WBD Q2 Revenue Falls 11% As Advertising And Studio Businesses Weigh On Earnings

A declining bar chart beside a television screen

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) reported $8.72 billion in second-quarter 2026 revenue, down 11% year-on-year.

Total revenue: $8.72 billion, down 11% from $9.81 billion (down 12% constant-currency)
Advertising revenue: Down 22% to $1.72 billion
Content revenue: Down 26% to $1.83 billion
Distribution revenue: Up 1% to $4.95 billion
Net income: $149 million, down sharply from $1.58 billion a year earlier
Streaming segment revenue: Up 10% ex-FX to $3.08 billion; streaming adjusted EBITDA up 63% ex-FX to $512 million
Studios revenue: Down 39% ex-FX to $2.33 billion; Studios adjusted EBITDA down 89% to $96 million

Linear And Theatrical Drag Offset By Streaming

WBD said the advertising decline reflected continued domestic linear audience pressure and the absence of the NBA, which alone cut 20 percentage points off the year-on-year advertising growth rate ex-FX. Content revenue was hit mainly by lower theatrical revenue at the Studios business, with theatrical revenue down 46% against a strong year-ago slate that included "A Minecraft Movie," "Sinners" and "Final Destination Bloodlines." Games revenue bucked the trend, up 45% on the release of "LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight."

Streaming Keeps Carrying The Company

Streaming remained WBD's clearest growth story, with subscriber-related revenue up 10% and streaming advertising revenue up 8% ex-FX on growth in global ad-lite subscribers. Distribution revenue in the segment grew 11% ex-FX, aided by HBO Max's international expansion and new distribution agreements. Global Linear Networks revenue fell 17% to $3.99 billion, with a 27% drop in advertising and a 10% decline in domestic linear pay-TV subscribers. The company ended the quarter with $3.4 billion in cash and $33.1 billion in gross debt, after repaying its $15 billion bridge loan facility through new term loans.