AMC Networks Revenue Slides 12% In Q4 As Results Fall Short Of Wall Street Targets

AMC Networks undershot Wall Street forecasts in the fourth quarter, with advertising continuing to decline in the U.S. and affiliate revenue also hitting a slump.

The company reported total revenue of $599 million, down 12% from the same period a year ago, and adjusted earnings per share of 64 cents declined from 72 cents.

Wall Street analysts’ consensus outlook was for earnings of $1.05 per share and revenue of $611.3 million.

In its domestic operations unit, AMC Networks said subscription revenue fell 4% to $314 million, with the company citing declines in linear subscribers, partially offset by streaming revenue growth.

Affiliate revenue declined 13%, which the company blamed on basic subscriber declines and contractual rate decreases in connection with renewals. Advertising revenue sagged 12% to $139 million due to linear ratings declines and what the earnings release called “a challenging entertainment advertising marketplace.”

The downturn bucks a Q4 trend at other media companies, who saw an upswing in ad revenue due to political spending and live sports. Neither of those areas is a specialty for AMC Networks.

The company said it booked a $399.5 million charge in 2024, including a $268.7 million goodwill impairment charge related to a decline in the value of its domestic cable networks. “The decrease in the estimated fair values reflected current and expected trends across the media industry, including continued softness in the domestic linear marketplace and across the International television broadcasting markets, resulting in lower expected future cash flows,” the earnings release said.

The charge follows $15 billion in write-downs last year by larger programmers Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery.

The company’s portfolio of niche streaming services, including Shudder, AMC+ and AcornTV, finished 2024 with 12.4 million subscribers, up 8% over 2023. Previously, the company had projected it would reach 20 million to 25 million subscribers by 2025, but it revised that guidance several quarters ago.

“We achieved our full-year guidance across all key financial metrics, including generating healthy free cash flow of $331 million,” CEO Kristin Dolan said. “We forged and expanded innovative partnerships that are helping to drive our company forward amidst a period of change that is challenging all media companies.”