As Disney CEO Bob Iger begins what are anticipated to be his final two years on the job, his compensation is rising to even heftier levels.
A filing by the ESPN parent company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed that Iger’s total compensation in 2024 rose to $41.1 million, up 30% from $31.6 million in 2023. In both years, much of that pay came in the form of stock and option awards and incentives, as Disney’s board has sought to tie the compensation package as much as possible to the company’s performance.
To that end, Disney’s stock has increased by 20% in the last year and the company has posted a series of sharply improved quarterly reports. The rise has happened as Disney has sought to reorient the business to a streaming-based future led heavily by ESPN’s forthcoming “Flagship”—a difficult, multiyear corporate pivot that involved multiple waves of staff reductions, but one now beginning to bear fruit.
“We have emerged from a period of considerable challenges and disruption well positioned for growth and optimistic about our future,” Iger said in November during Disney’s most recent quarterly earnings call with analysts. The company will next report its financial results on Feb. 5.
Disney’s 2024 under Iger also included a series of notable successes for ESPN, including retaining rights to the NBA and landing the rights to the newly expanded College Football Playoff.
Turning the Page
Disney, meanwhile, said in the same SEC filing that it still intends to name a CEO successor to the 73-year-old Iger by “early 2026,” the expected timing since last October. Iger’s departure originally was scheduled for the end of 2024, but a two-year contract extension signed in July 2023 pushed that timetable out to December of next year.
A Disney succession planning committee is active and has “continued to make strong progress over the last year,” company board chair James Gorman said in a letter to shareholders.
ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro has long been part of a group of internal candidates cited as possibilities to succeed Iger. More recent speculation, however, has also pointed to a pool of external candidates for the role, including Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson.
Regardless of whether the final choice is already at Disney, Gorman said the company board is “engaged in and committed to finding the right leader for the company and we are planning for a smooth leadership transition.” That effort is a key priority as Iger returned to Disney in 2022 after a prior departure when Bob Chapek—his initial, handpicked successor—was ousted by the board.
