The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who not so much). Let’s take a look at how consumer discretionary - media stocks fared in Q4, starting with Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG).
The Consumer Discretionary sector, by definition, is made up of companies selling non-essential goods and services. When economic conditions deteriorate or tastes shift, consumers can easily cut back or eliminate these purchases. For long-term investors with five-year holding periods, this creates a structural challenge: the sector is inherently hit-driven, with low switching costs and fickle customers. As a result, only a handful of companies can reliably grow demand and compound earnings over long periods, which is why our bar is high and High Quality ratings are rare. Media companies create, aggregate, and distribute content—including news, entertainment, and advertising—across television, print, digital, and out-of-home channels. Tailwinds include growing digital advertising budgets, content licensing opportunities, and global audience expansion through streaming and social platforms. Headwinds are substantial: traditional advertising revenue from print and linear TV continues its structural decline as audiences migrate to digital alternatives. Content creation costs are escalating amid intense competition for talent and intellectual property. Media fragmentation makes it difficult to build sustainable audience scale, while AI-generated content threatens to commoditize production and disrupt established business models.
The 6 consumer discretionary - media stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 47.8%.
While some consumer discretionary - media stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 4.1% since the latest earnings results.
Best Q4: Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG)
Launching the careers of legendary artists like Frank Sinatra, Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) is a music company managing a diverse portfolio of artists, recordings, and music publishing services worldwide.
Warner Music Group reported revenues of $1.84 billion, up 10.4% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 4.1%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.
Interestingly, the stock is up 4.7% since reporting and currently trades at $29.51.
Is now the time to buy Warner Music Group? Access our full analysis of the earnings results 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 $2.36 billion, up 5.5% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 3%. The business had a strong quarter with a decent beat of analysts’ revenue estimates and a decent beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.
Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 4.4% since reporting. It currently trades at $23.15.
Is now the time to buy News Corp? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q4: 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 $802.3 million, up 10.4% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 1.4%. Still, it was a mixed quarter as it posted a miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.
Interestingly, the stock is up 5% since the results and currently trades at $75.80.
Read our full analysis of The New York Times’s results here.
Disney (NYSE:DIS)
Founded by brothers Walt and Roy, Disney (NYSE:DIS) is a multinational entertainment conglomerate, renowned for its theme parks, movies, television networks, and merchandise.
Disney reported revenues of $25.98 billion, up 5.2% year on year. This result topped analysts’ expectations by 0.8%. It was a strong quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates and a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.
The stock is down 6.6% since reporting and currently trades at $105.35.
Read our full, actionable report on Disney here, it’s free.
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 $551.1 million, up 1.2% year on year. This print lagged analysts' expectations by 1%. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates but full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations.
Scholastic had the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 17.9% since reporting and currently trades at $33.93.
Read our full, actionable report on Scholastic here, it’s free.
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