Key Financial Data
- Total revenue: $9.045 billion (-6% year-over)
- Distribution revenue: $4.702 billion (-4%)
- Advertising revenue: $1.407 billion (-16%)
- Content revenue: $2.649 billion (-3%)
- Other revenue: $287 million (-4%)
- Net income: -$148 million
- Streaming revenue: $2.63 billion (no change)
- U.S. streaming subscribers: 58 million (+10%)
- Ex-U.S. streaming subscribers: 70 million (+21%)
- Global streaming ARPU: $6.64 (-15%)
- Domestic streaming ARPU: $10.40 (-13%)
- Global linear networks revenue: $3.88 billion (-22%)
- Linear networks distribution revenue: $2.39 billion (-8%)
- Advertising revenue: $1.19 billion (-20%)
- Content revenue: $217 million (-74%)
- Read more Q3 2025 media earnings coverage
Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) on Thursday revealed mixed earnings for the third quarter (Q3) of the year as theatrical success from “Superman,” “Weapons” and “The Conjuring: Last Rites” helped lift its studios business, offsetting steep declines in traditional television revenue and continued weakness in advertising.
For the three months ended September 30, consolidated revenue fell 6 percent to $9 billion, while the company swung to a net loss of $148 million. The results included $1.3 billion in restructuring and related charges. Adjusted earnings rose 2 percent to $2.5 billion, though total revenue missed Wall Street expectations. Shares traded lower in premarket activity following the announcement.
The company’s streaming and studios division posted profit of $1 billion, up 58 percent, on revenue of $5.3 billion, an increase of 8 percent year over year. Theatrical revenue surged 74 percent, fueling a 23 percent gain at Warner Bros. Studios to $3.3 billion. Films released during the period included DC’s “Superman,” which has grossed $615 million worldwide, “Weapons” at $267 million, and “The Conjuring: Last Rites” with more than $490 million globally.
On the television side, WBD’s global linear networks continued to struggle with lower advertising revenue and higher cable and satellite churn chipping away at key revenue line items. Profit declined 20 percent to $1.7 billion as revenue dropped 22 percent to $3.8 billion. Advertising revenue fell 16 percent to $1.4 billion, impacted by soft pay-TV subscriber trends and the absence of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games (WBD shares rights to the event in Europe), which had boosted results in the year-ago quarter. Distribution revenue slid 8 percent.
The streaming business continued to see improvements: In the U.S., WBD counted 58 million streaming subscribers, while overseas, the company attracted 70 million subscribers. Both were improvements compared to last year. On a sequential basis, WBD added 3.7 million streaming customers.
Moving forward, WBD plans to introduce its HBO Max service in Germany and Italy during the first half of 2026, and continues to expand the platform to other countries and territories.
The results bolster the rationale behind WBD’s ongoing evaluation of a corporate split or outright sale. Earlier this year, the company divided its operations internally into two units — Warner Bros (studios and streaming) and Discovery Global (linear TV) — as a precursor to a formal separation expected by mid-2026.
In a letter to shareholders, the company said it is considering “a broad range of strategic options,” including completing the planned separation, pursuing a full-company sale, or separate transactions for Warner Bros and Discovery Global. Alternative structures could also allow for a merger involving Warner Bros while spinning off Discovery Global to shareholders.
Stock Price
WBD company paid down $1.2 billion in debt during the quarter and reiterated its intent to reduce leverage as discussions with potential suitors — including Paramount, Netflix, Comcast, Apple and Amazon — continue.
During a conference call on Thursday, WBD CEO David Zaslav said the company has an “active process underway” to explore unsolicited offers from Paramount and the other companies while moving forward with its plan to separate its streaming and film business from its cable networks.
“The team is hard at work, both on the separation transaction and on following the board’s direction to evaluate strategic alternatives,” Zaslav said. “You’ve all seen media reports as to potential interested parties, and I won’t comment on anything specific — but, it’s fair to say that we have an active process underway.”
This week, CNBC reported WBD executives are likely to announce the company’s long-term fate — a continuation of the spin-out or a willingness to sell some or all of its business — before Christmas.
