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Investing.com -- Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) said on Thursday it expects its streaming profits to double in 2025 and is projecting at least 150 million subscribers by 2026.
The company’s guidance and strong performance in studio and direct-to-consumer (D2C) businesses sent its shares surging more than 6% after the market open, offsetting a surprise loss for the fourth quarter driven by declines in its traditional television business and weaker ad sales.
The media and entertainment giant posted a quarterly net loss per share of $0.20, missing the consensus projection of breakeven.
The company’s total revenue during the period stood at $10.02 billion, also below the $10.24 billion projected by analysts.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming division posted an adjusted EBITDA of $409 million in the fourth quarter, surpassing the $289.1 million estimate from LSEG. Revenue for the unit rose 5%, driven by subscriber growth and content expansion.
Meanwhile, the company’s TV networks segment, which includes CNN, Discovery Channel, and Animal Planet, saw a 5% revenue decline as advertising sales dropped 17%, reflecting continued weakness in the cable market.
The studios business reported a 15% increase in revenue, benefiting from higher content licensing fees as the effects of last year’s Hollywood strikes faded.
While the company’s networks business was “very soft as expected,” results from its studio and direct-to-consumer businesses were “very encouraging," Benchmark analysts said.
WBD added 6.4 million streaming subscribers in the fourth quarter, outpacing the 4.9 million analysts had expected.
Looking ahead, the company forecasts adjusted EBITDA for its streaming business to reach $1.3 billion in 2025, up from $677 million last year.
While it did not provide a subscriber target for 2025, its 2026 projection exceeded analyst expectations of 135.8 million.