who gets the stock?
I did realize something interesting about Jobs's passing that few have commented on. Most are concerned about how the loss affects Apple stock. Few have actually asked how the loss will affect Disney stock. The #1 stockholder has passed on, his stocks still sitting in his own account. That stock will have to be distributed to his wife and children (and any others), subject to the terms of any will he might have had (given that he's known this might happen any second now for years, I'm sure he kept it up to date).
Not all the recipients will likely want to keep the stock, but will just sell, take the cash, pay the tax bill, and move on.
It is likely, then, that a massive ton of Disney stock is about to go on sale that somebody will have to buy. If Iger is smart, he'll have the company buy it back in order to have a better pool to distribute to employees, but I'm not sure (with ABC's lackluster performance this year, albeit on part with the rest of the major networks) that he can really talk the board into that large a cash payout. In any case, the large supply will drop the price pretty drastically for a few weeks until things sort themselves out. Only if Iger acts quickly (by offering a price above the market price) can he avoid having the price drop to the point that it inspires a larger sell-off.
Not all the recipients will likely want to keep the stock, but will just sell, take the cash, pay the tax bill, and move on.
It is likely, then, that a massive ton of Disney stock is about to go on sale that somebody will have to buy. If Iger is smart, he'll have the company buy it back in order to have a better pool to distribute to employees, but I'm not sure (with ABC's lackluster performance this year, albeit on part with the rest of the major networks) that he can really talk the board into that large a cash payout. In any case, the large supply will drop the price pretty drastically for a few weeks until things sort themselves out. Only if Iger acts quickly (by offering a price above the market price) can he avoid having the price drop to the point that it inspires a larger sell-off.