Communication Services

Last Updated: 13 July 2026

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) is one of the largest video-game publishers in the world — the company behind EA SPORTS FC, Battlefield, Apex Legends, The Sims, Madden NFL and EA SPORTS F1. In fiscal 2026, which ended on 31 March 2026, it posted record net bookings of $8.026 billion, GAAP net revenue of $7.531 billion and record operating cash flow of $2.553 billion. But the dominant fact about EA today is not a game: on 29 September 2025 the company agreed to be taken private by a consortium of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners for $210 per share in cash, valuing EA at roughly $55 billion — the largest all-cash sponsor take-private in history. Shareholders approved it in December 2025. It has not yet closed. Everything below is drawn from EA's own filings and press releases. No analyst opinions, no price targets.

1. Company Snapshot

Field	Value
Company	Electronic Arts Inc.
Ticker / Exchange	EA / NASDAQ
Sector	Communication Services — interactive entertainment (video games)
Headquarters	Redwood City, California, USA
CEO	Andrew Wilson (Chairman & Chief Executive Officer)
CFO	Stuart Canfield (EVP & Chief Financial Officer)
Employees	~14,600 globally at 31 March 2026 (71% located outside the United States)
Fiscal year end	31 March
Revenue (FY2026 GAAP net revenue)	$7.531bn (+1% year on year)
Net bookings (FY2026)	$8.026bn — a record, +9% year on year
Net income (FY2026)	$887m
Diluted EPS (FY2026)	$3.51
Operating cash flow (FY2026)	$2.553bn — a record, +23% year on year
Market cap	~$51.75bn (July 2026; share price ~$206.40)
Pending transaction	$210.00 per share all-cash take-private by PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners; ~$55bn enterprise value; extended outside date 28 September 2026

2. Bull & Bear Case

Bull Case

• A contractual floor at $210: The merger agreement provides for $210.00 per share in cash. Shareholders approved the deal on 22 December 2025 and antitrust review has cleared. With the shares around $206, the remaining spread is the market's pricing of completion risk, not of EA's operating performance.
• Record year, and the cash to prove it: FY2026 net bookings of $8.026bn were a record (+9%), and operating cash flow of $2.553bn was a record (+23%). After $230m of capital expenditure, free cash flow was roughly $2.32bn on a $7.53bn revenue base.
• Battlefield 6 worked: Battlefield 6 was the best-selling shooter of 2025 and the best-performing Battlefield in a fiscal year, setting franchise records. Q3 FY2026 net bookings of $3.046bn were up 38% year on year on the back of it.
• The live-services annuity: Live services and other produced $5.383bn of FY2026 net revenue — 71% of the total — spread across EA SPORTS FC Ultimate Team, FC Mobile, Apex Legends and The Sims. Global Football net bookings grew mid-single-digits and Apex Legends grew double digits in FY2026.

Bear Case

• CFIUS is the whole story now: The deal missed its 30 June 2026 outside date and was extended to 28 September 2026 while it awaits national-security clearance. A Saudi sovereign wealth fund acquiring a major US technology company is exactly the kind of transaction CFIUS scrutinises. If it is blocked, the $210 anchor disappears.
• Underlying GAAP earnings went backwards: Despite the record bookings, FY2026 GAAP net income fell to $887m from $1,121m and diluted EPS to $3.51 from $4.25. Operating income dropped to $1,162m from $1,520m as R&D rose to $2,828m and marketing to $1,128m.
• Growth is flat before the hits: Net revenue has been essentially static for four years: $7.43bn (FY2023), $7.56bn (FY2024), $7.46bn (FY2025), $7.53bn (FY2026). The FY2026 record in bookings was carried by one launch.
• Limited downside cushion: If the deal breaks, the shares would be re-rated on operating fundamentals — a business trading at roughly 59x trailing GAAP earnings with a 52-week low of $146.97, well below the current price.

3. Business Segments

EA reports as a single operating segment but splits net revenue by type. Shares of FY2026 net revenue of $7.531bn are shown below.

Segment	% of revenue	What it is
Live services and other	71.5% ($5,383m in FY2026)	Recurring spending inside games already owned: EA SPORTS FC Ultimate Team and FC Mobile, Apex Legends battle passes and cosmetics, The Sims content packs, plus subscriptions and other services. This is the annuity and it is where engagement and monetisation compound.
Full game	28.5% ($2,148m in FY2026)	Sales of the games themselves, digital and physical — in FY2026 dominated by Battlefield 6, the best-performing Battlefield in a fiscal year. Full-game revenue grew from $2,002m in FY2025 on the back of that launch.
Net bookings (operating metric)	$8,026m in FY2026 (not a revenue line)	EA's headline operating metric: net revenue plus the change in deferred net revenue for online-enabled games. It captures what customers actually spent in the period, before GAAP defers part of it. FY2026 net bookings were a record, up 9%.

4. How It Makes Money

EA sells a game once and then sells to the same player for years. That is the whole model, and it is why the company's headline metric is net bookings rather than revenue.

The upfront sale. A new Battlefield or a new EA SPORTS FC ships at a premium price. In FY2026 full-game revenue was $2,148m, up from $2,002m, driven by Battlefield 6. These launches are lumpy, expensive and existential — R&D was $2,828m in FY2026 and marketing and sales $1,128m, most of it spent ahead of the release.

The recurring spend. Once a player is in the ecosystem, EA monetises engagement: Ultimate Team card packs, seasonal battle passes, cosmetics, expansion content and subscriptions. This produced $5,383m in FY2026 — nearly three-quarters of revenue — and it does not require a new game every year. Apex Legends delivered its strongest bookings quarter of FY2026 in the fourth quarter, years after launch.

Why bookings and revenue differ. GAAP requires EA to defer a portion of the money it takes for online-enabled games and recognise it over the expected service period. In FY2026 the deferred balance grew by $495m, so net bookings ($8,026m) exceeded net revenue ($7,531m). In the third quarter alone the deferred balance grew $1,145m as Battlefield 6 launched, which is precisely why Q3 GAAP EPS was only $0.35 while net bookings were a record $3.046bn.

The cash conversion. Because players pay upfront and content is delivered over time, EA generates cash well ahead of GAAP profit: $2,553m of operating cash flow in FY2026 against $887m of net income. Depreciation, amortisation and impairment were $323m and stock-based compensation $656m.

5. Financial Health

EA's fiscal year ends on 31 March. Figures below are from EA's quarterly earnings press releases (Form 8-K exhibits) and Form 10-K XBRL data filed with the SEC. Long-term debt is senior notes, net, non-current, at fiscal year-end.

Fiscal Year	Revenue	YoY %	GAAP EPS	Adjusted EPS	Dividend/share	Long-term debt (YE)
FY2022 (to 31 Mar 2022)	$6.991bn	—	$2.76	n/a1	$0.682	$1.878bn
FY2023 (to 31 Mar 2023)	$7.426bn	+6.2%	$2.88	n/a1	$0.762	$1.880bn
FY2024 (to 31 Mar 2024)	$7.562bn	+1.8%	$4.68	n/a1	$0.762	$1.882bn
FY2025 (to 31 Mar 2025)	$7.463bn	−1.3%	$4.25	n/a1	$0.762	$1.484bn
FY2026 (to 31 Mar 2026)	$7.531bn	+0.9%	$3.51	n/a1	$0.762	$1.485bn

¹ EA's fiscal 2026 earnings releases present GAAP results and the net bookings operating metric only; no adjusted or non-GAAP earnings-per-share measure is published, and given the pending take-private EA is not hosting earnings calls. ² Dividend per share derived from cash dividends paid (FY2022 $193m, FY2023 $210m, FY2024 $205m, FY2025 $199m, FY2026 $191m per the cash flow statements) divided by weighted-average shares outstanding; EA declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.19 per share in the May 2026 release, payable 17 June 2026.

Quarter / Half	Revenue	Adjusted EPS	GAAP EPS
Q4 FY2026 (Jan–Mar 2026)	$2,120m	n/a1	$1.81
Q3 FY2026 (Oct–Dec 2025)	$1,901m	n/a1	$0.35
Q2 FY2026 (Jul–Sep 2025)	$1,839m3	n/a1	$0.54
Q1 FY2026 (Apr–Jun 2025)	$1,671m	n/a1	$0.79
FY2026 total	$7,531m	n/a1	$3.51

³ Q2 FY2026 net revenue derived as the FY2026 total ($7,531m) less Q1 ($1,671m), Q3 ($1,901m) and Q4 ($2,120m) as reported. Quarterly EPS figures are diluted and do not sum exactly to the full-year figure because of share-count rounding.

The balance sheet at 31 March 2026 showed cash and cash equivalents of $2,864m plus short-term investments of $116m, total assets of $13,131m, senior notes (non-current) of $1,485m with no current portion after a $400m repayment during the year, deferred net revenue of $2,233m and total stockholders' equity of $6,764m. EA is therefore in a net-cash position of roughly $1.5bn. Cash flow in FY2026: $2,553m from operations, $230m of capital expenditure, $769m of share repurchases and excise taxes, $191m of dividends and the $400m notes repayment.

6. Valuation Metrics

Raw metrics, July 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.

An important caveat before the table: EA's share price is currently anchored by the $210.00 per share cash offer, not by fundamentals. Every multiple below should be read as "what the deal price implies", not "what the market thinks the business is worth".

