HBO Max will add eight million subs this quarter after key Euro launches, claims WBD

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has helped add subscribers

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD)’s global streamer HBO Max added 3.5 million subscriptions in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025 to reach 131.6 million globally – and claimed it would blow past 140 million in the upcoming quarter following launches in Italy, Germany, the UK and Ireland.

The New York-headquartered media company, which remains the subject of a bidding tussle between Netflix and Paramount, on Thursday reported Q4 revenue of US$9.46bn, down 6% compared to the same period last year. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) was down 19% to US$2.22bn, which it attributed to the ongoing decline of its linear business.

Streaming revenue was up 5% to US$2.79bn, while adjusted Ebitda fell 4% to US$393m compared to last year. In terms of the 3.5 million subscriber additions to HBO Max in Q4, 1.2 million of those came in the US while 2.4 million came from international.

By the end of Q1 2026, HBO Max will have grown to more than 140 million subscribers, said WBD, adding that it remains on course to eclipse 150 million by the end of fiscal year 2026. Execs highlighted titles including The Pitt, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, The White Lotus, House of the Dragon, Industry and The Gilded Age as TV titles helping drive HBO Max’s growth.

In its global linear networks segment, revenue was down 13% to US$4.2bn in Q4 while profitability continued to be in freefall as adjusted Ebitda dropped 27% to US$1.41bn. WBD attributed the decline to a 10% decrease in domestic linear pay TV subscribers and a 14% drop in advertising revenue. The advertising decline was driven by the absence of NBA basketball, which resulted in a 22% audience decline in Q4.

The full-year picture was also not a rosy one for WBD’s linear business, with 2025’s revenue down 12% to US$17.66bn and adjusted Ebitda falling 21% to US$6.41bn compared US$8.15bn in 2024.

In the studios segment, revenue fell 14% to US$3.12bn, with adjusted Ebitda down 23% to US$728m, which WBD attributed partly to lower box office sales.

Its combined streaming and studios business (ie. the part Netflix is attempting to buy) posted revenue of US$5.55bn, up 4% from the year before, while adjusted Ebitda was up 6% to US$1.16bn.

Total net loss in the quarter was US$252m, which the company included a US$1.3bn of “pre-tax acquisition-related amortisation of intangibles, content fair value step-up, and restructuring expenses.” WBD’s total net debt currently stands at US$33.5bn.

As was the case with Paramount’s earnings call on Wednesday, WBD execs declined to comment on the ongoing sale negotiations.

The process took yet another intriguing turn earlier this week when the company announced that Paramount’s latest offer of $31 per share could be “superior” to Netflix’s definitive agreement. WBD’s board will continue to engage with David Ellison-led Paramount to ascertain if the offer supersedes Netflix’s. If that is deemed to be the case, Netflix would have four business days to raise its existing offer – or walk away. After falling more than 30% over the past six months, Netflix’s share price rebounded slightly this week as WBD has started to engage with Paramount once more. For its part, Netflix has remained committed to buying WBD’s streaming and studios businesses, though co-CEO Ted Sarandos has said the streaming giant will not overpay.

Elsewhere, WBD’s CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels, who will also serve as CEO of the planned Discovery Global spin-off, said the factual-focused Discovery+ streamer continues to be profitable and is buying once again in certain markets.

“We haven’t talked about it a lot because HBO Max has been the core priority. But if you remember, back when we merged [to form WBD], we were trying to shut down Discovery+. The fact of the matter is, we still have millions of viewers [on Discovery+] who are very regularly engaged, who love the content, and there is a tremendous opportunity. We have already opened up the buy flow again in certain international territories,” he said.

Execs were also asked if WBD needs to invest more heavily in local content in order to achieve its goal of tripling streaming profitability by 2030. On that front, JB Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming and games, said the company doesn’t “see a need to have a meaningful spike” in local content spending because its US-based films and series already perform well internationally.

In markets where it sees a need to invest in order to reach local audiences – like in Turkey where it acquired BluTV and South Korea where it partnered with CJ ENM – it will continue to do so, he added.

“Certainly local, international content continues to be important, but we don’t see a major step-change needed to continue to drive our growth,” said Perrette.