Skip to content

↔️ WBD — Company Profile (Educational)

Educational site, not investment advice. Market cap / stock price / quarterly financials are volatile — not written here. Links to SEC + Yahoo Finance instead; verify real-time data yourself.

📌 Basics

Dimension Content Source
Core business Content studio (Warner Bros) + DTC streaming (Max) + linear TV (CNN / TNT / HBO linear) SEC 10-K
Founded / HQ 2022/04 (WarnerMedia + Discovery merger; Warner Bros heritage to 1923) / New York, USA wiki
CEO David Zaslav (since merger close) DEF 14A
Primary listing NASDAQ: WBD —
Fiscal year Calendar year (Jan 1 – Dec 31) —

💡 Real-time market cap / stock price / Max subs / debt status: see SEC + IR links below

⚠️ Important — Acquisition pending: WBD had previously announced a plan to split into two independent listed entities in 2026, but the current status has changed:

  • 2026/02/27: Paramount Skydance signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire WBD at $31/share cash ($110.9B total)
  • 2026/04/23: WBD shareholders approved the acquisition
  • Expected close: Q3 2026, subject to regulatory clearances (includes $0.25/share/quarter ticking fee if not closed by 2026/09/30)

The original split plan has been superseded by the merger agreement. Source: Paramount 2026/02/27 announcement + Cleary Gottlieb deal counsel + WBD 8-K.

🏭 Industry Chain Coordinates (Part 1-C6 framework)

Upstream (Who WBD depends on)

Supplier What flows Key dependency
Warner Bros studio + DC + HBO production Internal content production Internal, locked
Sports rights holders (partial NBA → lost post-2025 / NHL / MLB / NCAA) TNT live channels Intense bidding, NBA 2025 loss material
Studios + actor unions Content production labor Multi-supplier

Downstream (Who depends on WBD)

Customer Relationship Customer concentration
Max subscribers B2C subscription Extremely fragmented
Theaters — AMC / CNK / IMAX B2B revenue share (Warner Bros films) WBD holds pricing leverage
Cable / vMVPD carriage Channel licensing (CNN / TNT / HBO linear) Intense bidding
NFLX / other streamers Content licensing (high debt → premium content selloff risk) Debt-driven

Competitors

  • Streaming / DTC: NFLX · DIS (Disney+ / Hulu / ESPN+) · PSKY (post-merger) · CMCSA (Peacock) · AMZN (Prime Video) · AAPL (Apple TV+)
  • News: CNN vs NYT (digital subs) · FOX (Fox News, FOXA) · CMCSA (NBC News)
  • Live sports: DIS (ESPN) · AMZN (NFL Thursday) · GOOGL (NFL Sunday Ticket)

💼 Business Model + Value Capture (Part 1-C7 lens)

  • Revenue mix: Studios (Warner Bros film / TV / gaming) ~25% / Networks (CNN + TNT + HBO linear) ~40% / DTC (Max) ~25% / Other ~10%
  • Gross margin: 30%+ overall; DTC + Studios margin improving, Networks declining
  • Pricing power: HBO premium content (Game of Thrones / Succession / White Lotus / Last of Us) carries premium; but cable Networks structurally declining
  • Substitution difficulty: Medium — HBO IP catalog has value, but high debt ($30B+ magnitude) + Networks decline are core problems

(Quarterly Max subs / segment profit / net debt: see latest 10-Q)

🏰 Moat Assessment (Part 3-C2 Buffett 5-step lens)

Type Strength (0-1) Source
Brand 0.7 HBO + Warner Bros + DC heritage strong, but CNN neutrality contested
Switching cost 0.3 DTC switching cost low
Network effects 0.4 Content portfolio synergy, weaker than DIS
Scale + cost 0.4 Scale < NFLX / DIS, high debt pressures margins

Composite: 1.8 / 4 → Moderate moat, high debt + Networks decline are structural issues

⚠️ Key Reverse Trigger Conditions (Part 3-C5 anti-thesis lens)

  • Trigger 1 (quarterly): Max net adds < 2-3M / quarter (vs historical 4-5M)
  • Trigger 2 (quarterly): Networks (TNT / CNN etc) revenue YoY -10%+ for 2 quarters (cord-cutting acceleration)
  • Trigger 3 (event): Paramount Skydance acquisition $31/share closing delay or regulatory blockage (original 2026 split plan has been superseded by the merger)
  • Trigger 4 (financial): Net debt / EBITDA > 4x or credit rating downgrade (debt pressure)
  • Trigger 5 (event): Key sports rights lost again (e.g., NCAA / NHL)

📚 SEC Primary Public Filings (look it up yourself)

Real-time stock price: Yahoo Finance WBD

Educational — numbers shift; learn the method, not the figures · investment decisions based on your own research + risk tolerance