Metric	Value
Market cap	~$51.75bn (July 2026; share price ~$206.40, versus the $210.00 cash offer)
Trailing P/E (GAAP)	~58.8x (price ~$206.40 ÷ FY2026 diluted EPS $3.51). Elevated because the price reflects the takeover, and because FY2026 GAAP earnings were suppressed by Battlefield 6 revenue deferral.
P/E (forward)	n/a — EA has issued no fiscal 2027 guidance and is not hosting earnings calls while the take-private is pending
P/S (TTM)	~6.9x (market cap ~$51.75bn ÷ FY2026 net revenue $7.531bn)
Enterprise value	~$50.3bn (market cap ~$51.75bn + total debt $1.485bn − cash $2.864bn and short-term investments $0.116bn, per the 31 March 2026 balance sheet). The consortium's transaction values EA at approximately $55bn of enterprise value.
EV/EBITDA (TTM)	~33.8x (EV ~$50.3bn ÷ EBITDA ~$1.485bn; EBITDA = FY2026 operating income $1,162m + depreciation, amortisation, accretion and impairment $323m per the cash flow statement). Note EBITDA is depressed by $656m of stock-based compensation and by revenue deferral on Battlefield 6.
P/FCF	~22.3x (market cap ~$51.75bn ÷ FCF ~$2.323bn; FCF = FY2026 operating cash flow $2,553m − capital expenditure $230m per the cash flow statement)
Dividend yield	~0.37% ($0.19 quarterly, $0.76 annualised, on a ~$206.40 share price)
52-week high	$206.63
52-week low	$146.97
Short interest (% of float)	~4.24% of float (MarketBeat, latest reported settlement date, mid-2026) — consistent with merger-arbitrage positioning rather than a directional bear case
Days to cover	~6.67 days (same source)

Track the price against the deal spread on the ChartsView Live Charts page.

7. What Are They Building

Closing the transaction. The dominant corporate project is completing the take-private. CEO Andrew Wilson framed it directly in the May 2026 results: "With the recent completion of a debt process that was met with strong investor demand and our ongoing constructive engagement with regulators, we look ahead to closing the transaction and the opportunities it will unlock." The financing is in place — roughly $36bn of equity from the consortium and $20bn of debt arranged through JPMorgan, with PIF rolling over its existing 9.9% stake.

Battlefield as an annual franchise. Battlefield 6 was the best-performing Battlefield in a fiscal year and the best-selling shooter of 2025. Establishing it as a durable live-service franchise alongside EA SPORTS FC is the clearest operating priority — R&D spending rose 10% to $2,828m in FY2026 to support the slate.

Football everywhere. Global Football net bookings grew mid-single-digits in FY2026 with growth across EA SPORTS FC 26, FC Online and FC Mobile — three monetisation surfaces on one licence.

Deepening Apex. Apex Legends finished FY2026 with bookings up double digits and its strongest quarter of the year in Q4, which EA attributed to improving engagement and monetisation features rather than a new release.

8. Competitors

Peer	Market cap (July 2026)	Key 2025 metric
Take-Two Interactive (TTWO)	~$46.8bn (8 July 2026)	Record FY2026 net bookings of $6.72bn, roughly $750m above initial guidance, with fiscal 2027 guidance of $8.0–8.2bn — the closest listed comparator to EA on both scale and model.
Nintendo (7974.T)	~$50–56bn	FY2026 (to March 2026) net sales of ¥2.313 trillion, up 98.6% year on year, and operating income of ¥360.1bn, driven by the Switch 2 launch.
Roblox (RBLX)	~$38.3bn (6 July 2026)	FY2025 bookings guided to $6.57–6.62bn (+50–51% year on year) on revenue of $4.83–4.88bn (+34–35%) — growing far faster than EA, from a user-generated content model.
Ubisoft (UBI.PA)	~$0.91bn	Now a fraction of EA's size after a prolonged decline — a reminder of what happens in this industry when a publisher's franchise pipeline fails.

9. Leadership & Insiders

Electronic Arts is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Wilson, who has been CEO since 2013 and is the named executive in the fiscal 2026 results. Stuart Canfield is EVP and Chief Financial Officer. Under the merger agreement, the consortium of PIF, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners will control EA on closing.

Name	Date	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Plan Type
Andrew Wilson (Chairman & CEO)	17 Feb 2026	Sale (Wilson Family Trust)	5,000 (4,900 + 100)	$199.48 / $200.18 (weighted averages)	~$1.0m	Rule 10b5-1 plan adopted 1 Aug 2025
Andrew Wilson (Chairman & CEO)	2026 (annual grant)	RSU grant	150,772	n/a (equity award)	n/a	Vesting one-third on 15 May 2027, remainder in six-monthly instalments to 15 May 2029
Stuart Canfield (EVP & CFO)	22 Jun 2026	RSU vesting / tax withholding	3,188 vested; 1,581 withheld	n/a (tax withholding)	n/a	Routine vesting settlement
Stuart Canfield (EVP & CFO)	2026 (annual grant)	RSU grant	60,309	n/a (equity award)	n/a	Vesting 15 May 2027 to 15 May 2029

Insider activity is routine: equity grants, vesting settlements and one pre-planned 10b5-1 trust sale by the CEO. There is no material insider buying, and no material insider selling beyond the scheduled plan sale shown above. With a fixed $210 cash price agreed, insider transactions carry little signal value.

10. Risks

• CFIUS blocks or conditions the deal (Regulatory): This is the single dominant risk. The transaction missed its 30 June 2026 outside date and now runs to 28 September 2026 pending US national-security clearance of a Saudi sovereign-wealth-fund acquisition of a major American technology company. A block would remove the $210 price anchor entirely.
• Deal-break re-rating (Financial): If the merger terminates, EA would be valued on its own numbers — flat revenue, declining GAAP profit, and a 52-week low of $146.97 roughly 29% below the current price.
• Hit-driven concentration (Operational): FY2026's record was carried by Battlefield 6 and EA SPORTS FC. A failed launch in a single tentpole franchise materially changes the year, as the flat FY2023–FY2025 revenue line shows.
• Rising cost base compressing margins (Financial): Operating income fell to $1,162m in FY2026 from $1,520m in FY2025 as R&D rose to $2,828m and marketing and sales to $1,128m. Stock-based compensation alone was $656m.
• Post-close leverage (Financial): The buyout is funded with roughly $20bn of debt against a business generating about $2.3bn of annual free cash flow. That capital structure will constrain investment flexibility for whatever the private company becomes — relevant to anyone holding through to close or considering the credit.
• Licence dependency (Operational): EA SPORTS FC, Madden NFL, College Football and F1 all rest on third-party licences. EA's own filings list the loss of key licences among its risk factors.
• Competition and player-attention risk (Competitive): Roblox is growing bookings above 50% a year and Take-Two has guided to $8.0–8.2bn of FY2027 net bookings. Player time is the scarce resource and EA is not winning the growth race.

Scheduled market events are tracked on the ChartsView Economic Calendar.

11. Recent Developments

• 29 Sep 2025 — EA agrees to a $55bn take-private. The company announced a definitive agreement to be acquired by a consortium of the Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake and Affinity Partners in an all-cash transaction at $210.00 per share, valuing EA at approximately $55 billion of enterprise value — the largest all-cash sponsor take-private on record.
• 22 Dec 2025 — Shareholders approve the merger. EA stockholders voted in favour at a virtual special meeting, clearing the shareholder condition and leaving regulatory approvals as the outstanding gate.
• 03 Feb 2026 — Record quarterly net bookings on Battlefield 6. Q3 FY2026 net bookings of $3.046bn were up 38% year on year, with Battlefield 6 the best-selling shooter of 2025. GAAP net revenue was $1.901bn and diluted EPS $0.35, held down by a $1,145m increase in deferred net revenue; operating cash flow for the quarter was $1.826bn.
• 05 May 2026 — Record fiscal year. FY2026 net bookings of $8.026bn (+9%) and operating cash flow of $2.553bn (+23%) were both records. GAAP net revenue was $7.531bn (+1%), net income $887m and diluted EPS $3.51 (down from $4.25). A quarterly dividend of $0.19 per share was declared, payable 17 June 2026. No earnings call was held because of the pending transaction.
• 30 Jun 2026 — Outside date missed; deadline extended. With CFIUS review still outstanding, the merger's original outside date passed and the parties extended it to 28 September 2026. Antitrust review had already cleared. The shares have since traded a few dollars below the $210 offer, reflecting residual completion risk.

12. Key Dates

• Expected Jul 2026 — First-quarter fiscal 2027 results (quarter ended 30 June 2026). EA has not confirmed a date and is not holding earnings calls while the transaction is pending.
• 28 Sep 2026 — Extended outside date of the merger agreement. The transaction must close by this date or the parties must agree a further extension.
• TBC — CFIUS decision on the national-security review of the PIF-led consortium's acquisition. This is the gating event for the whole thesis.
• TBD — Delisting from NASDAQ, which will follow completion of the take-private.

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Disclaimer: This research is produced by ChartsView for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All information is sourced from publicly available company filings, press releases, and official data. ChartsView does not use analyst opinions or third-party ratings. Always conduct your own due diligence and consider your personal financial situation before making investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Last Updated: 11 July 2026

Warner Bros. Discovery is one of the world's largest media and entertainment companies, home to HBO Max, Warner Bros. film and television studios, CNN, Discovery, TNT, HGTV and the DC and Harry Potter franchises. Formed in 2022 from the merger of Discovery and WarnerMedia, the company spent 2025 deleveraging and returning to profit — and then agreed to be acquired outright. In February 2026 WBD signed a definitive agreement to be bought by Paramount Skydance for $31.00 per share in cash, an ~$81 billion equity deal that shareholders approved in April and US regulators cleared in June, with closing targeted for the third quarter of 2026. That pending transaction now dominates the investment picture. See also our Live Charts and Economic Calendar.

1. Company Snapshot

Field	Value
Company	Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.
Ticker / Exchange	WBD / NASDAQ
Sector	Communication Services — Media & Entertainment
CEO	David Zaslav (President & CEO)
Headquarters	New York, New York, USA
Founded	2022 (merger of Discovery and WarnerMedia)
Employees	~35,500 (as of 31 December 2025)
Market cap	~$67bn (10 July 2026)
Revenue (FY2025)	$37.30bn (−5.2% YoY)
Net income (FY2025, GAAP)	$727m (first annual profit since the 2022 merger)
GAAP EPS (FY2025)	$0.29
Dividend	None — suspended since the 2022 merger
Pending deal	Being acquired by Paramount Skydance at $31.00/share in cash

2. Bull & Bear Case

Bull Case

• All-cash takeover sets a floor: Paramount Skydance's agreed $31.00 per share cash offer — approved by shareholders and cleared by the US DOJ — provides a hard reference value roughly 16% above the recent ~$26.78 share price, an event-driven, merger-arbitrage-style setup.
• Streaming has turned profitable: the Streaming segment swung to a ~$1.37 billion adjusted EBITDA and reached 131.6 million subscribers, validating the HBO Max strategy.
• Studios strength: the Studios segment delivered ~$2.55 billion of adjusted EBITDA, anchored by Warner Bros. film, television and games plus the DC and Harry Potter franchises.
• Aggressive deleveraging: gross long-term debt has been cut from ~$49 billion at the 2022 merger to ~$33 billion, materially reducing balance-sheet risk.
• Returned to profit: 2025 produced the first full-year GAAP net income ($727 million) since the merger, alongside $3.1 billion of free cash flow.

