actress Nicola Peltz, is married to Brooklyn Beckham, the son of David and Victoria Beckham.