AMC Global Media Misses Wall Street Expectations Despite ‘Walking Dead’ Deal With Netflix

Revenue came in at $566 million, a less than 1% increase compared to last year and below the $585 million predicted by analysts at Yahoo Finance Diluted earnings per share came in at a loss of $1.13 compared to the $1.38 gain the company saw this time last year. EPS also missed predictions from analysts at Yahoo Finance, who estimated the quarter would have a loss of $0.01 A $85 million settlement payment for a case related to “The Walking Dead” and “Fear the Walking Dead” AMC Global Media reported a less than 1% increase in revenue during its third quarter on Monday after the market closed. Revenue came in at $566 million, which was notably less than the $585 million predicted by analysts at Yahoo Finance. This lackluster quarter reflected a $85 million all-cash settlement payment, which had to do with a case involving breach of contract claims related to “The Walking Dead” and “Fear the Walking Dead.” The remaining $35 million of the $120 million settlement will be paid no later than Jan. 31. Though AMC’s co-exclusive deal with Netflix over “The Walking Dead” was announced last quarter, a majority of that revenue isn’t expected to be reported until later this year. “For the full year, we anticipate domestic operations content licensing revenue in the range of $460 million to $485 million. The majority of that revenue will be recognized in the fourth quarter,” Hozefa Lokhandwala, chief financial officer at AMC, said on Monday during the company’s third quarter earnings call. Though AMC was buoyed by increases in streaming revenue, the continuing decline of cable was the main reason for the lackluster quarter. Subscription revenue decreased 2% year-over-year to hit $308 million. That was primarily due to a 11% decline in affiliate revenue thanks to basic subscriber declines, but it was offset by a streaming revenue increase of 4% to $181 million. Revenue from ALLBLK, which AMC divested from during the quarter, was not included in this quarter. AMC divested from the streamer ALLBLK in late August. The transaction led to a pre-tax gain of $3.7 million, which was recorded in impairment and other charges. During the quarter, AMC also entered into a long-term content licensing agreement with Macro, the buyer of ALLBLK. Last quarter, CEO Kristin Dolan described the period as “lumpy” owing to 9% decrease in revenue die to the continued decline of the cable industry. But the company also reached a streaming deal connected to one of its most valuable franchises, “The Walking Dead.” As part of this $500 million co-exclusive deal, the drama along with its six spinoffs will be available to watch on both Netflix and AMC+ for five year. Because of this deal, AMC updated its 2026 outlook in July, estimating that its full-year consolidated revenue will be in the range of $2.4 billion to $2.45 billion. More to come …