Bear Case

• Deal-completion risk dominates: the current price is underpinned by the Paramount transaction; remaining regulatory clearances (EU, FCC, UK and others) still stand between the deal and closing, and a break would likely push shares toward standalone value.
• Linear television is in secular decline: Global Linear Networks revenue fell 12% and adjusted EBITDA fell 21% in 2025 amid cord-cutting and the loss of NBA rights.
• Heavy debt load: the company still carries roughly $29 billion of net debt and 3.3x net leverage.
• Shrinking top line: total revenue declined ~5% in 2025 and has fallen from the 2023 peak as legacy networks erode faster than streaming grows.
• Volatile GAAP earnings: heavy intangible amortisation and one-off items — such as the $2.8 billion Netflix termination fee booked in Q1 2026 — make reported earnings lumpy and hard to read.

3. Business Segments

From 2025 WBD reports three operating segments. The percentages below are shares of gross segment revenue (before roughly $3.1 billion of inter-segment eliminations that reconcile to the $37.30 billion reported total).

Segment	% of revenue	What it is
Global Linear Networks	~43%	Cable and broadcast networks — CNN, TNT, TBS, Discovery, HGTV, Food Network and more. Cash-generative but in structural decline. FY2025 revenue $17.66bn.
Studios	~31%	Warner Bros. film and television production, games, and the DC and Harry Potter franchises. FY2025 revenue $12.62bn.
Streaming	~26%	Direct-to-consumer streaming led by HBO Max; 131.6 million global subscribers. FY2025 revenue $10.88bn.

4. Business Model

Warner Bros. Discovery monetises content across three routes: subscriptions, advertising and content licensing/theatrical.

How it makes money. By revenue type, FY2025 split into Distribution ($19.3 billion — affiliate fees and streaming subscriptions), Advertising ($7.3 billion — linear and streaming ad sales), Content ($9.6 billion — theatrical box office, TV licensing and games) and Other ($1.1 billion). Distribution is the largest and most recurring pillar; content is the most volatile, swinging with the film slate.

Unit economics and moat. The moat is a deep library of owned intellectual property — DC, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Warner Bros.' film catalogue and Discovery's unscripted brands — that can be re-monetised across streaming, licensing and theatrical. The strategic challenge is managing the decline of high-margin linear networks while scaling lower-margin streaming into sustained profitability.

Capital allocation. WBD pays no dividend and has directed free cash flow toward debt reduction. Originally the company planned to split into two listed companies (streaming/studios and global networks) in 2026; that plan was superseded by the agreed sale to Paramount Skydance.

5. Financial Health

The five-year record is distorted by the April 2022 merger: 2021 reflects Discovery on a standalone basis, so the 2022 jump is not organic growth. Since the 2023 peak, revenue has declined as linear networks shrink. WBD returned to a full-year GAAP profit in 2025 for the first time since the merger. All figures are from company earnings releases and SEC filings.

Year	Revenue	YoY %	GAAP EPS	Adjusted EPS	Dividend/share	Long-term debt (YE)
2021	$12.19bn	—	$1.54	n/a	Nil	—
2022	$33.82bn	n/m (merger)	$(3.82)	n/a	Nil	$49.0bn
2023	$41.32bn	+22.2%	$(1.28)	n/a	Nil	$43.7bn
2024	$39.32bn	−4.8%	$(4.62)	n/a	Nil	$39.5bn
2025	$37.30bn	−5.2%	$0.29	n/a	Nil	$32.6bn

WBD does not report a separate adjusted EPS; management guides to Adjusted EBITDA, which was $8.74 billion in FY2025 (versus $9.03 billion in FY2024). Long-term debt shown is the year-end noncurrent balance; the 2021 figure is omitted because that year predates the merger (Discovery standalone). Net debt at end-2025 was ~$29.0 billion (3.3x net leverage).

Quarter	Revenue	Adjusted EPS	GAAP EPS
Q1 2026	$8.89bn	n/a	$(1.17)
Q4 2025	$9.46bn	n/a	$(0.10)
Q3 2025	$9.05bn	n/a	$(0.06)
Q2 2025	$9.81bn	n/a	$0.63
FY2025 total	$37.30bn	n/a	$0.29

The Q1 2026 GAAP loss of $1.17 per share includes the $2.8 billion termination fee paid to Netflix. WBD reports Adjusted EBITDA rather than an adjusted EPS metric.

6. Valuation

Raw metrics, July 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.

Metric	Value
Market cap	~$67bn (~2.51bn shares × $26.78, 10 Jul 2026)
Enterprise value	~$96bn (market cap $67bn + total debt $33.5bn − cash $4.6bn); the Paramount offer implies ~$110bn EV at $31/share
Trailing P/E (GAAP)	n/m — TTM GAAP is a loss after the $2.8bn Q1 2026 Netflix termination fee; FY2025 EPS $0.29 implies ~92x, not meaningful
P/E (forward)	n/a — pending all-cash acquisition; company does not guide EPS
P/S (TTM)	~1.8x (market cap $67bn / TTM revenue ~$37bn)
P/FCF	~22x (market cap $67bn / FY2025 FCF $3.09bn; FCF = operating CF $4.32bn − capex $1.23bn)
EV/EBITDA (TTM)	~11x (EV $96bn / FY2025 adjusted EBITDA $8.74bn); ~15x on GAAP EBITDA
52-week high	$30.00
52-week low	$10.76
Short interest (% of float)	~2.5%
Days to cover	~3.2

7. What Are They Building

For most of 2025 the story was WBD's "three-pillar" strategy — scaling streaming, revitalising Warner Bros. Studios, and optimising the linear networks — leading toward a planned 2026 split into two independent public companies: Warner Bros. (Streaming & Studios, to be led by David Zaslav) and Discovery Global (Global Linear Networks, to be led by CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels).

That plan was overtaken by events. After David Ellison's Paramount Skydance pursued the company through 2025 and into 2026, WBD's board ran a sale process and agreed to be acquired outright. The near-term "build" is therefore the combination with Paramount Skydance — folding HBO Max, Warner Bros. Studios and the linear networks into a larger media group — while WBD continues to expand HBO Max internationally, deliver its film and television slate, and manage the wind-down of legacy linear economics. If the deal were to fail, the standalone split path could re-emerge.

8. Competitive Landscape

WBD competes across streaming, studios and linear television against the largest media and technology companies. Its acquirer, Paramount Skydance, is itself a direct peer. Market caps below are approximate and as of July 2026.

Peer	Market cap (Jul 2026)	Key 2025 metric
Netflix (NFLX)	~$500bn	FY2025 revenue ~$44bn; global streaming leader
Walt Disney (DIS)	~$195bn	FY2025 revenue ~$94bn; diversified media and parks
Comcast / NBCUniversal (CMCSA)	~$120bn	FY2025 revenue ~$124bn; cable, broadband and studios
Paramount Skydance (PSKY)	~$30bn	Acquirer of WBD; Paramount+ streaming and CBS networks

9. Leadership & Ownership

Warner Bros. Discovery is led by President & CEO David Zaslav, who ran Discovery before the 2022 merger and would lead the streaming-and-studios business under the earlier split plan. CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels was slated to lead the linear-networks company. Recent insider activity has centred on routine annual board equity grants dated 9 June 2026 rather than open-market conviction trades.

Name	Date	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Plan Type
Kenneth W. Lowe (Director)	09 Jun 2026	Grant (award)	9,067	$0.00	$0	Annual board equity award
Joseph Levin (Director)	09 Jun 2026	Grant (award)	9,067	$0.00	$0	Annual board equity award
Fazal F. Merchant (Director)	09 Jun 2026	Grant (award)	9,067	$0.00	$0	Annual board equity award
Anthony Noto (Director)	09 Jun 2026	Grant (award)	9,067	$0.00	$0	Annual board equity award

10. Key Risks

• Deal completion (Regulatory): the current share price is underpinned by the Paramount Skydance acquisition; outstanding clearances (EU, FCC, UK and others) remain, and a collapse of the deal would be materially adverse and is imminent given the Q3 2026 target.
• Linear decline (Operational): Global Linear Networks revenue fell 12% and adjusted EBITDA 21% in 2025 amid cord-cutting and the loss of NBA rights.
• Leverage (Financial): ~$29 billion of net debt and 3.3x net leverage constrain flexibility if cash flows weaken.
• Content volatility (Operational): studio results swing sharply with the performance of the theatrical and television slate.
• Streaming competition (Operational): HBO Max faces intense competition from Netflix, Disney+, Amazon and others for subscribers and content spend.
• Advertising cyclicality (Macro): both linear and streaming advertising revenue are exposed to the economic cycle.
• Earnings volatility (Financial): heavy intangible amortisation and one-off items make GAAP earnings lumpy and difficult to interpret.

11. Recent Developments

• 13 Jun 2026 — US DOJ clears the Paramount Skydance acquisition. The Department of Justice approved the ~$111 billion takeover, removing a key US antitrust hurdle; other regulators (EU, FCC, UK) continued their reviews.
• 06 May 2026 — Q1 2026 results. Revenue was $8.9 billion; the company reported a $2.9 billion net loss, which included the $2.8 billion termination fee paid to Netflix, while the streaming segment stayed profitable.
• 23 Apr 2026 — Shareholders approve the Paramount Skydance merger. WBD stockholders overwhelmingly voted in favour of the $31.00-per-share all-cash sale.
• 27 Feb 2026 — Definitive merger agreement signed. WBD agreed to be acquired by Paramount Skydance for $31.00 per share in cash (~$81 billion equity, ~$110 billion enterprise value), with a $0.25-per-share quarterly "ticking fee" accruing if closing runs past 30 September 2026.
• 26 Feb 2026 — Q4 and full-year 2025 results. Full-year revenue was $37.3 billion with net income of $727 million — the first annual profit since the merger — and adjusted EBITDA of $8.7 billion.

