Lionsgate Q3 Earnings Beat Estimates, Shares Rise on Strong TV Growth

Lionsgate (LGF.A) reported adjusted earnings of 28 cents per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 7 cents. The company had reported adjusted earnings of 27 cents in the year-ago quarter.Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.LGF.A’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 82.5%.Revenues decreased 0.5% year over year to $970.5 million but beat the consensus mark by 4.62%.Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise  Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. QuotePost fiscal third-quarter results, LGF.A shares rose 2.99% in the pre-market trading. In the year-to-date period, LGF.A shares have lost 2.2%, underperforming the Zacks Film and Television Production and Distribution industry’s return of 44.6%.Segmental Details of LGF.AMotion Picture (43.3% of revenues) revenues decreased 30.2% year over year to $309.2 million. The segment generated a profit of $83.6 million, down 16.7% year over year. Television Production (56.7% of revenues) revenues increased 62.9% year over year to $404.6 million. Segmental profit was $60.9 million, up 651.9% year over year. The Media Networks segment (35.5% of revenues) reported revenues of $344.5 million, which decreased 17.4% year over year. Segmental profit dipped 70.9% to $24.9 million. Starz Networks’ revenues decreased 1.4% year over year to $341.9 million. Other revenues in the quarter fell 96.3% year over year to $2.6 million.Total global subscribers, including STARZPLAY Arabia (a non-consolidated equity method investee), decreased sequentially to 24.57 million, due to linear and over-the-top (OTT) pressures domestically. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.41%.Total OTT subscribers decreased 9.75% year over year to 17.21 million.LGF.A’s Operating DetailsLionsgate’s adjusted OIBDA was $144.2 million in the reported quarter against the adjusted OIBDA of $150.9 million in the prior quarter.Direct operating expenses, as a percentage of revenues, expanded 610 basis points (bps) to 58.5%.Distribution and marketing expenses, as a percentage of revenues, contracted 460 bps to 18%.General & administrative expenses, as a percentage of revenues, contracted 150 bps year over year to 10.9%.The company reported an operating income of $35.8 million in the reported quarter compared with an operating loss of $43.5 million in the year-ago quarter.Balance Sheet & Cash Flow of LGF.AAs of Dec. 31, 2024, Lionsgate had cash and cash equivalents of $200.5 million compared with $229.6 million as of Sept. 30, 2024.Net cash flow provided by operating activities was negative $118.9 million at the end of the fiscal third quarter against a cash flow of $82 million used at the end of the previous quarter.Adjusted free cash flow was $12.8 million compared with a negative free cash flow of $132.4 million in the previous quarter.LGF.A’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderLGF.A currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Amer Sports AS, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation FUN and Intercontinental Hotels Group IHG are some better-ranked stocks that investors can consider in the broader sector. AS, FUN and IHG carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Shares of Amer Sports have gained 11.5% year to date. AS is set to report fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 25.Shares of Six Flags have dropped 7.9% year to date. FUN is slated to report fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 27.Shares of Intercontinental Hotels have gained 9.1% year to date. IHG is set to report fourth-quarter 2024 results on Feb. 18.Free Today: Profiting from The Future’s Brightest Energy SourceThe demand for electricity is growing exponentially. At the same time, we’re working to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels like oil and natural gas. Nuclear energy is an ideal replacement.Leaders from the US and 21 other countries recently committed to TRIPLING the world’s nuclear energy capacities. 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