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Christine McCarthy, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, The Walt Disney Company, participates in a panel discussion during the annual Milken Institute Global Conference at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on April 29, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California.

Michael Kovac | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

Christine McCarthy, Disney’s chief financial officer, will step down from that role, the entertainment giant said Thursday.

She will take a family medical leave of absence, and during that time she will continue as a strategic advisor to Disney, the company said. McCarthy will also help find a long-term successor, Disney added. Veteran Disney executive Kevin Lansberry, who currently works as finance chief for Disney’s parks business, will become the company’s interim CFO effective July 1.

“I am immensely grateful for the opportunity Bob provided me to serve as CFO of this iconic company and am proud of the work my talented team has done to position Disney to capitalize on the business possibilities that lie ahead,” McCarthy said in the news release announcing her departure.

McCarthy, who started with Disney in 2000 and became CFO in 2015, leaves as Disney undergoes a broad restructuring during Bob Iger’s second tenure as CEO. The company has targeted 7,000 job cuts during several rounds of layoffs this year.

Disney has also contended with a tougher ad market for media companies and struggled to set itself apart in a crowded streaming space. In its fiscal second quarter, Disney reported operating losses of $659 million for its direct-to-consumer segment.

During McCarthy’s tenure, Disney’s streaming spending skyrocketed and free cash flow fell. For a while, that was fine. Disney’s stock got a bump as Disney+ subscribers soared. But when the balloon popped on streaming valuations in 2022, she needed to change strategies. And that is still a work in progress.

McCarthy also emerged as a pivotal figure during last year’s upheaval at Disney, which saw Iger return to replace his successor as CEO, Bob Chapek. During Chapek’s tenure, she moved toward his inner circle, only to reportedly turn on him, which proved to be the final straw for the former chief executive.

But Iger has loyalists at that company, and McCarthy’s move toward Chapek showed she wasn’t in that camp. So she never had the same status internally as being trusted by Iger as others, according to people familiar with the matter.

Iger struck a positive tone about McCarthy in Thursday’s announcement, however.

“Among her many contributions to the company, one of the things I admire most about Christine is the generous mentorship she has provided to so many of her colleagues over the years, including countless women,” Iger said in the news release. “She has opened doors, created opportunities, and served as a role model for women at every level of business – not just at Disney, but around the world.”

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Joby lawsuit accuses air taxi rival Archer of using stolen information to ‘one-up’ deal

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November 20, 2025

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Joby lawsuit accuses air taxi rival Archer of using stolen information to 'one-up' deal

An electric air taxi by Joby Aviation flies near the Downtown Manhattan Heliport in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., November 12, 2023.

Roselle Chen | Reuters

Air taxi maker Joby Aviation in a new lawsuit accused competitor Archer Aviation of using stolen information by a former employee to “one-up” a partnership deal with a real estate developer.

“This is corporate espionage, planned and premeditated,” Joby said in the lawsuit filed Wednesday in a California Superior Court in Santa Cruz, where the company is based.

Archer and Joby did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The lawsuit alleges that former U.S. state and local policy lead, George Kivork, downloaded dozens of files and sent some content to his personal email two days before he resigned in July to take a job at Archer, which had recruited him.

By August, Joby said a partner that worked with Kivork said it had been approached by Archer with a “more lucrative deal.” Joby alleges that the eVTOL rival’s understanding of “highly confidential” details helped it leverage negotiations.

Joby also said the developer attempted to terminate the agreement, citing a breach of confidentiality.

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Kivork refused to return the files when Joby approached him after conducting an investigation, according to the suit. The company also said Archer denied wrongdoing, and would not disclose how it learned about the terms of the agreement or provide results from an internal investigation it allegedly undertook.

The lawsuit comes during a busy period for electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) technology as companies race to gain Federal Aviation Administration certification to start flying commercially. ‘

The sector has also benefitted from President Donald Trump‘s newly minted eVTOL pilot program.

Joby argued in the complaint that it’s “imperative” to protect Joby’s work “from this type of espionage” to promote the sector’s success and ensure fair competition.

Last week, Joby said it completed its first test flight for a hybrid aircraft it’s working on with defense contractor L3Harris. This month, Amazon-backed Beta Technologies, another electric flight company, also went public on the New York Stock Exchange.

Joby shares have more than doubled over the last year, while Archer is up about 68%.

In August 2023, Archer settled a previous legal dispute with Boeing-owned Wisk Aero over the alleged theft of trade secrets. As part of the deal, Archer agreed to use Wisk as its autonomous tech partner.

A hearing is scheduled for March 20, 2026.

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Joby and Archer year-to-date stock chart.

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Jobs data muddies the picture for a December rate cut, while the Nvidia rally fizzles

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November 20, 2025

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Jobs data muddies the picture for a December rate cut, while the Nvidia rally fizzles

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Bitcoin falls to lowest level since April

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November 20, 2025

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Bitcoin falls to lowest level since April

Andriy Onufriyenko | Moment | Getty Images

Bitcoin dropped on Thursday to levels not seen in more than six months, as investors appeared to pull back exposure to riskier assets and weighed the prospects of another Federal Reserve rate cut next month.

The flagship digital currency fell to as low as $86,325.81, its lowest level since April 21. It last traded at $86,690.11.

The release of stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data raised questions about whether the central bank would lower its benchmark overnight rate. The U.S. economy added 119,000 in September, well above the 50,000 economists polled by Dow Jones expected.

That report sent the probability of a December rate cut to around 40%, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

Bitcoin’s pullback formed part of a broader cryptocurrency market decline. XRP was last down 2.3% on the day, and is below $2.00, while ether shed more than 3% to trade well below $3,000. Dogecoin was unchanged.

The world’s oldest crypto also led stocks lower, even after a blockbuster Nvidia earnings report. Traders who are heavily invested in AI-related stocks tend to also hold bitcoin, linking the two trades.

Bitcoin’s price has largely slid since a rash of cascading liquidations of highly leveraged crypto positions in early October.

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