12. Key Dates

• 07 Aug 2026 — Q2 2026 financial results (before market open)
• Expected Q3 2026 — targeted closing of the Paramount Skydance acquisition, subject to remaining regulatory clearances
• 30 Sep 2026 — date after which a $0.25-per-share quarterly "ticking fee" begins accruing to WBD shareholders if the deal has not closed

For more tools, see the ChartsView Live Charts, Economic Calendar and community Forum.

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Disclaimer: This research is produced by ChartsView for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All information is sourced from publicly available company filings, press releases, and official data. ChartsView does not use analyst opinions or third-party ratings. Always conduct your own due diligence and consider your personal financial situation before making investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Last Updated: 9 July 2026

Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ: TTWO) is one of the world's largest video-game publishers, home to Rockstar Games (Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption), 2K (NBA 2K, WWE 2K, Borderlands) and the Zynga mobile business. Fiscal 2026 (ended 31 March 2026) was a record year, with GAAP net revenue up 18% to $6.66bn and Net Bookings of $6.7bn. But the whole investment case now orbits a single date: the 19 November 2026 launch of Grand Theft Auto VI, the most anticipated entertainment release of the decade. The shares hit an all-time high in early July 2026 on that anticipation, even as the company continues to report GAAP net losses. This report sets out the numbers behind the story. See our Live Charts and Economic Calendar for context.

1. Company Snapshot

Field	Value
Ticker / Exchange	TTWO (NASDAQ)
Sector	Communication Services — Interactive Home Entertainment
Chairman & CEO	Strauss Zelnick
Headquarters	New York City, New York, USA
Employees	~12,000 (FY2026)
Market cap	~$47.9bn (early July 2026)
Revenue (FY2026)	$6.66bn
Net loss (FY2026)	$298.2m
Diluted EPS (FY2026)	$(1.62)
Dividend per share	Nil

Take-Two's fiscal year ends 31 March. All financial figures in this report are drawn from Take-Two's Q4 and full-year fiscal 2026 earnings press release (filed 21 May 2026), SEC EDGAR XBRL filings, and the FY2026 Form 10-K.

2. Bull and Bear Case

Bull Case

• GTA VI supercycle: Grand Theft Auto VI is locked for 19 November 2026; GTA V has sold well over 200 million units, and management's FY2027 Net Bookings outlook of $8.0–8.2bn (~20% growth) leans heavily on the launch.
• Record fiscal 2026 and raised guidance: FY2026 net revenue rose 18% to $6.66bn with Net Bookings of $6.7bn, roughly $750m above initial guidance.
• Recurrent consumer spending base: recurrent spending accounted for 78% of Net Bookings, giving a large, sticky live-services annuity across GTA Online, NBA 2K and Zynga mobile titles.
• Diversified label portfolio: Rockstar, 2K and Zynga span console, PC and mobile, with a deep owned-IP catalogue (Red Dead, Borderlands, WWE 2K, Civilization).
• Operating leverage ahead: a successful GTA VI could drive a step-change in Net Bookings and Non-GAAP EBITDA from the FY2026 base of $760.6m.

Bear Case

• Single-title concentration: a valuation near all-time highs rests disproportionately on one release; any slip in GTA VI's date, quality or monetisation would hit hard.
• Persistent GAAP losses: Take-Two has posted GAAP net losses every year since FY2023, including $298.2m in FY2026, with Zynga-related amortisation and prior impairments weighing on reported earnings.
• Elevated valuation: the stock trades on ~7x sales and a very high multiple of trough free cash flow, pricing in a strong GTA VI outcome before it happens.
• Execution and delay history: GTA VI has already been delayed multiple times from an original fall-2025 target, and large releases carry launch-quality risk.
• Mobile and competitive pressure: the Zynga mobile business faces platform-fee and user-acquisition headwinds in a crowded free-to-play market.

3. Business Segments

Take-Two publishes through three labels — Rockstar Games, 2K and Zynga — and reports revenue by platform. The approximate fiscal 2026 platform mix was as follows.

Segment	% of revenue	What it is
Mobile	~48%	Zynga's free-to-play mobile games (Toon Blast, Words With Friends, Match Factory and others), monetised largely by in-app purchases and advertising.
Console	~40%	Rockstar (GTA, Red Dead) and 2K (NBA 2K, WWE 2K, Borderlands) titles on PlayStation and Xbox, including GTA Online recurrent spending.
PC and other	~12%	The same franchises on PC and other platforms, plus licensing and ancillary revenue.

Roughly 78% of Net Bookings came from recurrent consumer spending — virtual currency, add-on content and in-game purchases — rather than up-front game sales.

4. What Sets It Apart

Take-Two's edge is a portfolio of owned, culturally dominant intellectual property that few rivals can match.

Grand Theft Auto. The GTA franchise is one of the best-selling and most profitable entertainment properties ever created, and GTA Online has generated a decade of recurring revenue from a single 2013 release — the template management hopes to repeat, and exceed, with GTA VI.

Sports and live services. The NBA 2K and WWE 2K franchises combine annual releases with year-round recurrent spending, giving 2K a predictable, high-margin live-services base independent of the Rockstar cycle.

Mobile scale via Zynga. The 2022 Zynga acquisition added a large free-to-play mobile business, diversifying Take-Two beyond premium console releases and giving it direct-to-consumer reach across hundreds of millions of devices — though at the cost of substantial acquisition-related amortisation on the GAAP income statement.

5. Financial Health

Revenue has grown strongly, but GAAP earnings have been deeply negative since the Zynga deal, dominated by amortisation of acquired intangibles and, in FY2025, a large goodwill impairment. Fiscal 2026 saw the GAAP loss narrow sharply as those charges eased.

Year	Revenue	YoY %	GAAP EPS	Adjusted EPS	Dividend/share	Long-term debt (YE)
FY2022	$3.50bn	—	$3.58	n/a¹	Nil	$0.0m
FY2023	$5.35bn	+52.6%	$(7.03)	n/a¹	Nil	$1,733.0m
FY2024	$5.35bn	-0.0%	$(22.01)	n/a¹	Nil	$3,058.3m
FY2025	$5.63bn	+5.3%	$(25.58)	n/a¹	Nil	$2,512.6m
FY2026	$6.66bn	+18.2%	$(1.62)	n/a¹	Nil	$2,488.0m

¹ Take-Two does not report a per-share non-GAAP adjusted EPS; it guides on Net Bookings and Non-GAAP EBITDA (FY2026 Non-GAAP EBITDA was $760.6m). Long-term debt shown is the year-end non-current portion per SEC XBRL. FY2024 revenue was essentially flat versus FY2023.

Quarter	Revenue	Adjusted EPS	GAAP EPS
Q4 FY2026	$1.68bn	n/a¹	$(0.32)
Q3 FY2026	$1.70bn	n/a¹	$(0.50)
Q2 FY2026	$1.77bn	n/a¹	$(0.73)
Q1 FY2026	$1.50bn	n/a¹	$(0.07)
FY2026 total	$6.66bn	n/a¹	$(1.62)

Fiscal 2026 operating cash flow was $624.3m against capital expenditure of $162.8m, giving roughly $461.5m of free cash flow — a level management expects to build materially in fiscal 2027 (guided operating cash flow above $1.0bn) as the GTA VI cycle begins.

6. Valuation

Raw metrics, July 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.

Metric	Value
Market cap	~$47.9bn (early July 2026, ~$253 share price)
Trailing P/E (GAAP)	n/m — GAAP loss-making (FY2026 net loss $298.2m, EPS $(1.62))
P/E (forward)	n/a — company guides Net Bookings and Non-GAAP EBITDA; GAAP earnings still expected negative in FY2027 on deferred GTA VI revenue
P/S (TTM)	~7.2x (market cap ~$47.9bn / FY2026 revenue $6.66bn)
P/FCF	~104x (market cap ~$47.9bn / FCF ~$461.5m; FCF = operating CF $624.3m − capex $162.8m per FY2026 cash flow statement) — elevated on trough pre-GTA VI cash flow
Enterprise value	~$48.4bn (market cap ~$47.9bn + total debt ~$2.49bn − cash & short-term investments ~$1.99bn per FY2026 balance sheet)
EV/EBITDA (TTM)	n/m on GAAP (operating loss $104.2m); on FY2026 Non-GAAP EBITDA of $760.6m, EV/EBITDA is ~63.6x — distorted by trough pre-launch earnings
52-week high	$265.94
52-week low	$187.63
Short interest (% of float)	~4.5% of shares outstanding (8.40m shares, per Nasdaq/Fintel, early July 2026)
Days to cover	~2.7 days

7. What Are They Building

Take-Two's near-term future is defined by Grand Theft Auto VI, set for release on 19 November 2026 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with pre-orders already announced by Rockstar Games. Management has framed fiscal 2027 and beyond around the launch and the multi-year online service expected to follow, in the mould of GTA Online. Beyond Rockstar, the company is building a deeper live-services pipeline across 2K (NBA 2K, WWE 2K, Borderlands) and continuing to reshape Zynga's mobile portfolio toward higher-retention "forever franchises". The strategy is to convert marquee single-player launches into durable, recurrent-spending platforms that generate revenue for years, smoothing the traditionally lumpy release calendar of a premium games publisher.

8. Peer Comparison

Peer	Market cap (Jul 2026)	Key 2025 metric
Electronic Arts (EA)	~$51.5bn	Subject to a proposed ~$55bn take-private at $210/share, awaiting CFIUS clearance (deadline extended to 28 Sep 2026).
Roblox (RBLX)	~$40.6bn	User-generated-content platform; competes for player time and mobile spend.
Nintendo (NTDOY)	~$52bn	First-party console publisher and hardware maker; per companiesmarketcap, July 2026.

9. Insider Activity

Name	Date	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Plan Type
ZMC Advisors (Zelnick entity)	01 Jun 2026	Sale	208,969	~$230	~$48m	Rule 10b5-1 (tax on vesting)
Zelnick-linked trusts	26 May 2026	Sale	70,000	~$220	~$15m	Open market
Zelnick/Belzberg Living Trust	02–03 Mar 2026	Sale	60,000	—	—	Rule 144

Recent insider activity has been sell-side, largely through entities associated with Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick and executed under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans or to cover taxes on vesting equity. No material insider open-market purchases were identified in the most recent filings.

