After the U.S. stock market closed on Wednesday, media and entertainment giant Warner Bros. Discovery (Warner Bros. Discovery) announced a terrible second-quarter financial report. The quarterly results were lower than expected across the board. All income statement categories fell sharply, and operating income It fell 6.2% year-on-year to US$9.71 billion, and the net loss was close to US$10 billion, more than eight times the loss a year ago.
The most surprising thing in the financial report, and the one that hit the stock price the most, is that Warner Bros. is exploring a substantial reduction of US$9.1 billion in the value of its traditional television networks such as CNN and TNT. In 2022, the discovery company Discovery acquired Warner Media, which was spun off by AT&T, for more than US$40 billion. The merger gave birth to Warner Bros. Discovery. These TV networks are part of the assets acquired by Warner Media.
commented that the huge write-down confirms that the value of traditional cable channels such as CNN and TNT is no longer what it will be when Warner Bros. explores the completion of a $42 billion merger in 2022. The revenue plunge in the second quarter for Warner Bros.'s Discovery Networks unit, which includes CNN, will not stop. Warner Bros. Discovery laid off more than 2,000 employees over the past year, and CNN laid off another 100 people last month. In fact, judging from the massive layoffs CNN is undertaking, it's safe to say CNN's value is now negative and will remain so until it stops hemorrhaging large amounts of cash.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said on Wednesday's after-hours earnings call:
"Two years ago, the market valuation and current situation of traditional media companies was very different than it is today. This impairment recognizes that and allows our The book value is more consistent with future prospects. "
media pointed out that the non-cash write-down of US$9.1 billion in the second quarter occurred when Warner Bros. Discovery cable networks such as CNN, TNT, and TBS suffered user cancellations, declining ratings and advertising markets. Weakness hits hard. Streaming platforms like Netflix are stealing viewers and subscribers from traditional television networks. Another recent blow to these cable TV businesses is that TNT failed to reach a new agreement with the NBA and lost the rights to broadcast the National Basketball League games next season. Last month, the NBA abandoned its partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery, awarding an 11-year media rights agreement worth $76 billion to Disney, Comcast and Amazon. Warner filed a lawsuit against the NBA last month, accusing it of breach of contract.
also commented that, more importantly, the write-down reflects the continued shift of viewers from cable networks such as CNN to streaming media, taking away most of the revenue from traditional TV from advertising sales and subscription fees. These changes have rippled across the media. Disney's third fiscal quarter results announced on Wednesday confirmed this again. Disney's financial report showed that cable TV advertising sales and the number of subscribers have declined. Disney's stock price fell more than 4% on Wednesday, hitting its lowest point in a decade. After
released its financial report, Warner Bros. Discovery fell nearly 10% after the market closed on Wednesday, and continued to fall sharply on Thursday. It fell to $6.73 in early trading, setting a new intraday low since the stock began trading in April 2022 after the merger, and fell 12.7% on the day. In the past two years, the company's stock price has fallen by more than 70%.
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