Veteran media analyst Jessica Reif Erlich today implored Warner Bros. Discovery to do something — anything — from selling the company, to selling assets, to finding a streaming joint venture or merger.
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“We believe the current configuration as a consolidated public company is not working,” the BofA Global Research analyst said.
She had high hopes when Discovery acquired Warner Media in early 2022, but noted that the shares have fallen more than 70% since then. “At current levels, we believe exploring strategic options for WBD would create greater shareholder value relative to the status quo,” she wrote in a note to clients today. “All options should be on the table.”
Erlich raised a hypothetical scenario in which WBD could spin off its streaming and studio assets, Max and Warner Bros., as a standalone company — which would be “negative to WBD’s debt but could be positive for its equity value.”
