Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. (NASDAQ: WBD) is the house that Zaslav built. He was once the highly successful CEO of midsized media company Discovery. Then came a marriage of AT&T\u2019s Warner Media and Discovery in April 2022. Since then, the company has fallen apart like a cheap watch. (These are America’s most hated companies.)<\/p>\n
According to recent government filings, Warner Bros. Discovery has $50 billion in debt. Many of Zaslav\u2019s decisions are based on his ability to make payments. The Wall Street Journal reported on the company\u2019s rising trouble: \u201cWarner Bros. said it is now targeting full-year adjusted earnings, before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, of $10.5 billion to $11 billion, down by $500 million on both the lower and upper bounds from guidance issued last month.\u201d<\/p>\n
No wonder the stock is down 11% in the past year while the market is 15% higher.<\/p>\n
In its most recently reported quarter, revenue rose 5% to $10.4 billion. However, Warner Bros. Discovery lost $1.2 billion. Its studio figures were acceptable but will be hurt by the current writer and actor strikes. For the period, revenue at the studios dropped 8% to $2.6 billion. Adjusted EBITDA rose 28% to $306 million. However, adjusted EBITDA is not based on GAAP rules and is a poor way to measure success or lack thereof.<\/p>\n
Streaming revenue rose 23% to $2.7 billion, and adjusted EBITDA was close to breakeven. However, Warner Bros. Discovery\u2019s streaming business is under the same pressure as its rivals. There are too many services and too many losses.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t