10. Key Risks

• Grand Theft Auto VI execution and timing: the valuation depends heavily on a smooth 19 November 2026 launch; a further delay or a disappointing commercial outcome would be a major setback.
• Single-title concentration: unusually high dependence on one franchise concentrates risk relative to a more balanced release slate.
• Persistent GAAP losses: continued net losses and heavy intangible amortisation keep reported profitability negative and complicate valuation.
• Valuation risk: shares near all-time highs leave limited margin for error if expectations are not met.
• Platform and fee dependence: reliance on Sony, Microsoft, Apple and Google storefronts exposes margins to platform fees and policy changes.
• Competitive and macro: intense competition for player time and spend, and discretionary-spending sensitivity in a softer consumer environment.

11. Recent Developments

• 21 May 2026 — Record FY2026 results and FY2027 guidance. Net revenue up 18% to $6.66bn; Net Bookings $6.7bn; FY2027 Net Bookings outlook of $8.0–8.2bn driven by GTA VI.
• Jul 2026 — All-time high. The shares reached a record high of $265.94 on 7 July 2026 amid GTA VI anticipation.
• 2026 — GTA VI pre-orders opened. Rockstar Games announced pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto VI, reaffirming the 19 November 2026 date and confirming a summer marketing ramp.
• 06 Nov 2025 — GTA VI delayed to 19 November 2026. Rockstar pushed the launch from an earlier target to allow additional polish.
• FY2025 — Goodwill impairment. The prior year included a ~$3.5bn goodwill impairment, the main driver of the FY2025 GAAP loss.

12. Key Dates to Watch

• 06 Aug 2026 — Q1 fiscal 2027 earnings (after market close).
• 19 Nov 2026 — Grand Theft Auto VI launch (PS5 and Xbox Series X|S).
• Expected Nov 2026 — Q2 fiscal 2027 earnings.
• Expected Feb 2027 — Q3 fiscal 2027 earnings (first full quarter of GTA VI sales).

For live technicals and price action, see our Live Charts, track upcoming catalysts on the Economic Calendar, and discuss ideas in the Forum.

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Disclaimer: This research is produced by ChartsView for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All information is sourced from publicly available company filings, press releases, and official data. ChartsView does not use analyst opinions or third-party ratings. Always conduct your own due diligence and consider your personal financial situation before making investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Last Updated: 9 July 2026

T-Mobile US (NASDAQ: TMUS) is the second-largest wireless carrier in the United States by subscribers and, on several 2025 measures, the fastest-growing of the big three. Built out of the 2020 Sprint merger, the company has spent the last five years converting a spectrum and network lead into industry-leading postpaid customer growth. Fiscal 2025 delivered record revenue of $88.31bn and diluted EPS of $9.72, and management is now layering in fixed wireless broadband, a fibre push through joint ventures, and the newly closed UScellular wireless business. Yet the shares have fallen roughly 28% from their 2025 peak, as investors weigh a maturing market, pricing sensitivity, and a potential new entrant in SpaceX. This report lays out the numbers behind that tension. See our Live Charts and Economic Calendar for context.

1. Company Snapshot

Field	Value
Ticker / Exchange	TMUS (NASDAQ)
Sector	Communication Services — Wireless Telecommunications
CEO	Srini Gopalan (since 1 Nov 2025; Mike Sievert now Vice Chairman)
Headquarters	Bellevue, Washington, USA
Employees	~68,000 (FY2025)
Market cap	~$192bn (early July 2026)
Revenue (FY2025)	$88.31bn
Net income (FY2025)	$10.99bn
Diluted EPS (FY2025)	$9.72
Dividend per share (FY2025)	$3.80

All financial figures in this report are drawn from T-Mobile's FY2025 earnings press release (filed 27 Jan 2026), its Q1 2026 earnings press release (filed 28 Apr 2026), SEC EDGAR XBRL filings, and the FY2025 Form 10-K.

2. Bull and Bear Case

Bull Case

• Best-in-class subscriber growth: T-Mobile added 217,000 postpaid net accounts in Q1 2026 (up 6% year-over-year) and grew postpaid service revenue 15% year-over-year, several times faster than Verizon or AT&T.
• Cash generation and returns: FY2025 operating cash flow of $28.0bn and Adjusted Free Cash Flow of ~$18.0bn funded $9.9bn of buybacks and $4.1bn of dividends, with a fresh authorisation of up to $14.6bn through December 2026.
• Network and spectrum lead: the company positions itself as holding the widest 5G lead, and the UScellular acquisition (closed August 2025) added customers and roughly 30% of that carrier's spectrum.
• New growth legs: fixed wireless broadband plus fibre joint ventures (Metronet with KKR, Lumos with EQT) extend the addressable market beyond mobile.
• Raised guidance: management lifted FY2026 guidance for postpaid net accounts, Core Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow alongside Q1 2026 results.

Bear Case

• Maturing, saturated market: US wireless penetration is high, and the growth that drove the re-rating is structurally harder to sustain as the pool of switchers shrinks.
• New-entrant threat: the FCC's May 2026 approval of SpaceX's acquisition of ~$17bn of EchoStar spectrum raises the prospect of a credible standalone satellite-to-mobile competitor.
• Pricing and churn risk: investors have flagged concerns that price increases could lift churn, compressing the premium multiple the stock once carried.
• High leverage: total debt of roughly $86bn against $5.6bn of cash leaves limited balance-sheet slack in a higher-rate environment.
• Falling GAAP earnings near term: Q1 2026 net income fell 15% year-over-year on UScellular merger and accelerated depreciation costs, and consensus expects lower year-over-year quarterly EPS.

3. Business Segments

T-Mobile operates as a single reportable segment, but its revenue divides cleanly into service and equipment streams. The FY2025 breakdown was as follows.

Segment	% of revenue	What it is
Postpaid service	~66% ($57.9bn)	Monthly contract wireless plans — the core profit engine, up ~11% in FY2025.
Equipment	~18% ($16.0bn)	Sales of handsets and devices, largely pass-through at low margin.
Prepaid service	~12% ($10.5bn)	Pay-as-you-go and no-contract brands including Metro by T-Mobile.
Wholesale & other service	~3% ($2.9bn)	MVNO and roaming arrangements; declined ~16% in FY2025 on lower MVNO revenue.
Other revenue	~1% ($1.0bn)	Miscellaneous, including fixed wireless and emerging broadband income.

4. What Sets It Apart

T-Mobile's differentiation rests on a spectrum and network position that its rivals have struggled to match, converted into a distinctive commercial model.

Mid-band 5G depth. The Sprint merger handed T-Mobile a deep 2.5GHz mid-band spectrum position, which the company argues gives it the broadest and fastest 5G footprint in the United States. That network lead underpins its marketing claim to be taking share rather than buying it.

The "Un-carrier" playbook. A long-running series of customer-friendly moves — simplified pricing, device promotions and account-level value bundles — has driven postpaid Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA) higher (to $151.93 in Q1 2026, up 3.9%) while still adding accounts, signalling deeper rather than merely wider customer relationships.

Capital-light broadband expansion. Rather than build fibre alone, T-Mobile has used fixed wireless access over spare 5G capacity and structured fibre joint ventures (Metronet, Lumos), letting partners such as KKR and EQT carry much of the capital burden while T-Mobile supplies scale and distribution.

5. Financial Health

Revenue growth reaccelerated sharply in FY2025 after three broadly flat post-merger years, while GAAP earnings power stepped up as merger integration costs receded.

Year	Revenue	YoY %	GAAP EPS	Adjusted EPS	Dividend/share	Long-term debt (YE)
2021	$80.12bn	—	$2.41	$2.41¹	$0.00	$67.08bn
2022	$79.57bn	-0.7%	$2.06	$2.06¹	$0.00	$66.80bn
2023	$78.56bn	-1.3%	$6.93	$6.93¹	$0.65	$71.40bn
2024	$81.40bn	+3.6%	$9.66	$9.66¹	$3.71	$74.20bn
2025	$88.31bn	+8.5%	$9.72	$9.72¹	$3.80	$81.15bn

¹ T-Mobile does not publish a non-GAAP adjusted EPS; it guides on Core Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow. The adjusted column mirrors GAAP EPS for reference. Long-term debt shown is the year-end non-current portion per SEC XBRL.

Quarter	Revenue	Adjusted EPS	GAAP EPS
Q1 2026	$23.11bn	$2.27¹	$2.27
Q4 2025	$24.33bn	$1.88¹	$1.88
Q3 2025	$21.96bn	$2.41¹	$2.41
Q2 2025	$21.13bn	$2.84¹	$2.84
Q1 2025	$20.89bn	$2.58¹	$2.58
FY2025 total	$88.31bn	$9.72¹	$9.72

Q1 2026 revenue rose 10.6% year-over-year to $23.11bn, but net income of $2.50bn fell 15% as $476m (net of tax) of UScellular merger costs, including accelerated depreciation, weighed on GAAP earnings. Operating cash flow was $7.2bn and Adjusted Free Cash Flow $4.6bn in the quarter.

6. Valuation

Raw metrics, July 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.

Metric	Value
Market cap	~$192bn (early July 2026, ~$181 share price)
Trailing P/E (GAAP)	~18.6x (share price ~$181 / FY2025 GAAP EPS $9.72)
P/E (forward)	n/a — T-Mobile does not issue EPS guidance (guides Core Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted FCF)
P/S (TTM)	~2.2x (market cap ~$192bn / FY2025 revenue $88.31bn)
P/FCF	~10.6x (market cap ~$192bn / FCF ~$18.05bn; FCF = operating CF $28.0bn − capex $9.96bn per FY2025 cash flow statement)
Enterprise value	~$272.7bn (market cap ~$192bn + total debt ~$86.28bn − cash ~$5.60bn per FY2025 balance sheet)
EV/EBITDA (TTM)	~8.6x (EV ~$272.7bn / EBITDA ~$31.79bn; EBITDA = operating income $18.28bn + D&A $13.51bn. On Core Adjusted EBITDA of $33.9bn the multiple is ~8.0x)
52-week high	$261.56
52-week low	$165.66
Short interest (% of float)	~2.2% of shares outstanding (23.5m shares, per Nasdaq, 6 Jul 2026)
Days to cover	~1.5 days (low)

7. What Are They Building

T-Mobile is extending beyond mobile connectivity into a broader home-and-mobile broadband company. Fixed wireless access, running over spare 5G capacity, has become the fastest-growing US home-internet product, and the company is complementing it with fibre through joint ventures — Metronet (with KKR), which reached three million passings in 2026, and Lumos (with EQT). The August 2025 close of the UScellular wireless business added scale in regional and rural markets and roughly 30% of that carrier's spectrum. Management has also raised and accelerated its long-term synergy targets from the integration. Alongside this, T-Mobile continues to invest in its 5G Advanced network and in AI-driven customer and network operations, aiming to convert its spectrum lead into durable ARPA growth.

