Revenue growth remains in a state of contraction, evidenced by a 0.8% year-over-year decline in 2026Q1 and operating margins that remain suppressed at 8.1%.
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 | Dec'10 | Dec'09 | Dec'08 | Dec'07 | Dec'06 | Dec'05 | Dec'04 | Dec'03 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 37.22B | 37.3B | 39.32B | 41.32B | 33.82B | 12.19B | 10.67B | 11.14B | 10.55B | 6.87B | 6.5B | 6.39B | 6.26B | 5.54B | 4.49B | 4.17B | 3.71B | 3.46B | 3.44B | 76M | 688M | 694.51M | 631.22M | 506.1M |
| Revenue Growth % | -2.93% | -5.15% | -4.84% | 22.19% | 177.39% | 14.24% | -4.24% | 5.6% | 53.54% | 5.79% | 1.61% | 2.06% | 13.19% | 23.36% | 7.65% | 12.47% | 7.17% | 0.44% | 4430.26% | -88.95% | -0.94% | 10.03% | 24.72% | - |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 23B | 26.79B | 22.97B | 24.53B | 20.44B | 4.62B | 3.86B | 3.82B | 3.94B | 2.66B | 2.43B | 2.34B | 2.12B | 1.69B | 1.22B | 1.18B | 1.01B | 1.04B | 1.02B | 60M | 454M | 445.84M | 380.29M | 301M |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 71.82% | 58.42% | 59.35% | 60.45% | 37.9% | 36.17% | 34.27% | 37.29% | 38.64% | 37.43% | 36.64% | 33.9% | 30.51% | 27.15% | 28.21% | 27.33% | 30.19% | 29.74% | 78.95% | 65.99% | 64.19% | 60.25% | 59.48% |
| Gross Profit | 14.22B | 10.51B | 16.35B | 16.8B | 13.38B | 7.57B | 6.81B | 7.33B | 6.62B | 4.22B | 4.07B | 4.05B | 4.14B | 3.85B | 3.27B | 2.99B | 2.69B | 2.41B | 2.42B | 16M | 234M | 248.67M | 250.93M | 205.1M |
| Gross Margin % | 38.21% | 28.18% | 41.58% | 40.65% | 39.55% | 62.1% | 63.83% | 65.73% | 62.71% | 61.36% | 62.57% | 63.36% | 66.1% | 69.49% | 72.85% | 71.78% | 72.67% | 69.81% | 70.26% | 21.05% | 34.01% | 35.81% | 39.75% | 40.52% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | -35.72% | -2.64% | 25.57% | 76.66% | 11.16% | -7.02% | 10.68% | 56.94% | 3.74% | 0.35% | -2.17% | 7.67% | 17.65% | 9.26% | 11.1% | 11.56% | -0.21% | 15018.75% | -93.16% | -5.9% | -0.9% | 22.34% | - |
| Operating Expenses | 12.54B | 9.2B | 26.38B | 18.34B | 20.75B | 5.56B | 4.3B | 4.32B | 4.68B | 3.5B | 2.01B | 2.07B | 2.08B | 1.87B | 1.41B | 1.19B | 1.32B | 1.14B | 1.36B | 24M | 349M | 250.07M | 233.99M | 207.5M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 24.67% | 67.1% | 44.39% | 61.34% | 45.6% | 40.26% | 38.73% | 44.39% | 50.98% | 30.89% | 32.31% | 33.2% | 33.8% | 31.42% | 28.53% | 35.51% | 32.97% | 39.56% | 31.58% | 50.73% | 36.01% | 37.07% | 41% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 9.54B | 9.42B | 9.3B | 9.7B | 9.68B | 4.02B | 2.72B | 2.79B | 2.62B | 1.77B | 1.69B | 1.67B | 1.69B | 1.6B | 1.29B | 1.17B | 1.17B | 1.19B | 1.11B | 22M | 177M | 170.04M | 153.13M | 130.34M |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 25.25% | 23.64% | 23.47% | 28.62% | 32.94% | 25.51% | 25.02% | 24.83% | 25.72% | 26.01% | 26.1% | 27.01% | 28.87% | 28.68% | 28.09% | 31.68% | 34.36% | 32.38% | 28.95% | 25.73% | 24.48% | 24.26% | 25.75% |
| Research & Development | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Operating Expenses | 1000K | -216M | 17.09B | 8.65B | 11.07B | 1.54B | 1.57B | 1.53B | 2.06B | 1.74B | 317M | 397M | 388M | 273M | 123M | 18M | 142M | -48M | 247M | 2M | 172M | 80.03M | 80.86M | 77.17M |
