After more than three decades of reporting from the heart of Wall Street, Bob Pisani—the calm, steady voice of CNBC’s market coverage—is stepping away from his daily role at the network. Pisani’s final day on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange will be May 9, marking the end of an era not just for CNBC, but for a generation of investors who relied on his market insight during both economic booms and busts.
Pisani isn’t disappearing entirely. He’ll return in a limited role later this year as a contributor for CNBC Pro, the network’s subscription service aimed at elite investors—a fitting end for someone who was a rare voice of clarity in a media landscape too often dominated by noise and narrative.
“Bob has been more than just a colleague over the last three decades—he’s been a constant presence, a trusted voice,” wrote CNBC’s Dan Colarusso in a staff memo. That’s no overstatement. Pisani’s thoughtful, in-the-weeds coverage has earned him widespread respect, even among critics of CNBC’s broader programming.
But Pisani’s retirement comes at a time of growing concern for the future of financial journalism—and CNBC itself. The network’s parent company, Comcast, is undergoing a major corporate shake-up, spinning off its entertainment and media divisions into a new entity called *Versant*. This new spinoff will include not only CNBC, but also MSNBC (a bastion of left-wing commentary), USA, Syfy, and even digital brands like Rotten Tomatoes.
The Roberts family—the billionaire dynasty behind Comcast—will still control both companies, but make no mistake: this restructuring is about consolidating power and streamlining influence, and it could change the tone and priorities of networks like CNBC in ways viewers won’t appreciate.
While Pisani earned his place as a true Wall Street insider by reporting from the ground level—literally, on the NYSE trading floor—many of his successors are increasingly disconnected from the world they cover. Remote anchors, algorithm-driven headlines, and politically filtered narratives are becoming the norm in financial reporting.
It’s hard not to see Pisani’s departure as symbolic. He was one of the last remaining reporters who consistently delivered information without a partisan twist or agenda-driven analysis. In 2022, he published *Shut Up and Keep Talking*, a book offering practical investing lessons and hard-won wisdom from his decades covering the markets—an approach that couldn’t be further removed from the ideological grandstanding that often defines modern financial news.
As CNBC prepares for this uncertain new chapter under Versant, the exit of a steady hand like Bob Pisani only highlights the industry’s shift from substance to spectacle. Investors looking for unbiased insight may need to dig deeper than ever.
Wall Street will keep moving, and cameras will still roll on the floor of the NYSE—but with Pisani gone, something essential will be missing.
