WBD
Dan Loeb went big on the media soap opera
Dan Loeb’s Third Point just made Warner Bros. Discovery its single largest holding, snapping up 20 million shares valued at roughly $533 million as of June 30. That put WBD ahead of heavyweights like Alphabet and Amazon in the fund’s disclosed U.S. equity book — which is a pretty loud way of saying, “Yes, this is the horse we want to ride.”
Why investors are watching
This isn’t happening in a vacuum. WBD also reported second-quarter results recently, and the numbers were classic media-company tension: earnings beat expectations, but revenue missed thanks to the loss of NBA media rights, softer advertising demand, and a weaker film slate.
- Revenue: $8.72 billion, down 12% year over year on a constant-currency basis
- Analyst consensus: $9.29 billion
- EPS: 6 cents, versus estimates for a 13-cent loss
That’s the kind of report that lets bulls and bears both walk away feeling weirdly validated.
The bundling experiment is doing its job
On the earnings call, management said customers who subscribe through the Max/Disney+/Hulu bundle are sticking around longer and using the service more than standalone subscribers. Translation: the streaming bundle is becoming less “cute marketing idea” and more “actual retention lever.”
Big picture
The stock has been flirting with its 52-week high, and Loeb’s giant stake adds another layer of momentum to a name that’s already trying to prove it can be more than just a cable-TV stress test. If you own WBD, you’ve got activism, streaming, and a turnaround story all colliding in one ticker — which is either exciting or exhausting, depending on your caffeine level.