We recently published a list of the 12 Best News and Digital Media Stocks To Buy. In this article, we are going to look at where Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) stands against other news and digital media stocks to buy now.
American Consumers and Digital Media
Digital experiences comprise a significant part of consumers’ lives in today’s digital age. According to Deloitte, consumers spend an average of eight hours engaging in online activities every day, which makes up about half of their waking hours. These trends are more prominent among Gen Z and millennials, who spend around nine hours on average on online activities every day. In contrast, Gen X and boomers spend around seven and six hours on average daily, respectively.
Around 7 in 10 respondents claim that they go online daily to use social media, carry out general web browsing, or communicate with their friends and family. 74% of Gen Z and millennials check their social media several times every day, with 20% of Gen Z checking their feeds at least every hour. In contrast, 57% of Gen X and 39% of boomers check their social media multiple times a day.
61% of consumers surveyed said that they interact with digital media daily by consuming entertainment (watching movies, sports, or television) on a streaming service. Similarly, around 48% said they listen to a podcast or music daily.
A study by Deloitte shows that US households spent around $760 on average on acquiring connected devices in 2024, down from $800 in 2023. Consumer technology spending fell between 2022 and 2023, primarily due to pandemic-driven supply chain disruptions, higher inflation, and slower economic growth.
However, estimates show that this spending is expected to bounce back, experiencing a 1% growth in revenue in 2024 and an extra 4.4% growth in 2025. Deloitte’s 2024 Connected Consumer Survey corroborates this claim, as it shows that 28% of respondents have plans to increase their device spending in 2025, up from 9% in 2023. In contrast, around 23% of people are planning to reduce their device purchase spending, up from 7% in 2023. This trend is attributed to the ongoing financial pressures on US consumers.
Are Americans Losing Interest in News?
Recent Pew Research Center surveys show a falling number of US adults who follow the news closely. Consumers for several older types of news media, such as local television stations, public radio, and newspapers, are dwindling as well. However, audiences for a few particular media brands are increasing, including newer digital platforms such as podcasts and social media.
According to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey, nearly 50% of all US adults claimed that they sometimes get news from social media. Although those who use social media to get news like various things about it, such as speed, convenience, and preciseness, some consumers express concerns about the practice. They claim news attained from social media isn’t always accurate, is seldom low in quality, and tends to be politically biased. Inaccuracy is increasingly becoming the most disliked aspect of social media news, going from 31% who said the same to 40% in the past five years.
Similarly, an Ernst & Young (EY) report on key entertainment and media trends for 2024 showed that consumer dissatisfaction with paying for unused television channels was leading to the rise of streaming services. Such services allowed households to personalize their content and reduce costs simultaneously.
Media companies are now facing the challenge of maintaining a profitable balance between traditional cable and linear broadcast networks and streaming platforms. Digital media companies are also employing artificial intelligence to regulate their operations, boosting incremental growth and productivity. However, risks regarding the implementation of GenAI persist. These include intellectual property protection, creative industries’ job security concerns, and privacy and accuracy challenges.
Our Methodology
To compile our list, we consulted online sources and ETFs to select 15 top news and digital media stocks. We then chose the top 12 stocks that were the most popular among hedge funds. We sourced the hedge fund data from Insider Monkey’s database. The stocks are arranged in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that hold stakes in them.
At Insider Monkey, we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 49
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) is a global media and entertainment company that operates through the Studios, Networks, and DTC segments. The Studios segment manages the production and release of feature films, while the Networks segment encompasses its domestic and international television network. The company’s DTC segment primarily operates its premium pay-TV and streaming services.
Over the last two and a half years, the company has continued to make meaningful investments in new platforms and technologies, partnerships, and creative talent to drive changes in its structure and accelerate growth. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) is focusing on a three-pronged strategy to deliver expected shareholder gains. These include deploying Max, its streaming service, as a global storytelling and distribution platform, optimizing the company’s Networks business (including its US Linear Television business), and returning its studios to industry leadership.
The company added 7.2 million subscribers to Max in fiscal Q3 2024, bringing the total count to 110 million subscribers globally. It is also seeing growth in subscriber-related revenue growth and profitability growth for the segment. Overall, the company’s DTC revenue grew 9% year-over-year to $2.6 billion, and EBITDA increased by more than 175% year-over-year to $290 million. The primary driver of this growth is the company’s content, which is increasingly resonating with consumers. Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) ranks third on our list of the 12 best news and digital media stocks to buy.
Longleaf Partners mentioned Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD) in its Q1 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) – Media conglomerate Warner Bros Discovery was also a detractor in the quarter. The market disliked the company’s lack of guidance for 2024. While there are tentative signs that the advertising market is slightly improving, we understand why the market remains in show-me mode on this part of the business. The Warner Bros Studio has gone from a big hit with the Barbie movie last summer to some misses lately. As we have discussed before, April 2024 represents the two-year anniversary of Warner Bros and Discovery merging. After this date, the company will have more options to go more on offense. Unfortunately, this is overlooked in the near term by daily Paramount headlines. We are ready to see how the rest of this year plays out. WBD still generates substantial FCF and is de-levering its balance sheet rapidly. The company remains dramatically undervalued today, but we need to see more positives before increasing our position further.”
Overall, WBD ranks 3rd on our list of the best news and digital media stocks. While we acknowledge the potential of WBD to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than WBD but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
