Warner Bros. Discovery Q3 Earnings Report Fell Short of Forecasts

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) released the last earnings report before the company launches a new streaming service that combines HBO Max and Discovery+ programming next year this afternoon. Given that Netflix's Q3 numbers were decent, the market probably anticipated a passable turnout for WBD. Nevertheless, it is evident that the company fell short. The aggregate global subscriber base of HBO, HBO Max, and Discovery+ reached 94.9 million at the end of the third quarter, up from 92.1 million at the end of Q2. Wall Street, however, had projected a net addition of 3.27 million customers. Additionally, the corporation said it lost 300,000 domestic users in the most recent quarter, bringing the total to 53 million. Hence, it now stands at 53.5 million domestic subscribers. [caption id="attachment_59026" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] image credit: yahoo[/caption] Furthermore, stocks of Warner Bros. Discovery declined 49% so far this year. In addition, analysts had high hopes for revenue and predicted $10.51 billion, a 233.6% increase year over year. But WBD reported a total of $9.82 billion, sadly falling short of forecasts. On the other hand, WBD's net loss of $2.4 million this quarter isn't as awful after it reported a net loss of $3.4 million in Q2. The corporation noted that WBD's gross debt burden is close to $50.4 billion. Compared to the prior $53 billion debt burden, this is a positive development. Additionally, the business stated that it aimed to reduce costs by $3 billion over the following two years. More details Warner Bros. Discovery intensified its reorganization efforts, eliminating HBO Max titles and reducing its staff. Most recently, the company laid off 14% of employees working under the chief content officer for HBO and HBO Max Casey Bloys. [caption id="attachment_59028" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] image credit: yahoo[/caption] CEO David Zaslav wrote in today's letter, "While we have lots more work to do, and there are some difficult decisions still to be made, we have total conviction in the opportunity ahead." On the plus side, HBO's "House of the Dragon" spinoff series for "Game of Thrones" broke viewership records. There were 10 million viewers for the series debut and 9.3 million for the series finale. According to the company's letter to shareholders, 29 million Americans watched the full series on average. Thus, this is probably the reason "House of the Dragon" will get a second season, especially since there are reports of six more spinoffs on the horizon. Moreover, the firm revealed yesterday that it will work with NFT platform Nifty's to introduce "Game of Thrones" NFTs, allowing fans to amass personalized avatars based on the show's characters, weapons, companions, gear, and more. Additionally, this comes a week after Warner Bros. released "Lord of the Rings" NFTs, another well-known series that will probably aid the corporation in making money. What's More On another note, the recent appointment of James Gunn and Peter Safran as co-chairmen and chief executive officers of DC Studios was another wise move by Zaslav. The best filmmaker in the business, Gunn has produced a huge number of noteworthy superhero films. And Safran, who produced "Shazam" and "Aquaman," will be a great addition to the studio. [caption id="attachment_59027" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] image credit: yahoo[/caption] Lastly, an important turning point for the corporation comes with Gunn switching to DC Entertainment at Warner Bros. after years of working with Disney's Marvel. Zaslav also has a tough time winning back DC fans following the incredibly depressing news that "Batgirl" was canceled.