Merger costs add up as Warner Bros. Discovery posts $2.9-billion quarterly loss
Key takeaways
- Discovery’s impending sale has rattled Hollywood — and the company’s balance sheet as the auction’s high costs increasingly come into focus.
- The New York-based media company released its first-quarter earnings Wednesday, which included a $2.9 billion loss.
- Contributing to the net loss was the $2.8 billion termination fee paid to Netflix in late February when the streaming giant bowed out of the bidding for Warner.
Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to be sold to David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance. (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press) By Meg James Staff Writer Follow May 6, 2026 1:38 PM PT 4 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s impending sale has rattled Hollywood — and the company’s balance sheet as the auction’s high costs increasingly come into focus.
The New York-based media company released its first-quarter earnings Wednesday, which included a $2.9 billion loss. That amount includes $1.3 billion in restructuring expenses, including updated valuations for Warner’s declining linear cable television networks.