Warner Bros. Discovery Swings to Q2 Profit, Boosted by HBO Max Expansion, ‘Minecraft’

The story of Warner Bros. Discovery is quickly becoming a tale of two companies — and that’s a narrative executives would really like Wall Street to hear.

The company behind the Warner Bros. studio, the HBO Max streaming service and cable networks including CNN and HGTV saw improving results for its streaming operations and production studios, even as conditions for its traditional TV networks appeared to worsen. Such reports will no doubt bolster the company’s recent decision to split itself in two. One company will house the production and streaming assets, while the other, laden with debt, will grapple with steering the cable networks into the future.

In a letter to shareholders, the company cited the performance of films like “A Minecraft Movie” and “Sinners,” TV properties including “The Last of Us” and sports broadcasts including its coverage of the French Open. Still, Warner Bros. Discovery eked out just a small gain in revenue during the period, while moving to a profit in the period from a loss in the year-earlier quarter.

The company said it gained 3.4 million global streaming subscribers in the quarter, thanks in part to international expansion of the streaming service. But there are still difficult operating conditions to navigate.

“Our Studios are performing well and are making progress,” the company said in its shareholder letter, but “secular headwinds persist in the network television environment.”

Profit in the quarter came to $1.58 billion, while revenue totaled $9.81 billion, which fell short of analyst forecasts.

More to come….