HBO Max Keeps Delivering
Warner Bros. Discovery published its second-quarter results on Aug. 6, 2026, and streaming was the clearest bright spot.
The company says the gains came from new markets and shows like "Euphoria," "House of the Dragon" and "The Pitt."
The streaming unit also exceeded $500 million in adjusted EBITDA, a measure of profit that strips out interest, taxes, depreciation and other items. HBO Max is proving it can make money, not just attract viewers.
The company still expects "Harry Potter" and "Gilded Age" to add more momentum in the second half. CEO David Zaslav said, "For all that's changing in how people consume entertainment, we have held firm to our conviction that there is no substitute for creative excellence and quality storytelling, and it's driving strong results."
Zaslav also gave an update on CNN. Linear viewership, meaning the traditional TV audience, rose 24% from a year earlier.
Time spent across all CNN platforms rose 19%, which suggests more of CNN's audience is finding it away from the TV set. He said the news division proved its value "in a turbulent geopolitical moment."
The Paramount Deal Still Has a Court Date
The results come as Warner Bros. Discovery works toward a proposed combination with Paramount Skydance.
David Ellison, Paramount's CEO, said in May that he wants to put HBO Max and Paramount+ on a single platform. He has also made clear the HBO name is not changing, saying "HBO should stay HBO."
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The two companies think a bigger service is the answer to competing with the streaming leaders.
Paramount+ has roughly 81 million global subscribers. Ellison estimates that the merged offering could draw approximately 200 million subscribers.
Lawmakers initially said the plan could hurt competition, while the companies say they need greater scale to rival the biggest players.
Until that gets resolved, the merger stays in limbo.
Overall Revenue and Profit Came in Lower
Streaming is growing, but the company as a whole had a rougher quarter. Total revenue came in at $8.72 billion.
That was down 11% from a year earlier. It also fell short of the $9.29 billion estimate from analysts at LSEG.
Profit also took a hit. The company reported profit of $149 million.
That works out to 6 cents a share. A year earlier, the same measure was $1.58 billion.
That equaled 63 cents a share. The company says the drop came from restructuring costs and changes to intangible-asset values as it prepares for the deal.
Adjusted EBITDA for the whole company was $1.88 billion. A year earlier, it was $1.95 billion.
That gap is not huge, but it shows the streaming gains have not lifted every part of the business yet.
What It Means for Your Money
For your portfolio, this report tells two different stories. The streaming side is gaining momentum and profit, while the rest of the company is dealing with a lower revenue quarter and a merger that is still stuck in court.
In the meantime, HBO Max is the main thing to watch, because it is the part of the business with real momentum.
If the Paramount deal goes through, the combined service would enter a new weight class. If it does not, Warner Bros. Discovery still has a streaming business that just posted 10% revenue growth.
Streaming is the story that matters most to the company's future, and right now it is pointing in a positive direction. It will not erase the revenue drop or the legal risk, but it is a clearer sign of where the money is going.
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