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WBD · Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

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$27.99 +0.24 (+0.86%) At close · Aug 14
Market Cap
$70.27B
Shares
2.51B
All earnings calls

Earnings call · FY2025 Q4

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Q4 FY2025 Earnings Call

Concluded Feb 26, 2026 Audio replay
Feb 26, 2026 39:43 27 turns
Period
FY2025 Q4
Runtime
39:43
Sources
4 artifacts

Executive readout · one minute

What matters this quarter

Warner Bros. Discovery reported Q4 2025 revenues of $9.5 billion, down 7% ex-FX, with Adjusted EBITDA of $2.2 billion, down 20% ex-FX. Management highlighted strong film and HBO Max momentum while preparing to spin off Discovery Global this summer.

Theatrical box office and film slate 15 International growth and local content 14 Discovery Global spin-off and separation 11 Sports rights and portfolio 10 Advertising recovery and upfront 8 Video games business reset 7

Management tone

Confident

Net tone +68 · moderate hedging

Grounding quotes
  • “We are optimistic about 2026, and our ninth consecutive theatrical release from Wuthering Heights, for the world's leading creative talent.”
  • “Our streaming segment also delivered terrific growth. Scaling HBO Max globally has been one of our core priorities for four years. We have executed our plan with focus and discipline.”
  • “Our global linear networks teams clearly remain highly attuned to today's audiences. While secular headwinds persist, our portfolio of networks attracted 30% of all prime time cable viewing in the U.S.”
  • “We have iconic brands reaching a billion people. We have trusted journalism with CNN and other players everywhere in the world, fan-favorite talent, a world-class sports portfolio, and a strong digital footprint that is already contributing meaningfully to the monetization of our brands and our network content.”

Forward guidance

3 guided metrics

Management's latest ranges and targets are included below.

Research coverage

4 live sources

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Revenue · derived Q4 $9.46B -5.7% YoY
Net income · derived Q4 -$252.00M

Research materials

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Key takeaways

What improved, and what deserves a closer read.

Constructive signals

  • Seven consecutive 2025 films opened above $40M at the box office, a first for any studio, with nine films debuting number one.
  • Recent originals generated over $160M at the global box office in two weeks, including an $83M opening weekend.
  • On track to exceed 140M total streaming subscribers by end of Q1, with a goal to exceed 150M subscribers by year-end.
  • Series debuts in 2025 averaged 13M viewers per episode; prior seasons saw 30-50% audience growth, with one averaging 27M viewers per episode.
  • HBO Max launched in over 100 countries and territories with more than 50% growth in linear hours viewed in Europe during the 2026 Winter Games versus 2022.
  • Implemented eight price increases achieving a 63% increase in value.

Risks & pressure points

  • Q4 total revenues fell 7% ex-FX to $9.5B; distribution -3%, advertising -9%, content -10%, other -21% ex-FX.
  • Q4 Adjusted EBITDA of $2.2B declined 20% ex-FX versus prior year quarter.
  • Q4 net loss available to WBD of $252M, including $1.3B of pre-tax acquisition-related amortization, content fair value step-up, and restructuring expenses.
  • Q4 cash from operations fell 34% to $1.8B and free cash flow fell 43% to $1.4B versus prior year quarter.
  • Absence of the NBA negatively impacted Q4 advertising growth rate by 4% ex-FX; secular linear headwinds persist domestically.
  • Full-year 2025 revenues declined 5% to $37.3B with free cash flow down 30% to $3.1B year-over-year.

Key moments

Jump directly to management's words in the synchronized transcript.

“Discovery Global is projected to come out of the gate with roughly a 3.3x net leverage number. That is absolutely sustainable and supportable. I expect that rating agencies will probably assign single-B, maybe low double-B ratings for Discovery Global. This is sustainable, and there is a huge opportunity as we've shown in the past.” Gunnar Wiedenfels, CFO
“we are on track to reach more than 140,000,000 total streaming subscribers by the end of the first quarter, and we are well on our way to exceed 150,000,000 subscribers by the end of the year.” David Zaslav, CEO

Forward guidance

From the 8-K filed Feb 26, 2026.

Metric Guided
Adjusted EBITDA
Studios segment (long-term target)
at least $3B
Global Linear Networks advertising revenue ex-FX headwind from t
first quarter 2026
7%
Global Linear Networks advertising revenue ex-FX headwind from t
second quarter 2026
20%
Full-screen source Call document