Analysts react positively to Warner Bros. Discovery’s Q3 amid strong Ebitda and FCF beats

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:) reported a mixed set of results on Wednesday.

The company posted a loss per share of 17 cents, beating the estimate of a loss per share of 11 cents.

The company generated revenue of $9.98 billion, reflecting a 1.6% year-on-year increase, in line with analyst estimates.

Advertising revenue amounted to $1.80 billion, while WBD reported a total of 95.1 million subscribers, just below the estimate of 95.54 million.

Warner Bros Discovery highlighted the success of the film “Barbie,” which became the highest-grossing film in the history of Warner Bros, with global box office revenue totaling nearly $1.5 billion.

Another big positive was that WBD generated a free cash flow of $2.06 billion, nearly $300 more than what the analysts were expecting.

“WBD is ahead on deleveraging with ’23 FCF ests likely moving higher. DTC profits follow an industry-wide theme of better costs. The focus now shifts to ’24 EBITDA and deleveraging, and whether these trends can offset omnipresent Networks pressures,” analysts at Wells Fargo said.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs added:

“We see WBD’s 3Q23 results as supportive of our thesis that the media company can drive strong EBITDA growth, FCF and rapid deleveraging as it captures merger synergies, even as its linear business faces secular headwinds and as it prepares for a broader international roll-out of Max.”