8. Peer Comparison

Peer	Market cap (Jul 2026)	Key 2025 metric
Verizon (VZ)	~$194bn	Largest US carrier by subscribers; slower postpaid phone growth than T-Mobile.
AT&T (T)	~$143bn	Trades on a ~6.9x P/E with a ~5.3% dividend yield; share price ~$21 (7 Jul 2026).
Comcast (CMCSA)	~$84bn	Cable and broadband rival expanding its own mobile (Xfinity Mobile) via MVNO.

9. Insider Activity

Name	Date	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Plan Type
Jon Freier (COO)	2026	Sale	4,799	$190.00	~$0.91m	Rule 10b5-1 (adopted 19 Feb 2026)
Srini Gopalan (CEO)	2026	Tax withholding	2,835	$217.09	~$0.62m	Automatic (tax on vesting)

Recent insider activity has been routine — pre-arranged 10b5-1 sales and automatic tax-related share withholdings on vesting — rather than discretionary open-market buying or selling of conviction. No material insider open-market purchases were identified in the most recent filings.

10. Key Risks

• Competitive intensity: a potential SpaceX/EchoStar-backed entrant and aggressive Verizon/AT&T promotions could raise customer acquisition costs and pressure the growth premium.
• Market maturity: high US wireless penetration limits the pool of new switchers, making sustained double-digit postpaid growth harder over time.
• Leverage and rates: ~$86bn of total debt means refinancing and interest costs are sensitive to the rate environment.
• Pricing and churn: price increases intended to lift ARPA carry the risk of higher churn if customers react adversely.
• Integration execution: absorbing UScellular and scaling fibre joint ventures introduces operational and capital-allocation risk.
• Regulatory: spectrum policy, merger review and consumer-protection scrutiny remain ongoing features of the US telecom landscape.

11. Recent Developments

• 28 Apr 2026 — Q1 2026 results and raised guidance. Revenue up 10.6% to $23.11bn, EPS $2.27; management raised FY2026 postpaid net account, Core Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted Free Cash Flow guidance.
• May 2026 — SpaceX/EchoStar spectrum approval. The FCC approved SpaceX's acquisition of roughly $17bn of EchoStar mid-band spectrum, raising the prospect of a new nationwide mobile competitor and pressuring the stock.
• 1 Nov 2025 — CEO transition. Srini Gopalan became CEO; Mike Sievert moved to Vice Chairman.
• 1 Aug 2025 — UScellular acquisition closed. T-Mobile completed the ~$4.3bn purchase of UScellular's wireless operations and select spectrum; UScellular's remaining business rebranded as Array Digital Infrastructure.
• 2025–2026 — fibre expansion. The Metronet joint venture with KKR reached three million fibre passings, extending T-Mobile's broadband reach.

12. Key Dates to Watch

• 23 Jul 2026 — Q2 2026 earnings call (results released 6:30am ET).
• Expected Oct 2026 — Q3 2026 results.
• Expected Dec 2026 — expiry of the current $14.6bn buyback-and-dividend authorisation window.
• Expected Jan 2027 — Q4 and full-year 2026 results.

For live technicals and price action, see our Live Charts, track upcoming catalysts on the Economic Calendar, and discuss ideas in the Forum.

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Disclaimer: This research is produced by ChartsView for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All information is sourced from publicly available company filings, press releases, and official data. ChartsView does not use analyst opinions or third-party ratings. Always conduct your own due diligence and consider your personal financial situation before making investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Last Updated: 21 June 2026

Verizon Communications is the largest wireless carrier in the United States by subscriber base and one of the country's two national fibre-and-mobility convergence players. After several years of flat revenue, market-share losses and a heavy debt load, the company entered 2026 at what management calls an inflection point: a new chief executive, Dan Schulman, the closing of the transformational Frontier fibre acquisition, and the first positive first-quarter postpaid phone net additions since 2013. This report walks through Verizon's financials, valuation, competitive position and risks using only primary-source filings and company press releases. For live pricing see our Live Charts, scheduled catalysts on the Economic Calendar, and discussion in the Forum.

1. Company Snapshot

Field	Value
Company	Verizon Communications Inc.
Ticker / Exchange	VZ (NYSE / Nasdaq)
Sector	Communication Services — Telecom
Market cap	~$190bn (June 2026)
Share price	~$45.49 (20 June 2026)
Revenue (FY2025)	$138.2bn
Net income (FY2025)	$17.6bn
GAAP EPS (FY2025)	$4.06
Adjusted EPS (FY2025)	$4.71
Dividend yield	~6.2% (quarterly $0.7075)
Employees	~99,600 (FTE, 31 Mar 2026, incl. Frontier)
CEO	Dan Schulman (since October 2025)
Headquarters	New York City, USA
Next earnings	Q2 2026 — expected 21–24 July 2026

2. Bull & Bear Case

Bull Case

• Turnaround is showing in the numbers: Q1 2026 delivered the first positive first-quarter postpaid phone net adds since 2013 (+55,000, a 340,000 year-over-year swing) and adjusted EPS growth of 7.6%, the best quarterly rate since 2021.
• Frontier scales the fibre strategy: the January 2026 close adds fibre passings toward over 30 million homes and businesses, enabling mobile-plus-fibre convergence bundles that historically cut mobile churn materially.
• Heavy, growing free cash flow: FY2025 free cash flow was $20.1bn and 2026 guidance is for at least $21.5bn, the highest since 2020, comfortably covering a ~$12bn annual dividend.
• Income with a rising payout: a ~6%+ dividend yield backed by 19 consecutive years of increases makes it a core income holding.
• Cheap on cash earnings: a high-single-digit forward P/E and ~9x price-to-free-cash-flow leave room for re-rating if the volume turnaround holds.

Bear Case

• Intense competition from T-Mobile: T-Mobile has taken postpaid share for years (around 36% of postpaid by early 2025) and competes aggressively on price and 5G quality, capping Verizon's pricing power.
• Very high debt: total debt was $172.5bn at 31 March 2026, rising further after the Frontier deal, with unsecured debt at 8.0x trailing net income; rate moves and refinancing costs matter.
• Low structural growth: revenue has barely moved across five years and wireless service revenue is guided roughly flat in 2026, so the equity story rests on execution and cash, not expansion.
• Integration and leadership risk: a new CEO, a major fibre integration and a recent Consumer-chief departure all add execution uncertainty.
• Capital-intensity never stops: ~$16bn of annual capex plus fibre build commitments mean any demand or cost shock quickly pressures free cash flow.

3. Business Segments

Verizon reports two operating segments, Consumer and Business, with the Consumer segment dominating revenue and profit. The split below uses first-quarter 2026 reported revenue.

Segment	% of revenue	What it is
Consumer	~77%	Wireless mobility, fixed wireless access (FWA) and Fios/fibre broadband sold to individuals and households, plus device equipment sales. Q1 2026 revenue $26.5bn.
Business	~22%	Mobility, broadband, networking and security solutions for enterprises, government and small/medium business. Q1 2026 revenue $7.4bn.
Corporate / eliminations	~1%	Corporate items and intersegment eliminations not allocated to the two reportable segments.

4. Business Model

Verizon is fundamentally a subscription network operator: it spends heavily to build and maintain wireless and fibre networks, then earns recurring monthly service revenue from connections, supplemented by lumpier equipment (handset) sales.

How it makes money: the core engine is wireless service revenue (around $21bn a quarter), driven by the number of postpaid phone connections and average revenue per account. Broadband (FWA plus Fios and now Frontier fibre) is the growth layer, and equipment revenue largely passes through device costs at low margin.

Unit economics: the model is high fixed cost, high incremental margin. Once a network is built, each additional subscriber is highly profitable, which is why net additions and churn are the metrics that move the stock. Consumer segment EBITDA margin ran above 43% in Q1 2026.

Moat and strategy: the moat is spectrum, network coverage and the capital scale required to replicate them. Schulman's "play to win" strategy leans on converged mobile-plus-fibre bundles (which reduce churn), a leaner cost base, and disciplined promotional spending rather than chasing growth at any price.

5. Financial Health

Verizon's five-year record is one of remarkably stable revenue, a large dividend, and a debt load that has been managed down and then back up around major transactions. The 2023 GAAP EPS dip reflects goodwill and other impairment charges that year; adjusted EPS shows the underlying trend more clearly. Figures are taken from Verizon's quarterly and annual earnings press releases.

Fiscal Year	Revenue ($bn)	YoY %	GAAP EPS	Adjusted EPS	Dividend/share	Long-term debt (YE, $m)
FY2021	133.61	—	$5.32	$5.50	~$2.51	—
FY2022	136.84	+2.4%	$5.06	$5.18	~$2.56	—
FY2023	133.97	−2.1%	$2.75	$4.71	~$2.61	137,701
FY2024	134.79	+0.6%	$4.14	$4.59	~$2.69	121,381
FY2025	138.19	+2.5%	$4.06	$4.71	~$2.74	139,532

The most recent five quarters show the volume turnaround taking hold while reported revenue grows in the low single digits. Q4 2025 GAAP EPS was depressed by ~$1.7bn of severance and other special items.

Quarter	Revenue ($bn)	Adjusted EPS	GAAP EPS
Q1 2026	34.44	$1.28	$1.20
Q4 2025	36.40	$1.09	$0.55
Q3 2025	33.80	$1.21	$1.17
Q2 2025	34.50	$1.22	$1.18
Q1 2025	33.49	$1.19	$1.15
FY2025 total	138.19	$4.71	$4.06

6. Valuation

Raw metrics, June 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.