| Operating Income | 1.69B | 1.31B | -10.03B | -1.55B | -7.37B | 2.01B | 2.52B | 3.01B | 1.93B | 713M | 2.06B | 1.99B | 2.06B | 1.98B | 1.86B | 1.8B | 1.38B | 1.27B | 1.06B | -8M | -115M | -1.4M | 16.93M | -2.4M |
| Operating Margin % | 4.53% | 3.51% | -25.51% | -3.75% | -21.79% | 16.5% | 23.57% | 27% | 18.33% | 10.37% | 31.68% | 31.04% | 32.9% | 35.68% | 41.43% | 43.26% | 37.16% | 36.84% | 30.7% | -10.53% | -16.72% | -0.2% | 2.68% | -0.47% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | 113.05% | -548.06% | 79% | -466.3% | -20% | -16.42% | 55.58% | 171.25% | -65.35% | 3.68% | -3.69% | 4.35% | 6.24% | 3.11% | 30.94% | 8.08% | 20.53% | 13312.5% | 93.04% | -8102.57% | -108.28% | 804.45% | - |
| EBITDA | 10.69B | 6.99B | 10.95B | 22.46B | 13.98B | 7.09B | 6.83B | 7.21B | 6.62B | 2.95B | 4.15B | 4.02B | 3.95B | 3.44B | 2.84B | 2.77B | 2.22B | 1.43B | 1.29B | 60M | -47M | 74.97M | 94.54M | 68.12M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 28.72% | 18.75% | 27.85% | 54.36% | 41.35% | 58.2% | 64.01% | 64.69% | 62.73% | 42.97% | 63.92% | 62.93% | 63% | 62.17% | 63.32% | 66.41% | 60.01% | 41.32% | 37.44% | 78.95% | -6.83% | 10.8% | 14.98% | 13.46% |
| EBITDA Growth % | 5.25% | -36.14% | -51.24% | 60.62% | 97.1% | 3.88% | -5.26% | 8.9% | 124.18% | -28.89% | 3.21% | 1.95% | 14.7% | 21.12% | 2.64% | 24.46% | 55.63% | 10.86% | 2048.33% | 227.66% | -162.69% | -20.69% | 38.78% | - |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 9.01B | 5.68B | 20.98B | 24.01B | 21.35B | 5.08B | 4.32B | 4.2B | 4.69B | 2.24B | 2.1B | 2.04B | 1.89B | 1.47B | 982M | 965M | 847M | 155M | 232M | 68M | 68M | 76.38M | 77.61M | 70.53M |
| EBIT | 4.42B | 3.73B | -9.37B | -1.64B | -7.18B | 2.07B | 2.38B | 2.97B | 1.75B | 338M | 2.02B | 1.89B | 2.08B | 2.04B | 1.77B | 1.77B | 1.16B | 1.29B | 1.12B | -8M | -103M | 2.71M | 16.93M | 1.07M |
| Net Interest Income | -2.12B | -2.09B | -1.81B | -2.04B | -1.71B | -615M | -682M | -655M | -714M | -454M | -353M | -330M | -328M | -306M | -248M | -208M | -203M | -248M | -256M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -47.49M |
| Interest Income | 81M | 0 | 210M | 179M | 67M | 18M | 10M | 22M | 15M | 21M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Expense | 2.2B | 2.09B | 2.02B | 2.22B | 1.78B | 633M | 692M | 677M | 729M | 475M | 353M | 330M | 328M | 306M | 248M | 208M | 203M | 248M | 258M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47.49M |
| Other Income/Expense | -2.73B | 330M | -1.36B | -2.31B | -1.59B | -579M | -787M | -715M | -912M | -850M | -387M | -426M | -314M | -239M | -341M | -244M | -442M | -204M | -303M | -7M | 112.93M | 83.51M | 84.14M | -32.09M |
| Pretax Income | -1.05B | 1.64B | -11.39B | -3.86B | -8.96B | 1.43B | 1.73B | 2.29B | 1.02B | -137M | 1.67B | 1.56B | 1.75B | 1.74B | 1.52B | 1.56B | 935M | 1.03B | 754M | -9.23M | -2.07M | 82.11M | 101.08M | -34.49M |
| Pretax Margin % | -2.81% | 4.39% | -28.96% | -9.35% | -26.5% | 11.75% | 16.19% | 20.59% | 9.68% | -1.99% | 25.72% | 24.38% | 27.89% | 31.36% | 33.83% | 37.4% | 25.23% | 29.81% | 21.9% | -12.15% | -0.3% | 11.82% | 16.01% | -6.81% |
