> The CEO of a public company is a glorified cheerleader.

It can be. You've just noticed the fact that for publicly traded companies where the value of the stock exceeds the total value of the assets you actually get to put that difference on your books into categories like "Good will" or "Consumer confidence."

For companies struggling to create genuine year over year value this is a currently validated mechanism for faking it. The majority of companies do not need to do this. That companies operating in monopolized sectors often have to do it is what really should be scrutinized.