Metric	Value
Market cap	~$190bn (June 2026)
Enterprise value	~$354bn (market cap ~$190bn + total debt $172.5bn − cash $8.4bn, per 31 Mar 2026 balance sheet)
Trailing P/E (GAAP)	~11.2x (price $45.49 / FY2025 GAAP EPS $4.06)
P/E (forward)	~9.2x (price $45.49 / FY2026 adjusted EPS guidance midpoint $4.97)
P/S (TTM)	~1.4x (market cap ~$190bn / FY2025 revenue $138.2bn)
EV/EBITDA (TTM)	~7.3x (EV ~$354bn / LTM consolidated EBITDA $48.6bn; on adjusted EBITDA of $50.8bn, ~7.0x)
P/FCF	~9.4x (market cap ~$190bn / FY2025 free cash flow $20.1bn; FCF = operating CF $37.1bn − capex $17.0bn)
52-week high	$51.68
52-week low	$38.39
Short interest (% of float)	~2.1% (≈88.4m shares, June 2026)
Days to cover	~2 days (approx., on recent average volume)

7. What Are They Building

Verizon's forward agenda centres on converging mobile and fibre. The closing of the Frontier acquisition in January 2026 is the cornerstone, taking the combined fibre-and-FWA broadband footprint to over 16.8 million connections by Q1 2026 and targeting around 32 million fibre passings by year-end. The strategic logic is that converged mobile-plus-fibre customers churn meaningfully less, improving lifetime value.

Alongside the fibre build, management is investing in fixed wireless access (over 5.7 million FWA subscribers and growing), expanding the C-band 5G footprint, and pursuing what Schulman has described as a multibillion-dollar AI revenue opportunity from network and edge services. The company has also modernised its long-term MVNO agreement with Charter and Comcast, securing recurring wholesale economics. Internally, the "play to win" programme is rebuilding the operating model to be leaner and faster, with cost actions (including severance charges taken in late 2025) intended to fund competitive pricing without eroding margins.

8. Competitive Landscape

Verizon competes in a mature, three-way national wireless market against AT&T and T-Mobile, plus cable MVNOs (Charter, Comcast) in mobile and a range of fibre and cable operators in broadband.

Peer	Market cap (June 2026)	Key 2025 metric
AT&T (T)	~$200bn	Added ~324,000 postpaid phone subscribers in Q1 2025; large fibre build underway
T-Mobile US (TMUS)	~$250bn	~36% of US postpaid market by early 2025; industry-low postpaid phone churn ~0.91%
Comcast (CMCSA)	~$130bn	Cable MVNO and broadband rival; party to the modernised Verizon MVNO agreement

Verizon remains the largest US carrier by total subscribers, but T-Mobile has been the share-gainer of the cycle. Verizon's differentiation rests on network quality, premium positioning and, increasingly, the fibre convergence bundle that AT&T also pursues. Peer market caps are approximate as of June 2026.

9. Leadership & Ownership

Dan Schulman, former PayPal CEO and a Verizon director since 2018, became chief executive in October 2025 and is driving the "play to win" turnaround; Anthony Skiadas is chief financial officer. Recent Form 4 activity has been a mix of routine equity compensation and some open-market selling by executives.

Name	Date	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Plan Type
Samantha Hammock (EVP)	29 May 2026	Sell	73,069	$47.83	~$3.49m	Open market
Anthony Skiadas (CFO)	7 May 2026	Grant (phantom units)	129.4	$13.44	~$1,700	Deferred comp
Kyle Malady (EVP)	May 2026	Grant (phantom units)	135.7	$12.81	~$1,700	Deferred comp

Over the trailing 90 days insiders were modest net sellers (roughly $11.6m), typical for a large-cap where most executive compensation is equity-based.

10. Risks

• Competitive (Operational): aggressive pricing and superior net-add momentum from T-Mobile, plus cable MVNOs, could keep pressuring postpaid share and ARPA.
• Leverage (Financial): total debt of $172.5bn and unsecured-debt-to-net-income of 8.0x make the equity sensitive to interest rates and refinancing conditions.
• Integration (Operational): absorbing Frontier and repaying its debt while executing a cost transformation is complex and could disappoint on synergies or timing.
• Capital intensity (Financial): ~$16bn annual capex plus fibre commitments leave limited buffer if demand or input costs move against the company.
• Regulatory (Regulatory): spectrum, net-neutrality, consumer-protection and environmental/legacy-asset matters could raise costs or restrict operations.
• Technology & security (Operational): network outages (such as the January 2026 event that dented Q1 wireless service revenue) and cyberattacks carry financial and reputational risk.

11. Recent Developments

• 30 Apr 2026 — Q1 2026 results and raised guidance. Revenue rose 2.9% to $34.4bn, net income $5.1bn, adjusted EPS up 7.6% to $1.28, and the first positive first-quarter postpaid phone net adds since 2013; full-year adjusted EPS growth guidance was raised to 5.0–6.0%.
• 20 Jan 2026 — Frontier acquisition closed. The deal expands Verizon's fibre access toward over 30 million homes and businesses, accelerating the mobility-and-broadband convergence strategy.
• 30 Jan 2026 — FY2025 results. Full-year revenue of $138.2bn, net income $17.6bn, free cash flow $20.1bn, and the highest quarterly net additions since 2019 in Q4 2025.
• Oct 2025 — CEO transition. Dan Schulman replaced Hans Vestberg as chief executive, launching the "play to win" turnaround.

12. Key Dates

• Expected 21 Jul 2026 — Q2 2026 earnings release (date to be confirmed)
• Expected early Jul 2026 — Q2 2026 ex-dividend date
• Expected 01 Aug 2026 — Q2 2026 dividend payment
• Expected Sep 2026 — annual dividend review (19 consecutive years of increases)

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Disclaimer: This research is produced by ChartsView for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All information is sourced from publicly available company filings, press releases, and official data. ChartsView does not use analyst opinions or third-party ratings. Always conduct your own due diligence and consider your personal financial situation before making investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Last Updated: 26 October 2026

Vodafone Group plc is one of Europe's and Africa's largest telecoms groups, selling mobile, broadband, TV and business connectivity services in Germany, the UK, eight other European markets, Türkiye and, through Vodacom, across Africa. It reports in euros and its financial year ends on 31 March. Since the last version of this report (9 June 2026) Vodafone has taken full ownership of VodafoneThree in the UK, raised its stake in Kenya's Safaricom through Vodacom, sold its half of VodafoneZiggo in the Netherlands, raised its FY27 guidance and gained a new major shareholder, Vega, which agreed to buy e&'s 16.21% stake. Every figure below comes from Vodafone's results announcements, RNS notifications, annual report and SEC filings. There are no analyst opinions, price targets or ratings anywhere in it.

Share prices, and figures worked out from them, are not shown for London-listed companies on ChartsView.

1. Company Snapshot

Field	Value
Ticker / exchange	VOD — London Stock Exchange (American Depositary Shares on Nasdaq: VOD)
Sector	Telecommunications — mobile, fixed broadband, TV and business connectivity
Revenue (FY2026, year to 31 Mar 2026)	€40,461m, up 8.0% (FY2025: €37,448m); service revenue €33,480m, up 5.4% organically
Adjusted EBITDAaL (FY2026)	€11,351m, up 4.5% organically; margin 28.1%
Operating profit (FY2026)	€2,844m (FY2025: operating loss of €411m)
Result attributable to owners (FY2026)	Loss of €397m (FY2025: loss of €4,169m)
EPS (FY2026)	Basic loss per share from continuing operations 1.20 eurocents; adjusted basic EPS 10.72 eurocents
Dividend per share (FY2026)	4.6125 eurocents, up 2.5% (2.25c interim plus 2.3625c final)
Adjusted free cash flow (FY2026)	€2,621m (FY2025: €2,548m)
Net debt (31 Mar 2026)	€25,411m (31 Mar 2025: €22,397m)
Employees	Average of 92,988 during FY2026 (FY2025: 92,834), per the 2026 Annual Report
CEO / Leadership	Margherita Della Valle, Group Chief Executive; Pilar López, Chief Financial Officer since 1 December 2025; Jean-François van Boxmeer, Chair
Shares in issue	23,167,256,725 voting shares at 30 September 2026, excluding 1,161,734,604 held in treasury
Largest shareholder	Vega (Niel family) agreed on 10 July 2026 to buy e&'s 16.21% stake and expects to hold about 18.80% of the share capital by the end of 2026, subject to approvals

2. The Bull and Bear Case

Bull Case

• Growth is back: FY2026 revenue rose 8.0% to €40,461m with organic service revenue up 5.4%, and Q1 FY2027 revenue rose 9.7% to €10,294m with organic service revenue up 5.2%.
• Guidance raised: after consolidating Safaricom, FY2027 guidance was raised on 27 July 2026 to Adjusted EBITDAaL of €13.0–13.3bn and adjusted free cash flow of €2.6–2.9bn, and management expects the upper end of both ranges.
• Full control of the UK business: Vodafone bought CK Hutchison's 49% of VodafoneThree for £4.3bn on 30 July 2026, and on 8 October 2026 raised the UK cost-saving target to £1bn a year by FY2032.
• Africa as a growth engine: Africa organic service revenue grew 12.9% in FY2026 and 12.6% in Q1 FY2027, and Vodacom's stake in Safaricom rose to 55% on 30 June 2026, so Safaricom is now consolidated.

Bear Case

• Germany still flat: Germany, the largest market at 30% of revenue, had organic service revenue of −0.2% in FY2026 and only +1.2% in Q1 FY2027.
• Statutory losses: the group made an attributable loss of €397m in FY2026 after an €8,481m depreciation and amortisation charge and an INWIT impairment, so basic EPS was negative for a second year.
• Debt rising again: net debt rose to €25,411m at 31 March 2026, and the VodafoneThree buyout, funded from cash, adds about 0.4x to pro forma leverage.
• Thin cash cover: reported free cash flow was €1,795m in FY2026, the dividend was rebased by half in FY2025 and no new buyback programme has been announced since the last €0.5bn tranche ended on 11 May 2026.

