Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD.US) shares surged over 16% in early trading Thursday after the media giant reported record-breaking streaming subscriber growth, overshadowing broader revenue challenges. The company added 7.2 million net streaming subscribers in Q3, significantly beating analyst expectations of 6.1 million and marking the strongest quarterly gain since Max's launch.
While overall revenue declined 4% to $9.62 billion, missing Bloomberg's consensus estimate of $9.81 billion, the company's streaming division showed remarkable strength with revenue up 8% to $2.63 billion. The streaming segment's profitability also improved substantially, posting $289 million in profits compared to $111 million in the same period last year.
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Create account Try a demo Download mobile app Download mobile appCEO David Zaslav highlighted Q3 as a "material inflection point," projecting continued growth in revenue, profit, and subscribers. However, challenges persist in traditional segments, with the Studios division seeing a 17% revenue decline following Barbie's exceptional performance last year, and the Networks segment grappling with declining advertising revenue.
The company's ability to monetize its streaming success while managing the decline of traditional TV businesses will be crucial for maintaining this momentum, as WBD's stock remains down over 25% year-to-date despite today's rally.
The price has successfully closed the February selling gap from earlier this year. Source: xStation
