Warner Bros Discovery's revenue surges on streaming expansion, box-office hits
The company gained 3.4 million global streaming subscribers in the quarter ended June, fueled by the launch of rebranded HBO Max in Australia. Analysts at Visible Alpha had expected 2.71 additions.
"A Minecraft Movie", inspired by the iconic video game, grossed nearly $1 billion worldwide, while Michael B. Jordan starrer "Sinners" powered past $360 million at the global box office.
The July release of DC movie "Superman" is expected to further drive growth for the company.
HBO Max, which is known for its extensive library of originals, movies and series from Warner Bros, and DC Universe, globally rolled out into multiple markets in July, including Albania, Armenia and Georgia.
During the quarter, the streaming platform also saw hits like the season finale of medical drama series "The Pitt".
WBD, which is restructuring into studio-focused Warner Bros and cable-centric Discovery Global, reported second-quarter revenue of $9.81 billion. Analysts had expected $9.76 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
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The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sent crude prices hurtling toward $150 a barrel as European and other Western countries pulled back from buying Russian crude. But within four months the price was back below where it was before Moscow's attack on its neighbour as the market simply re-routed the now discounted Russian oil to China and India. In other words, the flow of oil around the globe was shifted, but the volumes available for importers remained much the same. But what Trump is proposing now is somewhat different. It appears he wants to cut Russian barrels out of the market in order to put financial pressure on Moscow to cut a deal over Ukraine. There are effectively only two major buyers for Russian crude, India and China. China, the world's biggest crude importer, has more leverage with Trump given U.S. and Western reliance on its refined critical and other minerals, and therefore is less able to be coerced into ending its imports of Russian oil. 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Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI), your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn, opens new tab and X, opens new tab. The views expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.
