WB’s Subscriber Count Drops Post Q3 Results

Warner Bros Discover Inc (WBD:US) announced its quarterly reports last week and there was hardly anything to be excited about, especially for its existing shareholders.  The company’s subscriber count went down and advertising revenue declined, culminating in a loss almost three times bigger than the market expectations. As a result, the stock price went down 19% in a single day.

Amidst all the negativity, there were two positives for the company. First, the streaming business made a profit, even when all other segments reported a loss.

Second, the company received a big boost from the “Barbie Movie", which experienced success not just locally but also in the international market. 

Despite all that, the dwindling subscriber count has many shareholders worried. WBD lost 700,000 subscribers in the quarter, which is a big blow considering both Disney+ and Netflix reported an increase in their subscriber base.

The company plans to roll out its streaming service ‘Max’ globally in 2024 and 2025. While that, and other major events like the introduction of TNT sports in the UK and the Paris Olympics, will help the company increase its subscriber count, it remains a big task for the company to turn a profit and reward its shareholders.

Since the start of this year, there have only been $3,000 to $45,000 worth of investment transactions in the WBD stock. All of these were carried out by the Democrat Representative Ro Khanna. We already know that he is a frequent trader so it is safe to say that no politician has dared to invest in WBD stock this year. And the quarterly results show why. 

All other transactions in the stock YTD were sell transactions. These include $130,000 to $300,000 worth of sales by Michael McCaul, who interestingly bought these shares late last year and liquidated his holdings at a profit. Seeing the biggest political shareholder in the stock sell his holdings certainly does not inspire any confidence in the company’s future.