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What Disney Needs to Do to Stop Underperforming
The Magic Kingdom Has Lost Its Spark
Disney remains one of the most iconic brands in the world — but lately, the magic has faded.
Once synonymous with storytelling excellence and unmatched scale, the company now faces a wall of challenges: slowing streaming growth, inconsistent box-office performance, rising costs, and investor fatigue.
Despite owning the most valuable collection of franchises in entertainment — from Marvel and Pixar to Star Wars and ESPN — Disney has been underdelivering. Its problem isn’t relevance. It’s execution.
The question isn’t whether Disney can bounce back. It’s whether it will make the hard decisions required to do so.
Where Disney Went Wrong
1. Too Much Complexity, Not Enough Focus
Disney has become a sprawling empire that tries to be everything at once — a studio, a streaming giant, a sports network, and a theme park operator. The synergy that once defined its success has morphed into a management maze.
When every division fights for attention and capital, clarity disappears. The result? A company with incredible assets but muddled strategy.
2. Content for the Wrong Audience
Disney’s storytelling has lost its edge with the everyday viewer. While its focus on representation and diversity was rooted in good intentions, execution sometimes missed the broader audience that made Disney a global powerhouse.
In short: the company started making statements instead of hits — and audiences noticed.
3. Streaming Without Profit
Disney+ rocketed to global prominence but hasn’t yet found its sustainable model. Subscriber growth is slowing, churn is rising, and margins remain thin. The company chased scale without solving for profitability, turning its crown jewel into a costly balancing act.
4. Costs Rising Faster Than Growth
Even with record park attendance and blockbuster franchises, costs across production, marketing, and operations continue to outpace returns. Disney’s size has become its weakness: too many overlapping teams, too much bureaucracy, too little accountability.
5. A Culture Moving Slower Than Its Market
Creativity remains Disney’s heart — but the culture hasn’t adapted to the speed of modern entertainment. Decisions take too long, innovation is cautious, and younger audiences have already shifted elsewhere.
What Disney Needs to Do — The Path Forward
1. Simplify the Business
Disney needs to trim the empire. Sell or spin off non-core operations. Focus on what it does best: world-class content, unforgettable experiences, and unrivaled IP monetization. Complexity dilutes performance; simplification creates momentum.
2. Make Hits That Unite, Not Divide
Disney doesn’t need to reinvent storytelling — it needs to reconnect with audiences. That means prioritizing stories that inspire, entertain, and resonate across demographics, not just check corporate boxes. The company’s legacy was built on shared cultural moments — not fragmented subcultures.
3. Turn Streaming Into a Cash Machine
Disney+ should shift from chasing subscribers to maximizing lifetime value. Introduce smarter bundles, build out its ad-supported tier, and lean on its deep content library. The platform doesn’t need to be the biggest — it needs to be the most profitable.
4. Enforce Financial Discipline
The company must act less like a creative collective and more like an efficient operator. That means reducing duplication, tightening budgets, and demanding returns on every project. Creativity and discipline aren’t enemies — they’re partners when managed right.
5. Rebuild Culture Around Speed and Accountability
To compete with Netflix, Amazon, and TikTok-era attention spans, Disney needs to rediscover its entrepreneurial edge. Empower smaller teams, cut approval layers, and reward risk-taking that delivers real results. A company famous for imagination can’t afford to move in slow motion.
Was Bob Iger’s Return Enough?
Bringing Bob Iger back steadied the ship — but it didn’t fix the storm. Iger restored confidence with Wall Street and calmed investors, yet the fundamental problems remain. Disney needs not just leadership continuity but cultural transformation.
If Iger can realign the business around focus, creativity, and profitability — the trifecta that once made Disney unstoppable — the turnaround could begin in earnest. If not, even a legendary CEO won’t be enough to restore the magic.
My Take
Disney’s underperformance isn’t about a lack of talent, ideas, or opportunity. It’s about a lack of focus.
The company has the best creative infrastructure in entertainment history — but without discipline and sharper strategic execution, that power gets lost in translation.
To stop underperforming, Disney must do three things:
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Simplify its empire.
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Prioritize profitability over vanity metrics.
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Reignite the universal storytelling magic that once united audiences across generations.
If Disney can merge creative wonder with corporate clarity, it can rise again as the most dominant force in entertainment. But the clock is ticking — and this time, the fairy godmother isn’t coming.
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