Warner Bros. Discovery is cutting its profit expectations for the year, saying it will likely incur costs as high as $500 million tied to the ongoing Hollywood writers' and actors' strike.
Warner Bros. Discovery owns HBO and Max, CNN, TNT and a host of other entertainment outlets, including DC Comics.
The company said in a regulatory filing that it now expects 2023 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to be between $10.5 billion to $11 billion, down from $11 billion to $11.5 billion.
“While (Warner Bros. Discovery) is hopeful that these strikes will be resolved soon, it cannot predict when the strikes will ultimately end. With both guilds still on strike today, the company now assumes the financial impact to (Warner Bros. Discovery) of these strikes will persist through the end of 2023,” the company stated.
Microsoft reported a 20% spike in quarterly profits Tuesday, helping to fuel its battle to get ahead of rivals like Google, Amazon and Facebook parent Meta in selling the latest artificial intelligence technology.
Visa Inc. said its adjusted third-quarter profits rose by nearly double digits, as the global payments company continues to benefit from the broad shift by consumers to using credit and debit cards instead of cash.
Even after inflation has steadily eased this year, the Federal Reserve's policymakers still think prices are rising too fast and are almost certain to lift their key interest rate by a quarter-point on Wednesday.
