Warner Bros. Discovery released a lower-than-expected financial second quarter. However, free cash flow did better than was predicted.
The company’s loss per share was 51 cents, more than the Wall Street analyst’s prediction of 42 cents. Revenue dropped by 4% compared to the quarter a year prior, making up a total of $10.358 billion (a little less than Wall Street’s number). Streaming subscribers for Ditto dropped by 1.8 million subs, bringing the total to 95.8 million.
The results come from struggling ad sales, a linear TV business, and a disappointing outcome for The Flash ($268 million globally). For studios, revenue dropped 8%, reaching about $2.6 billion. Networks remained the same and brought in $5.6 billion. EBITDA had also dropped by 4%. The successful giant, Barbie, came out after the second quarter, so Barbie is not reflected in these earnings.
Free cash flow had doubled the quarter a year prior ($789 million), bringing this quarter to $1.7 billion—something Wall Street could not predict. WBD shares increased slightly in the pre-market trading due to free cash flow, dropping stream losses, and a $5 billion savings from merging WarnerMedia and Discovery. Stock, however, has been on the decline since the $43 billion deal in April 2022. The stock has dipped lower than $9 in the previous December.
The company is in debt, and investors are wary. Discovery competes with Max, and although cheaper, most programs on Discovery can also be found on Max, resulting in subscribers cutting out Discovery for Max. Still, streaming is projected to be profitable for Discovery.
WBD has had to make cost savings decisions like cutting off staff and non-essential assets. However, the company will still need to invest in streaming services as network TV bundles diminish. Advertising has also reported lower results compared to 2022.
Leave a Comment