WBD revenue falls 6% and profits rise 2% in Q3 as Comcast eyes bid

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) president and CEO David Zaslav said an “active” sale process is underway after the American media company posted strong studio results, middling streaming numbers and poor linear financials in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025.

David Zaslav

Across the company, revenue fell 6% to US$9bn in Q3, missing analyst expectations, but profit climbed by a modest 2%, ahead of forecasts.

In its streaming segment, which consists of both HBO Max and Discovery+, revenue was flat at US$2.63bn as WBD added 2.3 million global subscribers to reach 128 million – still some way off its goal of 150 million by 2026. With the addition of those 2.3 million subs, streaming revenue increased by 1% to US$2.55bn.

The brightest spot was its studios business, which posted revenue of US$3.32bn, up 24% from the previous year following strong theatrical performances from the likes of Superman, The Conjuring: Last Rites and Weapons.

However, the growth in studios and flat performance of streaming was wiped out by a 22% decline in its linear networks business, which reported revenue of US$3.88bn. WBD said the reason for such a big drop was due to an unfavourable comparison with last year, when it had the European rights to the Olympic Games.

Across the entire company, adjusted earnings hit US$2.47bn, up 2% from Q3 last year. Within that, US$1.7bn came from the global linear networks, though that was a 20% decline from the year before, while streaming earnings were up 20% to US$345m and studio earnings more than doubled to US$695m.

While a much-discussed sale process is taking place around WBD, the company is forging ahead with its plan to split into two parts, with one company, Warner Bros, housing the studio and streaming assets – including HBO, HBO Max, Warner Bros Television and Warner Bros Motion Picture Group – and the other, Discovery Global, containing the global linear networks.

WBD has been the talk of the film and TV world for the past two weeks since announcing it was exploring several strategic options, including moving ahead with its planned separation, a sale of the entire company or separate transactions for Warner Bros and/or Discovery Global.

The decision to publicly declare that it was up for sale came after David Ellison’s Paramount made several offers to buy the entire company, with the most recent being US$23.50 per share. WBD has rejected those offers on the basis that the post-separation companies will fetch a higher price tag than Paramount’s offer.

The Warner Bros entity is far more coveted, with several potential bidders thought to be in the mix. Among them is Netflix, which has reportedly engaged New York-based investment bank Moelis & Co to assess a prospective offer for the WBD’s studio and streaming assets.

Meanwhile, more recent reports suggest Comcast has hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to explore a bid for key WBD studio and streaming assets. This latest news comes as ITV in the UK confirmed it is in preliminary discussions regarding a possible sale of its broadcasting business to Comcast-owned Sky.

Almost all the other major US studios and streamers are expected to also take a look at WBD, although it remains unclear how seriously their pursuit will be – and whether any have an appetite to enter a bidding war with Paramount, which is backed by Ellison’s father, Larry, the world’s second richest man. Regardless, the interest of multiple parties will drive the price up.

In its Q3 letter to shareholders, WBD said its execs would not be taking any questions about the sale process during the earnings call. In his prepared remarks, Zaslav told analysts: “The team is hard at work, both on a separation transaction and on following the board’s direction to evaluate strategic alternatives. You’ve all seen media reports on potential interested parties, and I won’t comment on anything specific. But it’s fair to say that we have an active process underway.”