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Zaz-Adjusted EBITDA

An examination of the hidden green shoots at WBD. Plus, notes on the latest maneuvers at BDT & MSD Partners, and how S.B.F.’s downfall is reverberating through the crypto universe.

Since the start of the WBD journey, according to David Zaslav, the company has paid down $12 billion of debt and is generating “over $5 billion in free cash flow” at the moment.
Since the start of the WBD journey, according to David Zaslav, the company has paid down $12 billion of debt and is generating “over $5 billion in free cash flow” at the moment. Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
William D. Cohan
November 12, 2023

I’m not sure what spooked investors about Warner Bros. Discovery’s third-quarter earnings, but whatever it was sent the stock down 19 percent on Wednesday. Frankly, I don’t have any concern about WBD beyond its pre-existing challenges, many of which plague its whole industry: WBD has too much debt, too much leverage, a barely breakeven streaming business, and a linear TV unit suffering from a declining advertising market. This has been the story since the company was created in April 2022.