Versant beats revenue estimates on licensing deals, digital platform growth
Content licensing more than doubled and Platforms revenue rose 9.5%, helping offset declines in linear distribution and advertising.
- On Thursday, Versant Media Group reported first-quarter revenue of $1.69 billion, surpassing Wall Street's $1.62 billion estimate in its first earnings report as a standalone company following separation from Comcast's NBCUniversal.
- Linear distribution revenue for Versant dropped 7.3% to $1.01 billion, while advertising revenue declined 5.2% to $368 million, driven by ongoing subscriber losses and lower ratings at its networks.
- Licensing revenue surged 113.5% to $121 million, driven largely by the "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" deal with Hulu, while platforms revenue climbed 9.5% to $192 million through strong Fandango and GolfNow performance.
- Versant declared a quarterly cash dividend of 37.5 cents per share and announced a $100 million accelerated share repurchase agreement beginning May 15, with shares jumping 11% in pre-market trading.
- Acquiring the AI-powered financial insights platform StockStory positions Versant to rebalance toward 50% revenue from digital businesses, though analyst Paolo Pescatore warned the company must prove these assets become meaningful growth engines.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Versant platform revenue increases during Q1, total revenue slips
(Courtesy image) Versant Media Group saw its overall revenue slip 1 percent as gains in its platform business was offset by declines in its traditional television networks business. On Thursday, Versant — which was spun out of Comcast earlier this year — said first quarter (Q1) revenue clocked in at $1.69 billion, down 1.1 percent from $1.71 billion in the same period last year. Net income attributable to Versant fell 22.1 percent to $286 millio…
Versant Q1 Profit Tumbles 22% on Lower Linear, Ad Revenues and Higher Standalone Company Costs
Versant reported revenue of $1.7 billion on earnings of $1.99 per share. Wall Street was expecting revenue of $1.62 billion on earnings of $2.16 per share, per Yahoo Finance. Versant sold SportsEngine to PlayMetrics for an undisclosed amount after a strategic review. It also acquired the AI-powered financial insights platform StockStory. Shares of the company jumped 11% following the results Versant profits tumbled 22.1% to $286 million, or …
Versant Q1 Sees Profit Slip On Revenue Dip, Corporate Costs; Non-TV Operations Show Strength
Versant Media said profit in its first fiscal quarter fell due to erosion at its TV operations and higher corporate costs tied to its recent spin-off from NBCUniversal, even as some of its direct-to-consumer businesses showed strength and buoyed its efforts to diversify revenue beyond traditional media assets, The New York owner of MS NOW, CNBC and other cable businesses said net income fell $81 million, to $286 million, or $1.99 per share, co…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
