Abrupt change at the top for Disney

Disney ousted chief executive Bob Chapek and announced that it had brought back former CEO Bob Iger to once again take the reins.

The change was effective immediately.

Chapek spent two turbulent years as CEO - a period that saw huge operating losses, as well as a scandal on the way he approached gender identity issues.

He upset many of Disney's 200,000 employees earlier this year with how he handled the "Don't Say Gay" law in Florida, which bars public schools from teaching young learners about sexual orientation and gender identity.

The scandal prompted Florida to end Disney's self-governing status in its Orlando theme park.

Disney's stock has fallen 41 percent this year, with operating losses for streaming services nearly doubled to US$1.5 billion (HK$11.7 billion) last quarter.

This sparked serious concern form Wall Street analysts, and the host of CNBC's Mad Money show, Jim Cramer, called last week for Disney to sack Chapek and fix the company's "balance sheet from hell."

Iger, 71, who previously served as Disney's CEO for 15 years - increasing the company's market capitalization by five-fold during his reign - has pledged to return for at least two years, saying: "I am deeply honored to be asked to again lead this remarkable team."

Under Iger, Disney acquired Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox. It also opened its first theme park in China - the Shanghai Disney Resort - and launched the Disney+ and ESPN+ streaming services.

During Iger's tenure, Disney produced a number of record-setting films including Marvel's Avengers: Endgame, the highest-grossing film of all time.