Warner Bros. Streaming Booms 10% as Paramount Merger Faces Trial

Warner Bros. Discovery just delivered a mixed report card: its streaming business is thriving, but the company overall is bringing in less money than expected — all while a huge merger deal hangs in the balance.

Streaming is the bright spot. The part of the business that includes HBO Max (its online video service, similar to Netflix) had its best-ever performance:

• Streaming revenue topped $3 billion, up 10% from a year ago
• It earned over $500 million in adjusted EBITDA (a measure of profit before subtracting things like taxes, interest, and equipment costs — basically a way to show how much cash the core business generates)
• Advertising revenue in streaming rose 9%, thanks to more people signing up for cheaper ad-supported plans

Popular shows like *Euphoria*, *House of the Dragon*, and *The Pitt* helped drive the growth, with *Harry Potter* and *Gilded Age* series coming later this year.

But the overall picture was weaker. For the full quarter:

• Total revenue was $8.72 billion, down 11% from last year and below Wall Street's forecast of $9.29 billion
• Net income (total profit after all costs) plunged to $149 million (6 cents per share), down from $1.58 billion a year earlier

The company blamed the profit drop on accounting adjustments tied to its pending merger and restructuring costs (expenses from reorganizing the business).

The big story ahead is the merger. Paramount Skydance wants to buy Warner Bros. Discovery and combine HBO Max with Paramount+ into one giant streaming service with roughly 200 million subscribers. That deal is being challenged by state attorneys general who worry it's anticompetitive (would give one company too much power), and it goes to trial in March.

Bottom line: Warner Bros.' streaming engine is running strong, but the company still faces shrinking overall revenue and a major legal fight that will decide its future.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/06/warner-bros-discovery-streaming-revenue-paramount-combination.html