Warner Bros. Discovery reported fourth quarter and full-year 2025 earnings Thursday amid a continued sale process that took another turn this week when Paramount increased its offer for the entire company to $31 per share – enticing WBD’s board to seriously consider it as a potentially superior deal to an existing agreement with Netflix for the studio and streaming businesses only.
On Thursday’s earnings call, WBD CEO David Zaslav noted that since the sales process began last fall and four bidders engaged, there have been eight price increases, with WBD achieving a 63% increase in deal value versus the first offer it received in September.
Zaslav reiterated the company’s aim with a sale is and has been to maximize value – a standard he said the board will evaluate any proposal against “with the objective of delivering the best deal for our shareholders.”
As for WBD earnings, the company counted streaming revenue and subscriber gains in the final three months of 2025 and improved full-year streaming profitability.
Streaming revenue in Q4 was up 5% year-over-year to $2.79 billion, while Q4 streaming Adjusted EBITDA was down 4% yoy to $393 million. Full year 2025 Streaming Adjusted EBITDA of $1.37 billion improved compared to $677 million in 2024.
WBD added 3.5 million global streaming subscribers in Q4, including around 1.2 million domestically (for a base of 59.2 million) and about 2.4 million internationally (for a base of 72.4 million).
At the end of 2025, total WBD streaming subscribers tallied 131.6 million.
The media company expects to surpass 140 million subscribers by the end of Q1 and have over 150 million by the end of 2026 thanks to continued rollouts in international markets where it believes its content and stories travel well and in some cases are already familiar with audiences.
HBO Max is now available in more than 100 countries and territories, with major European launches in Q1 including Germany and Italy, among others – and entries into the U.K. and Ireland teed up for March 26.
Those debuts didn’t factor into Q4 but international markets helped WBD grow subscribers 13% yoy in the period. Still, growth in lower ARPU markets alongside domestic ARPU declines related to a distribution deal dragged quarterly average revenue per user down 9% year-over-year.
Similar to other major streamers like Netflix, going forward WBD will no longer report subscriber and ARPU metrics in quarterly earnings reports– instead focusing on subscriber related revenue growth and Adjusted EBITDA as its primary growth metrics.
But with continued launches in major international markets and a content slate WBD believes is just starting to fire after years of investments, the company expects more growth for streaming ahead.
On the earnings call Thursday morning a Wall Street analyst asked WBD execs what’s now, through the sale process, being appreciated about WBD content and IP that was previously overlooked, as well the drivers expected to help achieve WBD internal forecasts projecting streaming profits to roughly triple by 2030.
When it comes to IP, Zaslav acknowledged that when Warner Bros. and Discovery first merged less than four years ago many TV and film projects were canceled but insisted it was about focusing investment on the content, stories and teams that were going to benefit the business.
“We cancelled a lot of stuff that was down 50% or 60% that we didn’t think was going to be successful. What I think was missed was we hired a great leadership team, creative leadership team and we invested enormously in this mission” of what stories the WBD teams will tell.
“We really tripled down on investing in getting the best writers and directors back at Warner Bros.,” Zaslav said, adding it made aggressive investments at both HBO and Warner Bros. Pictures, including for existing franchises like Batman and Minecraft, as well as original content like Sinners.
“I don’t think anyone is investing in original content in television and motion pictures the way we have,” he said, while noting “it did take time…we’re a long-cycle company.”
But elements are starting to come together, Zaslav suggested, as the DC Universe with Penguin and Superman and the company expects more so in 2027.
In terms of future growth of HBO Max and streaming profitability, JB Perrette outlined five "levers," where it sees room to grow or improve across a handful of core streaming business aspects, including content, subscriber acquisition, retention, product, and monetization.
And as was a theme on the call, it starts with the stories, as the WBD exec said “the product is the content” and contends the company has never been clearer about the kind of content it needs and the customer segments to go after and strengthen.
For example, WBD hypothesized it needed a longer running series which resulted in The Pitt. And now it has visibility into a stronger content slate ahead, including the start of a 10-year franchise for Harry Potter in 2027.
With HBO Max launching in major European markets, further subscriber volume in new markets and more penetration in existing ones – where content combined with marketing and social outreach are coming into shape – are also expected to help grow subscribers and drive future streaming growth.
He also cited password sharing crackdowns, which WBD expects to start expanding to international market this year, as well as product or user experience improvements as growth levers.
According to Perrette, WBD sees significant opportunity to reduce churn and improve retention, although didn't cite specifics in terms of strategy or mechanisms to do so, and also expects to better monetize subscribers through a combination of subscription price and advertising.
On the advertising front, the company sees upside in international markets in the years ahead, where fill rates are still relatively low and in some cases ad tiers are still rolling out.
“We feel great about the next couple of years, and the really kind of sweet spot of the flywheel we’re finally getting into, seeing content, marketing, product enhancements all flow together to drive that growth,” Perrette commented.
The media company had previously cited 2026 as a major growth year for HBO Max globally as it continues to expand reach in markets outside the U.S.
Part of the reason WBD believes it benefits in global rollouts compared to others, which Zaslav reiterated again Thursday, is that it has content and IP that’s been licensed and is already familiar with audiences, such as DC or HBO’s Game of Thrones.
And while it is investing in some local content, citing Turkish novellas and Korean content among types that travel well, they don’t see the need for a major shift in terms of investment in local content.
On the original content HBO content front in the period, among highlights execs called out IT: Welcome to Derry as delivering the fourth-strongest debut season in HBO history, averaging 27 million viewers per episode, as well as the much-buzzed about Heated Rivalry, averaging 13 million viewers per episode and driving “meaningful social media engagement.”
And since 2022 “we invested big in making great original film and television and reignited important legacy Warner Bros. IP,” Zaslav said in prepared remarks, noting the DC Universe, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings, among others.
In Q4 WBD’s studios business saw revenue decline 13% to $3.1 billion while full year segment revenues were up 9% to $12.6 billion. Global linear networks Q4 revenue declined 12% yoy to $4.19 billion in Q4, with segment revenue down 12% for the full year 2025 to $17.6 billion. Total WBD revenues were $9.46 billion in the quarter, down 6% yoy, and $37.29 billion for the full year, down 5% yoy. WBD 2025 Adjusted EBITDA of $8.74 billion was down 3% yoy.
As for who in 2027 might ultimately own the IP that now sits with WBD remains to be seen. If WBD’s board determines that Paramount’s latest revised offer is indeed superior to Netflix’s, then Netflix will have four business days to negotiate with WBD and potentially revise its offer.