Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Bleeds Revenue but Scores Big With Streaming Surge

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Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD, Financials) reported a net loss of $500 million in the first quarter of 2025, as weakness in advertising and content revenue outweighed gains in streaming and cost efficiency.

Revenue fell to $9.0 billion, a 9% year-over-year decrease on a constant currency basis. Content revenue dropped 25%, while advertising fell 8%, driven by continued domestic linear TV declines.

Adjusted EBITDA rose 4% to $2.1 billion, supported by growth in the Streaming and Studios segments. The company ended the quarter with 122.3 million streaming subscribers, up 5.3 million from Q4.

Free cash flow came in at $300 million, with operating cash flow at $600 million. Warner Bros. Discovery repaid $2.2 billion in debt and ended the quarter with $4.0 billion in cash and $38.0 billion in gross debt, bringing net leverage to 3.8x.

The company also refinanced $1.5 billion in 2026 notes with a short-term loan expected to lower net interest costs.

Distribution revenue slipped 1%, as international streaming gains couldn't offset declines in U.S. pay TV.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.