10:52 AM EST, 02/27/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Warner Bros. Discovery's ( WBD ) fourth-quarter loss widened unexpectedly as sales declined more than market estimates, but the media and entertainment giant saw gains in subscribers on annual and sequential bases and projected continuous growth for the metric.

The company's net loss rose to $0.20 a share for the December quarter from $0.16 the year before, higher than the FactSet-polled consensus for a per-share loss of $0.03. Revenue decreased 2% year over year to $10.03 billion, missing the Street's view for $10.18 billion.

Warner Bros., which operates the Max streaming service, saw direct-to-consumer revenue improve 5% year over year to $2.65 billion. Subscriber-related revenue advanced 10%, excluding foreign exchange fluctuations, to $2.55 billion. Global subscribers increased to 116.9 million from 97.7 million last year and from 110.5 million in the prior three-month period.

"Our direct-to-consumer business ended 2024 with about 117 million subscribers across more than 70 countries, and we still have nearly half the world to go with many key markets like the UK, Italy, Germany and Australia launching over the next few years," Chief Executive David Zaslav said during a Thursday conference call, according to a FactSet transcript.

The company anticipates subscriber growth to continue throughout this year and has a "clear path" to reach at least 150 million global subscribers by the end of 2026, with corresponding "strong" direct-to-consumer revenue and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, it said in a shareholder letter. The company's shares spiked 8% in Thursday's trading session.

Studios segment revenue climbed 15% to $3.66 billion, as declines in theatrical and gaming were offset by a 64% jump in television revenue, excluding foreign exchange, amid higher inter-segment content licensing and initial telecast deliveries, according to the company. Results from the motion pictures group and games businesses were "disappointing" last year, but the company is seeking to improve performance and is "optimistic" about their long-term outlook, it said in the shareholder letter.

In the networks division, revenue slipped 5% to $4.77 billion, despite a 73% surge in content. Distribution revenue moved down 5% driven by lower domestic linear pay-TV subscribers, among other factors, while advertising dropped 17% amid audience declines and persistent softness in advertising markets.

In December, Warner Bros. announced that it will revamp its corporate structure to have just two divisions: global linear networks and streaming and studios. The implementation of the new structure is expected to be completed by the middle of this year, the company said at the time.

"In 2025, we expect that the work we have done to return our overall studio to a place of industry leadership will begin to bear fruit and contribute positively to our financial results," Warner Bros. said in the shareholder letter. "As this transformation progresses, we believe our value and the returns we deliver to shareholders will strongly increase."

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