| Income Tax | 1.09B | 890M | 94M | -784M | -1.66B | 236M | 373M | 81M | 341M | 176M | 453M | 511M | 610M | 659M | 562M | 425M | 277M | 472M | 352M | 59.16M | 43.94M | 48.84M | 34.97M | 20.16M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | -104.01% | 54.3% | -0.83% | 20.3% | 18.56% | 16.47% | 21.59% | 3.53% | 33.37% | -128.47% | 27.11% | 32.78% | 34.92% | 37.96% | 37.02% | 27.26% | 29.63% | 45.78% | 46.68% | -640.57% | -2124.85% | 59.47% | 34.6% | -58.44% |
| Net Income | -2.15B | 727M | -11.31B | -3.13B | -7.37B | 1.01B | 1.22B | 2.07B | 594M | -337M | 1.19B | 1.03B | 1.14B | 1.07B | 943M | 1.13B | 653M | 549M | 317M | -68M | -46M | 33.28M | 66.11M | -52.39M |
| Net Margin % | -5.79% | 1.95% | -28.77% | -7.57% | -21.8% | 8.25% | 11.42% | 18.57% | 5.63% | -4.9% | 18.38% | 16.17% | 18.18% | 19.42% | 21.02% | 27.16% | 17.62% | 15.88% | 9.21% | -89.47% | -6.69% | 4.79% | 10.47% | -10.35% |
| Net Income Growth % | 80.05% | 106.43% | -261.84% | 57.59% | -832.7% | -17.47% | -41.08% | 248.32% | 276.26% | -128.22% | 15.47% | -9.22% | 5.95% | 14% | -16.7% | 73.35% | 18.94% | 73.19% | 566.18% | -47.83% | -238.24% | -49.66% | 226.17% | - |
| Net Income (Continuing) | -2.14B | 749M | -11.48B | -3.08B | -7.3B | 1.2B | 1.35B | 2.21B | 681M | -313M | 1.22B | 1.05B | 1.14B | 1.08B | 956M | 1.14B | 647M | 559M | 402M | 86M | -46.01M | 33.28M | 66.11M | -52.39M |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 1.13B | 1.25B | 901M | 1.25B | 1.57B | 1.8B | 1.92B | 2.08B | 2.13B | 413M | 243M | 241M | 749M | 37M | 2M | 2M | 8M | 72M | 25M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EPS (Diluted) | -0.86 | 0.29 | -4.62 | -1.28 | -3.82 | 1.54 | 1.81 | 2.86 | 0.86 | -0.59 | 1.96 | 1.58 | 1.66 | 1.49 | 1.27 | 1.40 | 0.78 | 0.65 | 0.49 | -0.12 | -0.08 | 0.06 | 0.12 | -0.09 |
| EPS Growth % | 84.07% | 106.28% | -260.94% | 66.49% | -348.05% | -14.92% | -36.71% | 232.56% | 245.76% | -130.1% | 24.05% | -4.82% | 11.41% | 17.32% | -9.29% | 79.49% | 20% | 32.65% | 508.33% | -50% | -233.33% | -50% | 228.34% | - |
| EPS (Basic) | - | 0.29 | -4.62 | -1.28 | -3.82 | 1.55 | 1.82 | 2.90 | 0.86 | -0.59 | 1.97 | 1.59 | 1.67 | 1.51 | 0.63 | 1.41 | 0.78 | 0.65 | 0.50 | -0.12 | -0.08 | 0.06 | 0.12 | -0.10 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 2.49B | 2.53B | 2.45B | 2.44B | 1.94B | 668M | 677M | 717M | 688M | 576M | 610M | 656M | 687M | 722M | 742M | 810M | 858M | 850M | 644M | 562M | 575M | 560.41M | 560.41M | 560.41M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 2.49B | 2.48B | 2.45B | 2.44B | 1.94B | 507M | 510M | 535M | 688M | 384M | 401M | 432M | 454M | 330.95M | 348.93M | 529.13M | 569.44M | 564.95M | 562.45M | 561.19M | 560.41M | 560.4M | 560.41M | 560.41M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Structural linear revenue decline
As reported in financial statements, WBD has experienced a persistent revenue decline, with the most recent quarter showing a 0.8% year-over-year contraction, following a multi-quarter trend of negative growth that highlights the difficulty of offsetting linear television decay with emerging direct-to-consumer subscription revenue streams.
The consistent negative revenue growth suggests that the company's core legacy assets are eroding faster than the DTC segment can scale. Investors should monitor whether the current revenue trajectory reflects a permanent loss of market share or merely a temporary transition period as the firm pivots its content monetization strategy.
