On Twitter/X, the Steak ‘n Shake corporate account explains why large companies are doing such a crappy job.  I am not a finance big-brain, but took the Wall Street Journal for many years and try to keep current.  

This is a novel explanation for why big companies make such bad decisions.  It sounds plausible.

Steak ‘n Shake (@SteaknShake) September 20, 2026

Here is their main point.

The root of the rot is index funds. There’s no question that indexing one’s money is a smart financial move for most people. But just because you passively index your investments doesn’t mean your corporate votes should be handed over to the managers of your fund so they can play politics. Right now, passive funds hold massive, unchecked voting blocks while having zero skin in the game themselves.

About 60% of adults own stock, either directly or through mutual funds.   A person who owns stock in a company, is entitled to vote on the board of directors.   Owning stock through a mutual fund means the mutual fund managers vote.

Steak ‘n Shake and I agree that most people should invest via an index fund.  Those funds have low expenses because they don’t try to pick winners.  They buy stock in every company in the index, so aren’t as volatile and tend to provide double-digit yields for years.

What is good for the investor, is bad for the company.  Instead of thousands of investors doing their own research, a couple of organizations vote.

Approximately 80% of stocks are owned by institutional investors.  That’s why companies go WOKE, and end up broke.  

Nike stock has dropped 80% in five years. 

Disney stock where it was ten years ago, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial have gone up 300%.

I don’t know if Steak ‘n Shake has the solution, but they certainly make a good case for the problem.