Disney Reputation Takes Major Hit, According to New Survey

Disney4me · February 1, 2024

The past several years have been challenging for Disney. Not only did Bob Chapek get replaced as CEO of the company by Bob Iger, who’d held the job previously, but once Iger stepped back into the role, he started to make a LOT of changes in the company.

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Some of these changes involved layoffs within The Walt Disney Company, while other changes involved raising prices and bringing more changes to the streaming services, which Iger has said is his top priority. Then there’s the ongoing feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis that has resulted in several lawsuits (with one that was recently dismissed by a federal judge). Perhaps as a result of all this, Disney’s reputation had recently taken a big hit.

Fortune recently released its annual World’s Most Admired Companies, which takes a look at companies’ reputations and how they are viewed by the general public. Apple came out on top, with Microsoft and Amazon following. However, Disney’s reputation has fallen down to Number twelve on the list from where it was last year at Number six.

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On this particular list, Disney was also replaced by Netflix as the most admired entertainment company, although the top-ranked list by industry still ranks Disney higher. But still…ouch, being that Netflix is one of Disney’s top streaming rivals. Iger will have to continue to work on that #1 priority.

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So what does a list like this tell us? Well, it tells us that the public perception of Disney has fallen over the last year. In 2023 alone, Disney saw many of its biggest movies struggle at the box office, resulting in Iger making comments about the company releasing “too many sequels,” although one of Disney’s sequel films that was released in 2023, Guardians of the Galaxy: Chapter 3, actually did well at the box office. However, Disney’s original animated feature Wish wasn’t as successful.

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Whatever the case, Iger only has a few years to improve the public’s perception of The Walt Disney Company before he steps down (again) in 2026. We’ll also be looking forward to seeing how the Disney Company is doing financially during its next quarterly earnings call on February 7th, which could also reveal some of Iger’s plans for the company before he leaves.

Stay tuned to DFB for more news.