International growth pushes WBD to user and revenue gains in Q2
International growth pushes WBD to user and revenue gains in Q2
Warner Bros. Discovery reported positive growth in many key streaming factors as the company looks to split in two.
The next few years could be as crucial for Warner Bros. Discovery as any company in the United States media empire. The company is depending on its streaming service HBO Max and its movie studio as financial drivers going forward, and every quarter’s results are a needed window into a company at a crossroads, as WBD is. WBD reported its second-quarter results on Thursday, and the news was mixed to positive for the firm.
Key Details:
- The more the merrier: Warner Bros. Discovery added 3.4 million streaming customers worldwide during the second quarter of 2025.
- Far from home: The vast majority of those new users were international, with only 200,000 coming domestically.
- Mixed (money) bag: While individual user revenue plateaued in Q2, the company reported healthy streaming revenue.
There was some good news for WBD in the second quarter. The service added 3.4 million subscribers, all but 200,000 coming internationally, finishing at 125.7 million after concluding the first quarter of the year with 122.3 million.
Domestically, WBD’s combined streaming services come in at 57.8 million subscribers, up 5.4 million from the corresponding quarter in 2024. The biggest growth over the past year has come from outside the United States. In Q2 2024, WBD reported 50.8 international subscribers, but at the end of June 2025, it had 67.9 million.
WBD, unfortunately, doesn’t break out which subscribers signed up for which of the streaming services it owns in earnings reports, but it’s reasonable to assume that most of these customers are on HBO Max.
On the money side of the balance sheet, WBD reported streaming revenues up 8% in the second quarter to finish at $2.793 billion. Adjusted EBIDTA was $293 million for Q2, as compared to a loss of $107 million in the year-ago quarter. WBD continues to project at least $1.3 billion of streaming Adjusted EBITDA this year. So while that’s not projecting a billion-dollar profit for the company, it is a solid sign that WBD has turned the corner from its previous streaming losses ahead of the company splitting into two businesses.
From a per-user perspective, domestic ARPU (average revenue per user), WBD saw a $0.01 increase from last quarter to come in at $11.16. However, that represents a significant decline from the same quarter last year, when the total was $12.08. While Q2 2025 saw a $0.21 increase in international ARPU up to $3.85, that is the same total the company reported in Q2 2024. The lower global total was attributed to increased subscriber totals in international markets with lower buying power.
Advertising revenue continued to fall, as WBD’s cable channels continued to stumble in viewership during the quarter.
The losses in advertising revenue are one of the factors that went into WBD’s decision to split itself into separate companies, each focused on a particular media segment. In June, WBD announced it would separate into a streaming and studios division, while its cable channels would be spun off into another division, with merger and acquisition opportunities perhaps to follow. WBD CEO David Zaslav will head the “Warner Bros.” streaming and studios portion, while Gunnar Wiedenfels heads up the “Discovery Global” channels division.
HBO Max
HBO Max is a subscription video streaming service that gives access to the full HBO library and exclusive Max Originals. There are hubs for content from TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, TCM, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, ID, and more. Watch hit series like “The Last of Us,” “House of the Dragon,” “Succession,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and more. Within HBO Max, B/R Sports allows users to watch live NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness, and NASCAR events.