Disney Brings Back Robert Iger After Ousting Chapek as C.E.O.

Mr. Iger said in a statement on Sunday night that he was “extremely optimistic for the future of this great company and thrilled to be asked by the board to return as CEO.”

Mr. Chapek did not respond to requests for comment.

The surprise reinstatement of Mr. Iger and ouster of Mr. Chapek comes in the wake of a disastrous earnings announcement on Nov. 8. Disney blindsided Wall Street by reporting $1.5 billion in losses at its fledgling streaming division, up from $630 million a year earlier. Mr. Chapek said that higher Disney+ production, marketing and technology costs had contributed to the “peak” losses.

In total, Disney generated $20.15 billion in revenue in three months that ended on Oct. 1, a 9 percent increase from a year earlier. But analysts had expected $21.3 billion. Profit totaled $162 million, or 9 cents a share, roughly flat from a year earlier. Excluding items affecting comparisons, per-share profit for the most recent quarter was 30 cents, much less than analysts had expected.

It is almost unheard-of for Disney to miss expectations on both revenue and earnings per share.

Disney shares dropped 12 percent the next morning, in part because investors — and many people inside Disney — were shocked by the happy-go-lucky tone that Mr. Chapek struck while discussing the earnings report on a conference call with analysts. Mr. Chapek’s demeanor struck many as tone deaf, in particular when he started to implausibly talk about how great the response had been to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, a relatively inconsequential event at Disneyland. At least one adviser had warned Mr. Chapek ahead of time that his prepared remarks were inappropriately sunny.

Immediately, the CNBC host Jim Cramer began to call for Mr. Chapek’s firing during comments on his show. On Friday, Mr. Cramer said that Mr. Chapek was “incapable of running a fantastic company” and “we need someone new at Disney.”

Mr. Cramer added, “That balance sheet is the balance sheet from hell.”

The comments by Mr. Cramer ricocheted among senior executives at Disney, who became increasingly irate, with a few telling each other that they had lost confidence in Mr. Chapek’s ability to lead Disney out of its slump. Disney shares have fallen 41 percent since January, to about $98, and much of the compensation of senior creative leaders at Disney comes in stock options.

Mr. Chapek was named C.E.O. in February 2020, taking over from Mr. Iger. The handoff did not go smoothly. The coronavirus pandemic forced Mr. Chapek to close most of the company. This year, Mr. Chapek contended with one crisis after another, some of his own making.