Since the 2000s, there has been persistent and periodic speculation of a potential acquisition of the Walt Disney Company, an American media conglomerate, by Apple Inc., an American technology company. Despite there being no evidence of such plans, the notion has been routinely suggested by analysts and pundits and repeatedly dismissed by both companies.
Apple and Disney have historically shared a close relationship, largely due to Disney's collaboration and subsequent acquisition of Pixar, which was owned by Apple founder Steve Jobs, and the subsequent friendship between Jobs and Disney CEO Bob Iger. Rumors have surfaced periodically since then, including when the Trump administration proposed a tax reform program in 2017, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused Disney's stock to sink to historic lows in 2020, and when Iger returned as CEO in 2022 after a two-year hiatus.
Advocates of the theory argue that a merger would complement both companies and allow Apple to strengthen its entertainment ventures, while dissenters point to the two companies' dissimilar business approaches, likely regulatory scrutiny, and the cost of such an acquisition as evidence neither side is interested in a merger. Executives from Apple and Disney have been presented with these rumors, with both sides denying that a deal is in the works. Various publications have cited insiders and Disney employees' beliefs that Iger intends to eventually sell the company to Apple.