WBD adds 3.4m streaming subs as HBO Max continues solid international growth

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) added 3.4 million streaming subscribers in the second quarter (Q2) to reach a total of 125.7 million globally, as HBO Max continued to grow its international member base and execs promised to ramp up the company’s password-sharing crackdown.

David Zaslav

During the quarter, WBD added 3.3 million direct-to-consumer (D2C) subscribers outside the US and a further 100,000 in the highly competitive American market.

Total revenue generated by the streaming segment was US$2.79bn in Q2, an increase of 8% from a year ago, while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was US$293m, compared with a loss of U$107m in last year’s Q2.

WBD president and CEO David Zaslav said the company remains on track to exceed its goal of 150 million subscribers by the end of fiscal 2026. Streaming rival Netflix stopped reporting subscriber numbers earlier this year while Disney this week announced its intention to do so starting in 2026.

JB Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming and games, said during the Q2 conference call that the company will begin clamping down more “aggressively” on password sharing later this year, with benefits becoming apparent in 2026.

WBD’s linear business continued to drive the lion’s share of revenue, though the segment continues to be in relatively steep decline. In Q2, the global linear networks segment generated US$4.8bn in revenue, a 9% decrease from the previous year, while adjusted EBITDA dropped 25% to US$1.5bn.

For context, two years ago, in Q2 of 2023, WBD’s networks segment posted total revenue of US$5.76bn and adjusted EBITDA of US$2.17bn. The spinning-off of the linear networks business into a separate company, announced in June, is expected to close in the middle of 2026.

In its studios division, revenue was up 54% to US$3.8bn due to higher theatrical revenue driven by A Minecraft Movie, Sinners and Final Destination: Bloodlines. WBD said that TV revenue within the studios segment was also driven up 115% by “higher intercompany content licensing due to the timing of renewals.”

Across the whole company, revenue was flat at US$9.81bn while adjusted EBITDA grew 9% to US$1.95bn. At the end of Q2, WBD had US$35.6bn in gross debt, compared with US$53bn three years ago.