Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (the “Company”) (Nasdaq: WBD) today reported financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2023.
The Company will conduct a conference call today at 8:00 a.m. ET (5:00 a.m. PT) to discuss the results. A link to the live webcast of the conference call will be available in the “Investor Relations” section of the Company’s website at https://ir.wbd.com/.
A telephone replay of the call will be available approximately two hours after the completion of the call until March 2, 2024. The replay can be accessed via phone by dialing +1 800-770-2030 or +1 647-362-9199 using playback passcode 1493434. A replay of the audio webcast will also be available in the “Investor Relations” section of the Company’s website for twelve months.
David Zaslav, President and Chief Executive Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery said, “After executing against our strategic plan to reposition the company, we are now on solid footing with a clear pathway to growth. We generated $6.2 billion in free cash flow and paid down $5.4 billion in debt in 2023, which puts us at 3.9x net leverage. We have an attack plan for 2024 that includes the roll-out of Max in key international markets, a more robust creative pipeline across our film and TV studios, and further progress against our long-range financial goals and are confident in our ability to drive sustained operating momentum and enhanced shareholder value.”
Q4 Financial Summary & Operational Highlights:
- Q4 total revenues were $10,284 million. Revenues decreased 7% ex-FX compared to the prior year quarter.
- Net loss available to Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. was $(400) million, including $1,699 million of pre-tax amortization driven by acquisition-related intangibles and $75 million of pre-tax restructuring expenses.
- Q4 total Adjusted EBITDA was $2,471 million. Adjusted EBITDA decreased 5% ex-FX compared to the prior year quarter.
- Cash provided by operating activities increased to $3,578 million. Reported free cash flow increased to $3,310 million.
- Repaid $1.2 billion of debt during Q4. Ended the quarter with $4.3 billion of cash on hand, $44.2 billion of gross debt, and 3.9x net leverage.
- Global DTC subscribers were 97.7 million at the end of Q4, which included 1.3 million subscribers from our acquisition of BluTV. Global DTC ARPU was $7.94, a 7% ex-FX increase vs. the prior year quarter.
- TNT Sports continued to strengthen its global sports portfolio with a four-year extension of its U.K. Premier League rights, as well as signing a seven-year agreement with NASCAR, in the U.S., beginning in 2025.
- In Q4, Adult Swim had the largest year-over-year primetime delivery growth in cable among P18-49 and P25-54, led by Rick and Morty as cable’s #1 comedy.
WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY REPORTS FOURTH-QUARTER AND FULL-YEAR 2023 RESULTS
About Warner Bros. Discovery:
Warner Bros. Discovery is a leading global media and entertainment company that creates and distributes the world’s most differentiated and complete portfolio of branded content across television, film, streaming and gaming. Available in more than 220 countries and territories and 50 languages, Warner Bros. Discovery inspires, informs and entertains audiences worldwide through its iconic brands and products including: Discovery Channel, Max, discovery+, CNN, DC, Eurosport, HBO, HGTV, Food Network, OWN, Investigation Discovery, TLC, Magnolia Network, TNT, TBS, truTV, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, Warner Bros. Games, New Line Cinema, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies, Discovery en Español, Hogar de HGTV and others. For more information, please visit www.wbd.com.