The news wasn’t looking all that great for Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD), and it seemed like the markets were pricing that bad news in advance. Indeed, shares are down roughly 3% at the time of writing. Consensus estimates look for a drop in revenue and an outright loss in terms of earnings per share. The writers and actors’ strikes back in 2023 put a serious crimp in the release pipeline, and now, Warner is frantically playing catch-up to get its release schedule back up to snuff. While Warner has improved its cash flow, it’s lacking growth initiatives to help it get back up to par.
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Growth May Be a Problem for a While
Looking at some of the latest news out of Warner, meanwhile, does indeed suggest some problems ahead. For instance, a CW executive—Warner’s partially-owned television arm—revealed that the popular series “Superman and Lois” was canceled in order to drive interest in Superman: Legacy in theaters. A Superman product on television, it was reasoned, might cut interest in a theatrical Superman. Meanwhile, Warner pushed its anticipated release of Mickey 17 back to 2025. That’s a blow to everyone who was looking forward to it and to Warner’s release slate, which already wasn’t looking robust.
Should I Hold My WBD Stock?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on WBD stock based on five Buys, five Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 37.68% loss in its share price over the past year, the average WBD price target of $13.94 per share implies 45.66% upside potential.
