Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) stock surged on Monday after the media and entertainment company announced plans to split into two. This split will result in the creation of a company with Warner Bros’ Streaming & Studios operations and a second business covering its Global Networks. The company intends to facilitate this split in a tax-free manner, which is expected to close by mid-2026, to maximize shareholder value.
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The Streaming & Studios company will contain Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO, and HBO Max, as well as TV and film libraries. It will be headed by current Warner Bros CEO David Zaslav.
The Global Networks company will consist of “premier entertainment, sports and news television brands around the world,” including CNN, TNT Sports, Discovery, free-to-air channels across Europe, Discovery+, and Bleacher Report (B/R). Warner Bros Chief Financial Officer Gunnar Wiedenfels will lead this company after the split.
Warner Bros’ Split Matches Analysts’ Expectations
Interestingly, some analysts predicted that Warner Bros was considering a split before it was announced. That included four-star Bank of America analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich, who claimed such a move would be beneficial for WBD stock. The analysts said this while reiterating a Buy rating and $14 price target, suggesting a 42.57% upside.
Ehrlich’s prediction is already true, as news of the split sent shares of WBD stock 8.55% higher in pre-market trading today. That’s enough to erase its year-to-date loss of 7.1% when markets closed on Friday. Traders will also note that WBD stock was up 20.94% over the past 12 months.
Is Warner Bros Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Warner Bros is Moderate Buy, based on eight Buy and eight Hold ratings over the past three months. With that comes an average WBD stock price target of $12.46, representing a potential 26.88% upside for the shares.
