High-profile media and entertainment earnings continue to roll in, so let’s quickly review. 📝
Disney’s $0.82 per share in adjusted earnings topped the $0.70 expected, as did its Disney+ subscribers of 150.2 million vs. 148.15 million expected. However, revenues of $21.24 billion were just shy of the consensus $21.33 billion. The 7 million new streaming customers helped the business narrow its losses, with executives reiterating that the combined streaming businesses will reach profitability in the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024. $DIS shares were up about 3% on the news. 🎢
Warner Bros. Discovery reported a wider-than-expected $0.17 per share loss, with revenues of $9.98 billion meeting expectations. Its lackluster subscriber numbers and declining advertising revenue weighed on results. CEO David Zaslav said, “This is a generational disruption we’re going through. Going through that with a streaming service that’s losing billions of dollars, it’s really difficult to go on offense.” $WBD shares fell 19% to their lowest level since January. 📺
Roblox’s $0.45 per share loss and $839 million in revenues topped expectations for $0.51 and $830 million. Its revenues (aka bookings) rose 20% YoY, as did its average daily active users and hours spent. However, its average revenues (bookings) per user was flat YoY at $11.96. Recently, the company has made significant efforts to cut expenses amid slowing revenue growth but noted strength in East Asia and Europe last quarter. It will begin providing guidance in fiscal 2024. $RBLX shares were up 12% on the day. 🎮
AMC Entertainment reported a third-quarter net loss of $0.09 per share on revenues of $1.41 billion. Analysts had anticipated a $0.25 per share loss on $1.26 billion in revenues. The success of Barbie and Oppenheimer helped it achieve the best third-quarter revenue and adjusted EBITDA in its history. With its stock split and $APE share conversion behind it, the company has been able to shore up its cash reserves to $730 million. However, challenges remain for 2024, with domestic attendance still 16% below pre-pandemic levels and the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes pushing out releases into the future. $AMC shares were down a few percent after hours. 🍿
The New York Times’ recovery in the advertising market and rise in subscriptions for its higher-priced bundles led to an earnings and revenue beat. It added 210,000 digital-only subscribers last quarter to 9.7 million, with its average revenue per user for bundled subscriptions of $12.81 vs. total digital-only of $9.28. Despite the rebound in advertising, executives remained conservative with their estimates, expecting a 4%-8% decline in total advertising revenue for the fourth quarter. $NYT shares rose 6%. 📰