Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Stock Wavers After Earnings Miss as Takeover Battle Heats Up

TLDR

• Warner Bros. Discovery reported a Q4 loss of 10 cents per share, worse than the 3 cents analysts expected.
• Revenue fell 6% to $9.46 billion, with linear networks adjusted EBITDA dropping 27% to $1.41 billion.
• HBO Max added 3.5 million subscribers, reaching 131.6 million total, with revenue up 5% to $2.8 billion.
• WBD is weighing a $31 per share bid from Paramount Skydance against an existing $27.75 per share deal with Netflix.
• Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos was set to visit the White House Thursday to discuss the streaming giant’s bid.

Warner Bros. Discovery reported fourth-quarter earnings Thursday that missed Wall Street expectations, as its traditional TV and film businesses continued to lose ground.

The company posted a loss of 10 cents per share. Analysts had forecast a loss of just 3 cents per share, according to FactSet data.

Revenue came in at $9.46 billion, down 6% from the same quarter a year ago. That was roughly in line with the LSEG consensus estimate of $9.35 billion.

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., WBD

WBD stock edged up 0.1% to $28.91 in premarket trading, though it remained without clear direction.

The cable and linear TV side of the business took another hit. The Discovery Linear Networks unit saw revenue fall 12% to $4.2 billion. Adjusted EBITDA for the segment dropped 27% to $1.41 billion — matching Wall Street’s forecast, but still a steep decline.

The film and TV studio group also struggled. Adjusted income tumbled 23% to $728 million. The film studio had no major theatrical releases in the holiday quarter after placing nine movies at the top of the box office in 2025.

The TV studio was hurt by the timing of content renewals, with revenue sliding 18%.

Streaming Held Up

Not everything went the wrong way. HBO Max was a bright spot, driven by buzzy series like “Heated Rivalry” and “It: Welcome to Derry.”

The streaming unit added 3.5 million subscribers in the quarter, bringing its global total to 131.6 million. Streaming revenue rose 5% to nearly $2.8 billion.

Adjusted earnings for the streaming segment dipped 4% to $393 million, due to the end of an unspecified distribution deal.

The Takeover Fight

Earnings results are almost secondary right now. All eyes are on what happens next in the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery.

In December, WBD agreed to sell its streaming and studios business to Netflix for $27.75 per share. The cable assets would be spun off to existing investors under that deal.

Paramount has argued that the Discovery linear assets carry zero equity value, pointing to how Versant Media Group — owner of CNBC and seen as a comparable company — has traded since its market debut last month.

Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos was scheduled to visit the White House on Thursday to discuss Netflix’s bid, according to Politico, citing two people familiar with the talks. Netflix did not immediately respond to a comment request.

WBD’s board has not yet determined whether the Paramount proposal is superior to the Netflix deal. If it does reach that conclusion, Netflix would have four business days to revise its offer.

The earnings statement on Thursday made no mention of the Paramount discussions.

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