Warner Bros. Shares Jump on Gains in Streaming Subscribers
Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. showed improvement at its direct-to-consumer unit, which includes its Max streaming service.
Photographer: Gabby Jones/BloombergWarner Bros. Discovery Inc. shares rose after the parent of cable channels CNN and HBO said it added 6.4 million new paying customers to its streaming business in the fourth quarter and aims to have 150 million such subscribers by 2026.
The gains in streaming, buoyed by a recent push into Latin America and Europe, brought total subscribers to 117 million and helped increase advertising revenue in the unit by 26% to $235 million. The streaming business is also becoming much more profitable for Warner Bros. Adjusted earnings in that unit swung to $409 million after a loss of $55 million a year earlier and were far ahead of analysts’ expectations of $273 million.