Warner Bros. Discovery reported first-quarter results on Thursday, missing analyst expectations on both the top and bottom lines despite strength in its streaming unit.
The company’s stock fell 4% in premarket trading.
Here is how Warner Bros. Discovery performed, compared with estimates from analysts surveyed by LSEG:
- Loss per share: 40 cents vs. 24 cents loss expected
- Revenue: $9.96 billion vs. $10.231 billion expected
Warner Bros. Discovery — which owns streaming service Max, a portfolio of cable TV networks including TNT and Discovery, and a film studio — said revenue fell 7% to $9.96 billion compared to the same quarter last year.
Warner Bros. Discovery posted a net loss attributable to the company of $966 million, or 40 cents per share, an improvement from the year-ago quarter when it reported a loss of $1.07 billion, or 44 cents per share.
The company said total adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were down roughly 20% during the first quarter to $2.1 billion, noting its “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League” video game generated significantly lower revenues.
Streaming growth
Warner Bros. Discovery’s earning release follows the announcement this week that it would bundle its streaming services with those of Disney — tying together Max, Disney+ and Hulu — and offer it to consumers this summer, a callback to the traditional pay-TV package. Pricing has yet to be disclosed, but it will be offered at a discount, CNBC reported.
It marks the first time two media giants are joining forces to offer a streaming bundle as the push to make streaming profitable continues. While TV networks have long been a cash cow for media companies, the bundle continues to bleed subscribers.
The entertainment streaming bundle marks the second partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney in recent months. The companies, along with Fox Corp., previously announced a sports streaming joint venture that will launch this fall.
Warner Bros. Discovery said Thursday it added 2 million direct-to-consumer streaming subscribers during the quarter, bringing its total to 99.6 million.
That segment earned an adjusted $86 million during the quarter, an improvement of $36 million from the prior-year quarter, the company said. It also saw revenue increase “modestly” to $2.46 billion from the prior-year quarter.
Advertising revenue for streaming proved to be a bright spot, increasing 70%, boosted by higher engagement on Max in the U.S. due in part to subscriber growth in the streaming service’s ad-lite tier and the launch of sports on the app.
Other results
However, advertising revenue remained weak for Warner Bros. Discovery’s TV networks, as did the segment as a whole.
TV networks revenue was down 8% to $5.13 billion, with advertising revenue down 11%. While the ad market has been soft for some time now, recent quarterly earnings show there has been improvement for digital and streaming while traditional TV lags behind.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio segment revenue was down 12% to $2.82 billion compared to the same quarter last year. The segment was weighed down by the lackluster release of the latest iteration of “Suicide Squad” and the lingering effects of the Hollywood writers and actors strikes last year.
The company’s cash position improved, with free cash flow increasing to $390 million, a $1.3 billion improvement from the same quarter last year, the company noted.
Warner Bros. Discovery has been working to reduce its debt load, which now stands at $43.2 billion, stemming from the merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery in 2022. On Thursday the company said it repaid $1.1 billion in debt during the quarter, and also announced a $1.75 billion cash tender aimed at further reducing its debt.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
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