📺 Warner Bros. Discovery expands.
Warner Bros. Discovery $WBD continues to aggressively expand its streaming business, adding 6.4 million subscribers to its core MAX platform in the fourth quarter of 2024. This brings the total number of subscribers to 116.9 million, and the company expects to reach 150 million by the end of 2026.
📊 Key numbers for Q4 2024:
Streaming division revenue: $2.65 billion (+5% y/y)
Adjusted EBITDA of streaming division: $409 million vs. loss of $55 million in 2023
Total revenue: $10.03 billion (-2% y/y)
Total net income: -$494 million vs. loss of -$400 million in Q4 2023
🛑 The unpleasant surprise, however, was the net loss 20 cents per share, versus the expected earnings 1 cent per share. Still, WBD stock has appreciated by more than 8 %, indicating optimism about the company's long-term strategy.
🔎 Strong streaming growth and new markets
Warner Bros. Discovery is aggressively focusing on the global expansion of its MAXplatform , which will:
Launch in the UK and Ireland via Sky in Q2 2026
Expanding into Germany and Italy in Q1 2026
🔥 Aims to exceed 150 million subscribers by the end of the year 2026 and reach EBITDA streaming division 1.3 billion USD, which is double the year-over-year 2024.
🎥 Sports and News: strategy for growth
WBD will keep sports content and CNN within the standard and premium MAX package at no extra cost to increase the platform's appeal. 🚀
📉 On the other hand, starting next season, WBD loses the rights to the NBA, but still holds on:
⚾ MLB (Baseball)
🏒 NHL (Hockey)
🎾 French Open (Tennis)
🏈 College American Football
CEO David Zaslav has made it clear that he is not planning to expand sports rights, but will focus on monetizing current content.
💡 CNN In 2024 Benefited less from an election year than expected, but expects to stabilize in 2025.
📉 Decline in linear TV and ads
The traditional TV segment continues to weaken:
WBD TV networks down $5.04 billion → $4.77 billion
U.S. linear TV advertising market declines faster than expected
However, the company is investing in the development of digital advertising across streaming platforms to offset this decline.
WBD is betting that the MAX will become a key player in global streaming - it will be able to catch up Netflix or Disney? 🎬💰
What is your opinion about this company?
I had the stock in my portfolio for a while, but it seems to me that the business hasn't changed much since then and the stock is stagnant.
I wouldn't buy $WBD stock. The company has a lot of debt and hasn't come up with anything new in a while.
The company is doing well, but I would pick either $DIS or $NFLX from this sector.