Versant delivered $47 million in net income on $1.59 billion in revenue, prompting management to raise its free cash flow outlook above the previous $1.2 billion ceiling. Growth in the digital platform segment helped counter a 5.8% decline in linear television receipts and falling ad sales. Live sports programming proved resilient, driven by a 25% surge in WNBA viewership across the company's USA Sports networks. To further diversify operations, the media firm launched new direct-to-consumer offerings and initiated a $100 million accelerated share repurchase program.
Key points
Versant raised its annual free cash flow forecast to surpass its earlier $1 billion to $1…: Versant raised its annual free cash flow forecast to surpass its earlier $1 billion to $1.2 billion target.
Strategic expansions into direct-to-consumer services like MS NOW and Fandango on-demand…: Strategic expansions into direct-to-consumer services like MS NOW and Fandango on-demand are actively offsetting ongoing linear television declines.
Management signaled balance sheet confidence by committing to complete a $100 million acc…: Management signaled balance sheet confidence by committing to complete a $100 million accelerated stock repurchase program during the fourth quarter.
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Versant Media on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations and reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance, citing strength across its portfolio and growth in its platforms revenue.
The media company reported $245 million in revenue from digital platforms including Fandango, marking a nearly 10% year-over-year increase. Versant said Fandango saw "significant growth" in ticketing revenue in the third quarter, notching its highest level since the pandemic.
Advertising revenue, however, slipped to $373 million during the period, down 5.3% from last year, primarily due to the impact of last year's Ryder Cup, according to the company.
The Versant portfolio includes CNBC, MS NOW, Golf Channel and other cable and digital properties.
Here's how the company performed in its third quarter, compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 34 cents vs. 5 cents expected
- Revenue: $1.59 billion; it was not immediately clear how that compared with the $1.57 billion expected
Versant completed four major distribution renewals this year following its spinoff from Comcast's NBCUniversal.
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