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Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD)

Communication Services BalancedS&P 500

Warner Bros. Discovery is a global media giant that creates films, television shows, and news content, while running streaming services like Max.

$28.20

Is Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. a good stock for a UK beginner?

The honest version: There's no rating here and nothing for sale. In its favour: Owns a vast and valuable library of intellectual property. Worth weighing: High levels of debt often associated with the media sector.

No rating · no target price · nothing for sale here
Price+320.3%
= past earnings-report date
Priced in USD. As a UK investor your £ return also moves with the pound-to-dollar exchange rate, even inside an ISA - a stronger pound can trim your £ gains and a weaker pound can add to them, whatever the share price itself does.
52-week range+96% past year
$28.20
Low $10.79High $30.00
Where today's price sits versus its past year - context, not a signal.

Is this normal for this company?

Each figure against the range this same company has produced recently. Neither end of a range is the good end.

Net profit margin
1.7%now
-32.8%16.1%

Profit as a share of sales, from the company's own quarterly statements. The range covers the 5 quarters we hold, and the figure shown is its most recent one.

How these ranges are built

Every number here is the company's own reported figure, not a comparison with other companies. The ranges come from this company's own results and its share price. Where it reports in a different currency from the one its shares trade in, the price-to-earnings range is left out rather than mixing the two.

What does Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. do?

This company owns a massive library of entertainment, including iconic film studios and TV networks, making money through advertising, cinema tickets, and monthly streaming subscriptions. They are currently in a tricky transition period as they try to move viewers from traditional cable TV to their digital streaming platforms. It comes down to whether streaming can grow fast enough to offset the fading of their older, traditional television business.

On our factor screen it looks strongest on value and momentum, and weakest on growth.

Quick checks
What's strong
What to watch
  • Quality screens low
  • Growth screens low
  • Income screens low

Does Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. pay a dividend?

No - Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. doesn't currently pay a dividend, so the whole return would rest on the share price. Plenty of growing companies reinvest their profits instead of paying them out - neither approach is better or worse, they're just different.

Does Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. have more cash or more debt?

It holds about $3.41B in cash against about $32.02B of debt - so it has net debt of about $28.61B. Debt is not automatically a problem - it funds growth - but it has to be serviced and repaid, which matters more when profits wobble.

From the latest reported balance sheet. Cash and debt levels change, and some borrowing is normal - this is context, not a judgment.

What do Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'s numbers mean?

Forward P/E
-3,479
This very high number suggests that investors are expecting the company's profits to be quite low in the near future as they invest heavily in their streaming business.
Lower than most of the 51 Communication Services shares we cover
P/S
1.88
This compares the company's total market value to its annual sales, showing how much investors are paying for every pound of revenue the business generates.
Around the middle of the 52 Communication Services shares we cover
Net Margin
-8.8%
This shows that the company is currently spending more than it earns, resulting in a loss rather than a profit for every pound of revenue.
Lower than most of the 52 Communication Services shares we cover
Beta
1.5
A beta above 1 means the share price tends to be more jumpy and volatile than the wider stock market.

How has it performed?

Growth of £1,000, the worst fall, and year by year
If you had put $1,000 into Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.
$4,203+320%

Over about 2 years to 2026-09-10. This is the share price only; any dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.

How much has Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. actually fallen?

−38%

Over the last 2 years of daily prices, Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. fell as much as −38% from a high to a later low. Falls like this are normal when you own a share.

Past falls are not a forecast - it can fall further, or recover.

How has it done year by year?

2022-60%
2023+20%
2024-7%
2025+173%
2026 so far-6%

Calendar-year total return - the share price with dividends reinvested - from adjusted closing prices. The current year is only part-complete. Past returns are not a guide to the future.

A closer look at the numbers

Ownership, earnings history, where the money goes, and the outlook range
Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'.
$67.87B
Avg volume: How many shares change hands on a typical day. Higher means it's easy to buy or exit without moving the price.
22.34M
Day range: The lowest and highest price the shares traded at during the latest day.
$28.02 – $28.34
52-week range: The lowest and highest the shares have traded over the past year - a sense of how wide the swings have been.
$10.79 – $30.00
Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down.
1.56

Does the share price tell you if it's cheap or expensive?

