Warner Bros Discovery: three lost years, and the economy wasn't the reason.

1. From profit to three straight losses. Warner Bros Discovery earned $4.3 billion in 2019–2021. Then it lost money every year from 2022 to 2024: $21.8 billion in all. 2025 was its first profit in four years: $0.7 billion.
2. It outgrew its own economy many times over. Revenue rose from $6.5 billion in 2016 to $37.3 billion in 2025: 5.7 times as much. The US economy, counted the same way in money terms, grew about 60%. Whatever drove it, the economy around it does not account for growth of that size.
3. It wasn't the cycle. The losses began in 2022, a year the US economy grew 2.4%. When a company falls while its economy grows, look inside the company first.
4. Ahead of almost everyone like it. From 2016 to 2025, its revenue grew 474% in US dollars; the median among 75 large transportation and utility companies grew 53%. It outgrew 91% of them.
5. Still smaller than it was. Revenue reached $37.3 billion in 2025, 10% below its 2023 peak of $41.3 billion.

Financial results

As reported in its annual filings. Losses in red.

Stratrix Decision Cases

• 2025WBD Was Born Owing a Fortune It Couldn't Pay. The Breakup Just Moves the Bill.Too early to call · shares +146 pts vs the S&P 500 over a year
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• 2023Warner Bros. Discovery Renamed Its Streaming Service Three Times. The Real Story Was the $41.5 Billion It Inherited.Reversed · shares +11 pts vs the S&P 500 over 3 years
• 2022WBD Killed a Finished Batgirl Movie. The Tax Write-Off Was the Excuse, Not the Reason.Stood · shares −74 pts vs the S&P 500 over 3 years
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• 2016AT&T Bought Time Warner for $108 Billion and Paid to Give It Away Four Years LaterReversed