Based on WBD's reported figures, gross margins have exhibited significant volatility, fluctuating from a low of 30.2% in 2025Q4 to a peak of 49.5% in 2025Q3, indicating that the company's cost of revenue remains highly sensitive to the timing of content releases and amortization schedules.
This margin instability suggests that the company lacks the pricing power or cost predictability of its pure-play streaming peers. The wide variance in gross profitability implies that the underlying content investment strategy may be subject to lumpy, project-based accounting that obscures true operational efficiency.
According to recent SEC filings, WBD's operating income has struggled to scale, with the company reporting an operating margin of only 8.1% in 2026Q1, a figure that remains suppressed by the heavy fixed-cost burden inherent in its legacy studio and network infrastructure.
The inability to consistently expand operating margins despite aggressive cost-cutting initiatives suggests that the company is facing significant headwinds from rising content production costs. This lack of operating leverage warrants further investigation into whether the current SG&A structure is truly optimized for a digital-first future.
Based on the provided income statement data, WBD's net income has been characterized by extreme swings, including a $3.3 billion loss in 2026Q1, which indicates that reported earnings are frequently impacted by non-operating items and significant accounting adjustments rather than core operational performance.
The frequent divergence between operating income and net income suggests that investors should focus on cash-based metrics rather than GAAP earnings to assess the company's health. The presence of large, irregular losses appears to reflect ongoing restructuring efforts and potential asset impairments that complicate the assessment of sustainable profitability.
As indicated by the data, the company's reliance on a declining linear network segment to fund its DTC expansion creates a precarious financial position, with the 5.15% average revenue decline suggesting that the current business model may be fundamentally unsustainable in its present configuration.
Short-sellers may focus on the potential for further margin compression if the company is forced to increase content spend to combat rising churn rates. The combination of high debt levels and declining top-line growth suggests that the company's ability to pivot successfully remains a high-risk proposition for shareholders.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying WBD stock.
For fiscal year 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) reported total revenue of $37.30B. This represents a 7269.3% increase compared to $506.1M in 2003.
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is profitable, generating $727.0M in net income for the fiscal year ending 2025 with a net profit margin of 1.9%.
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) reported an operating income of $1.31B, resulting in an operating profit margin of 3.5%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) generated $10.51B in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 28.2%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.