One share costs$28.20
Number of shares2.41 billion
So the whole company is worth$67.87bn
A £5 share is not cheaper than a £500 one - it means the company cut itself into more slices. Whether the total looks high or low is what the figures below are for; we don't give a verdict.

Who owns Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.?

Big institutions 76%Company insiders 4%Public & smaller investors 20%

About 76% of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., or about 76 in every 100 shares, is held by big institutions such as pension and index funds, and company insiders hold about 4%. The rest, roughly 20%, is held by the public and smaller investors.

What this does and doesn't tell you

This is a recent snapshot of the share register, and it moves. We don't read anything into who owns what - a high institutional share is common for any large listed company and is not a signal about it.

How bumpy is it?Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. 1.56
Calm
Wild
Bumpier than the market

Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.

Why has it been moving?▲ +1% past week · ▲ +96% past year

Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.

How much money does Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. make?

Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.

RevenueNet income
$0$2.45B$4.91B$7.36B$9.81BQ2 25Q3 25Q4 25Q1 26Q2 26
Gross margin
47.8%
Net margin
-8.8%
Return on equity
-8.8%

When does Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. is next scheduled to report on about 2026-11-05 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.

‘Beat’ and ‘missed’ are against what analysts expected, not whether the business is doing well.

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.: reported versus expected earnings per share, recent quarters
ReportedExpected EPS: The earnings per share analysts expected for the quarter - the average of their forecasts. 'Beating' or 'missing' is measured against this number.Actual EPSvs expected
2026-08-06$-0.10$0.06Beat +159%
2026-05-06$-0.10$-1.17Missed -1110%
2026-02-26$-0.10Missed -2790%
2025-11-06$-0.08$-0.06Beat +29%
2025-08-07$-0.23$0.63Beat +376%
2025-05-08$-0.12$-0.18Missed -53%

Across the last 6 quarters here, Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. came in ahead of what analysts expected 3 times. One quarter is noise, not a trend.

See who else reports over the next two weeks →

Where these figures come from

Each quarter a company reports its results against a consensus of analyst forecasts. The figures here are reported versus expected earnings per share from published results; the expectation is that analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates and can move.

What are the scenarios for Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.?

An illustrative range for the year ahead — not a prediction or a price target.

◀ lowerhigher ▶todayBull▲ UpsideBase• In-lineBear▼ Downside
Bull
+10% to +15%Strong subscriber growth for streaming services
Base
-5% to +5%Steady performance in traditional media
Bear
-10% to -20%Higher than expected costs for content production

What are the pros, cons and common questions?

The case each way, and the questions people ask
The bull case

Dominance in the global streaming market

The bear case

Failure to compete with tech-led streaming rivals

What are the pros and cons of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.?

3bull points
6bear points

A balance check, not a score or verdict.

The bull case3
  • Owns a vast and valuable library of intellectual property
  • Strong brand recognition across film and television
  • Significant scale in the global media market
The catch3
  • High levels of debt often associated with the media sector
  • Struggling to turn a profit in the current financial climate
  • Declining revenue growth: How fast the company's sales grew versus a year ago. in a competitive landscape
Key risks3
  • Rapidly changing consumer habits moving away from cable
  • Intense competition from well-funded tech streaming rivals
  • High sensitivity to economic downturns affecting advertising spend
What would flip the thesis

The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.

  • A consistent return to positive net profit margins
  • A significant reduction in total corporate debt
  • Sustained growth in streaming subscriber numbers

Common questions about Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

Does Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. pay a dividend?

No - Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend, so the return would rest on the share price. Many growing companies reinvest profits instead of paying them out.

When does Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. report earnings next?

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. is next scheduled to report results on about 2026-11-05. Report dates are estimates and can move; this is a diary note for when to look, not a forecast of the outcome.

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Confidence: medium · data: USD · flags: pe · Charts by TradingView Lightweight Charts™
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Built from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →

This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-02 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.

Prices as of 10 Sep 2026; other figures as of 11 Aug 2026. Our latest price update for this one did not come through, so it is older than the prices on other pages. Prices may be delayed and numbers can go stale - always double-check before acting.