As the Q2 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the media industry, including The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) and its peers.
The advent of the internet changed how shows, films, music, and overall information flow. As a result, many media companies now face secular headwinds as attention shifts online. Some have made concerted efforts to adapt by introducing digital subscriptions, podcasts, and streaming platforms. Time will tell if their strategies succeed and which companies will emerge as the long-term winners.
The 9 media stocks we track reported a slower Q2. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.6%.
Stocks, especially growth stocks with cash flows further into the future, had a good end of 2023. On the other hand, this year has seen more volatile stock market swings due to mixed inflation data. However, media stocks have held steady amidst all this with average share prices relatively unchanged since the latest earnings results.
The New York Times (NYSE:NYT)
Founded in 1851, The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) is an American media organization known for its influential newspaper and expansive digital journalism platforms.
The New York Times reported revenues of $625.1 million, up 5.8% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, and overall, it was a satisfactory quarter for the company with a decent beat of analysts’ earnings estimates.
The market was likely pricing in the results, and the stock is flat since reporting. It currently trades at $52.38.
Is now the time to buy The New York Times? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Best Q2: fuboTV (NYSE:FUBO)
Originally launched as a soccer streaming platform, fuboTV (NYSE:FUBO) is a video streaming service specializing in live sports, news, and entertainment content.
fuboTV reported revenues of $391 million, up 25% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 6.2%. The business had a stunning quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ earnings estimates.
fuboTV pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat and fastest revenue growth among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 38.4% since reporting. It currently trades at $1.82.
Is now the time to buy fuboTV? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q2: Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL)
Creator of the legendary Scholastic Book Fair, Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) is an international company specializing in children's publishing, education, and media services.
Scholastic reported revenues of $474.9 million, down 10.1% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 14%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a miss of analysts’ earnings estimates.
Scholastic delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 16.2% since the results and currently trades at $30.62.
Read our full analysis of Scholastic’s results here.
Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD)
Formed from the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) is a multinational media and entertainment company, offering television networks, streaming services, and film and television production.
Warner Bros. Discovery reported revenues of $9.71 billion, down 6.2% year on year. This print came in 3.6% below analysts' expectations. Overall, it was a disappointing quarter as it also recorded a miss of analysts’ earnings estimates.
The stock is down 10% since reporting and currently trades at $6.95.
Read our full, actionable report on Warner Bros. Discovery here, it’s free.
News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA)
Established in 2013 after a restructuring, News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) is a multinational conglomerate known for its news publishing, broadcasting, digital media, and book publishing.
News Corp reported revenues of $2.58 billion, up 5.9% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 3%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also recorded a decent beat of analysts’ operating margin estimates and a narrow beat of analysts’ earnings estimates.
The stock is down 1.8% since reporting and currently trades at $26.29.
Read our full, actionable report on News Corp here, it’s free.
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