3. Revenue Segments

Vodafone reports six segments. The figures below are total revenue for FY2026 (year to 31 March 2026) from the FY26 preliminary results.

Segment	% of revenue	What it is
Germany (€12,133m)	30.0%	Mobile, cable broadband and TV in Germany; the migration of more than 12 million 1&1 customers onto Vodafone's network is complete. Adjusted EBITDAaL €4,243m.
UK — VodafoneThree (€9,192m)	22.7%	The merged Vodafone UK and Three UK business, consolidated from 31 May 2025 and 100% owned since 30 July 2026. Revenue up 30.0%. Adjusted EBITDAaL €1,881m.
Africa (€8,365m)	20.7%	Vodacom and Vodafone Egypt, including M-Pesa mobile money services. Safaricom is consolidated from 1 July 2026. Adjusted EBITDAaL €2,834m.
Other Europe (€5,714m)	14.1%	Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Romania, the Czech Republic and Albania. Adjusted EBITDAaL €1,574m.
Türkiye (€3,431m)	8.5%	Mobile and fixed operator in Türkiye; organic service revenue up 45.2% in a hyperinflationary economy. 5G launched in April 2026.
Common Functions (€1,825m)	4.5%	Group-wide services, partner markets and central costs; eliminations between segments were −€199m (−0.5%).

Vodafone Business, which sells connectivity, cloud and security services to companies across all segments, grew organic service revenue 5.0% in Q1 FY2027. Follow European telecoms on the ChartsView Live Charts page.

4. Business Model and Moat

How it makes money. Most revenue is recurring service revenue (€33,480m of €40,461m in FY2026) from monthly mobile and broadband contracts and prepaid plans, with the rest from handset and equipment sales. Vodafone's main profit measure is Adjusted EBITDAaL, which is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation after lease costs; it was €11,351m in FY2026, a 28.1% margin.

Capital intensity. Networks must be renewed constantly. Capital additions were €7,291m in FY2026, 18% of revenue, plus €209m of integration spending. Depreciation and amortisation of owned assets was €8,481m, which is why the statutory result is far below Adjusted EBITDAaL.

The moat. Spectrum licences, national mobile and fixed networks and large customer bases are expensive to replicate. Vodafone runs national mobile and cable networks in Germany, combined two of the UK's mobile networks in VodafoneThree, and in Africa operates the M-Pesa mobile money platform through Vodacom and Safaricom. Network-sharing and wholesale deals, such as hosting 1&1's customers in Germany, add revenue on existing infrastructure.

Capital return policy. The group targets net debt of 2.25–2.75 times Adjusted EBITDAaL, aiming for the bottom half of that range. The dividend was rebased to 4.5 eurocents in FY2025 and raised 2.5% for FY2026. Two €2bn buyback programmes repurchased 4.2bn shares between March 2024 and May 2026, and €3.1bn in total was returned to shareholders in FY2026.

5. Financial Health

Vodafone reports in euros under IFRS. Revenue and EPS are on a continuing-operations basis as re-presented after the sales of Vodafone Spain (31 May 2024) and Vodafone Italy (31 December 2024), taken from the annual reports, the FY26 preliminary results and Vodafone's SEC XBRL filings (CIK 0000839923).

Fiscal Year	Revenue (€m)	YoY %	GAAP EPS	Adjusted EPS	Dividend/share	Long-term debt (YE)
FY2022	37,010	n/a	7.07c	11.68c	9.00c	€58,131m
FY2023	37,672	+1.8%	43.66c	11.28c	9.00c	€53,682m
FY2024	36,717	−2.5%	4.45c	7.47c	9.00c	€49,259m
FY2025	37,448	+2.0%	(15.86)c	7.87c	4.50c	€46,096m
FY2026	40,461	+8.0%	(1.20)c	10.72c	4.6125c	€45,506m

Fiscal years end on 31 March (FY2026 = year to 31 March 2026). EPS and dividends are in eurocents. GAAP EPS is basic earnings per share from continuing operations; FY2023 was lifted by the gain on the Vantage Towers transaction and FY2025 was cut by impairment charges. Adjusted EPS is adjusted basic EPS: FY2022 is as re-presented in the FY2023 results (not re-presented for Spain and Italy), FY2023 as re-presented in the FY2024 Annual Report. FY2022 growth is not shown because no FY2021 revenue figure on the same re-presented basis was found. Long-term debt is non-current borrowings (ifrs-full:LongtermBorrowings in SEC XBRL); FY2023 and FY2024 are the figures re-presented in the FY2025 filing after the IAS 1 amendments adopted on 1 April 2024, and FY2026 is from the FY26 preliminary results.

Quarter / Half	Revenue (€m)	Adjusted EPS	GAAP EPS
Q1 FY2027 (to 30 Jun 2026)	10,294	Not disclosed in trading update	Not disclosed in trading update
H2 FY2026 (to 31 Mar 2026)†	20,852	about 3.80c	about (4.58)c
H1 FY2026 (to 30 Sep 2025)	19,609	6.92c	3.38c
FY2026 total	40,461	10.72c	(1.20)c

† Vodafone reports full results half-yearly and trading updates quarterly. H2 FY2026 figures are derived as the full year minus the first half and are approximate for EPS because share counts change between halves. Q1 FY2027 Adjusted EBITDAaL was €2,932m, up 6.2% organically, and operating profit was €3,873m, mainly from a gain on completing the Safaricom transaction. H1 FY2026 Adjusted EBITDAaL was €5,728m and H2 FY2026 €5,623m.

FY2026 cash flow and balance sheet. Net cash inflow from operating activities was €14,291m (FY2025: €15,373m) and capital additions were €7,291m. Free cash flow was €1,795m and adjusted free cash flow €2,621m. At 31 March 2026 borrowings were €52,636m (non-current €45,506m, current €7,130m), cash and cash equivalents €8,982m and short-term investments €3,431m, with €7.6bn of undrawn revolving credit facilities.

FY2027 guidance (updated 27 July 2026 to include Safaricom). Adjusted EBITDAaL of €13.0–13.3bn and adjusted free cash flow of €2.6–2.9bn, with management expecting the upper end of both ranges. Restructuring and integration costs are expected to be about €0.7bn.

6. Valuation Metrics

Raw metrics, October 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.

Metric	Value
Net debt	€25,411m at 31 March 2026 (31 March 2025: €22,397m)
Net debt to Adjusted EBITDAaL	About 2.2x (net debt €25,411m / Adjusted EBITDAaL €11,351m for FY2026), against a policy range of 2.25–2.75x; the VodafoneThree buyout adds about 0.4x on a pro forma basis
Total borrowings less cash	€40,223m (borrowings €52,636m − cash €8,982m − short-term investments €3,431m, 31 March 2026 balance sheet)
EBITDA (operating profit plus D&A)	€11,325m for FY2026 (operating profit €2,844m + depreciation and amortisation of owned assets €8,481m); €14,999m including €3,674m of depreciation on leased assets, the wider total
Free cash flow	€1,795m reported; €2,621m adjusted. Operating cash inflow €14,291m less capital additions €7,291m was €7,000m before lease payments, interest and spectrum
Adjusted EPS	10.72 eurocents for FY2026 (FY2025: 7.87c)
Dividend per share	4.6125 eurocents for FY2026; FY2027 interim to be declared on 10 November 2026
Credit ratings	Moody's Baa2, Fitch BBB and S&P BBB, all with stable outlooks (Vodafone debt investor page)
Short interest (% of float)	1.29% of issued share capital: the FCA's aggregate net short position for Vodafone, position date 9 October 2026. Since 13 July 2026 the FCA publishes only anonymised aggregates built from positions of 0.2% or more. About 10.7m Nasdaq ADS were sold short at 26 October 2026 (shortsqueeze.com).
Days to cover	About 2.7 days for the Nasdaq ADS (shortsqueeze.com, 26 October 2026); not published for the London line

7. What Are They Building

A single UK network. With 100% of VodafoneThree since 30 July 2026, Vodafone is combining the two networks and back offices. At the 8 October 2026 investor briefing it raised the cost-saving target to £1bn a year by FY2032 (previously £0.7bn by FY2030), set a target of mid-to-high single-digit annual growth in Adjusted EBITDAaL from FY2025 to FY2032, and said operating free cash flow should more than triple by FY2032 compared with FY2025.

An African fintech and data platform. Vodacom paid about €1.81bn for a further 20% of Safaricom, taking it to 55%, and consolidates it from 1 July 2026. Together with M-Pesa and the Maziv fibre joint venture in South Africa (30% interest, closed 2 December 2025), Africa is the group's fastest-growing region.

Fibre partnerships in Europe. In Germany the OXG fibre joint venture gained Société Générale as a new 50% shareholder on 1 September 2026; in Greece, Vodafone and PPC Group signed non-binding heads of terms on 10 June 2026 for a 50:50 fibre-to-the-home venture covering more than 1.6m homes.

Business and satellite services. Vodafone bought German cloud services firm Skaylink in December 2025 and on 14 October 2026 launched Express Capacity, a data-centre connectivity service. On 19 October 2026 it signed a letter of intent with Deutsche Telekom, Orange and Telefónica to explore a joint bid for EU mobile satellite services spectrum.

8. Competitive Landscape

Vodafone competes with national incumbents in each market and with cable, fibre and low-cost mobile challengers.

Peer	Key 2025 metric
Deutsche Telekom (DTE)	FY2025 net revenue €119,081m; adjusted EBITDA AL €44,244m (Deutsche Telekom FY2025 results release, February 2026)
Orange (ORA)	FY2025 revenue €40,396m, up 0.9%; EBITDAaL about €12.47bn (FY2025 results as reported by TelecomTV)
Telefónica (TEF)	FY2025 revenue €35,120m; adjusted EBITDA €11,918m (Telefónica Q4 2025 results press release)
BT Group (BT.A)	Year to 31 March 2026 revenue £19,654m (prior year £20,358m); adjusted EBITDA £8,230m (BT full-year results RNS, 21 May 2026)

Vodafone's FY2026 revenue of €40,461m is similar to Orange's and above Telefónica's, but about a third of Deutsche Telekom's, which is boosted by T-Mobile US. In the UK, BT is the main fixed-line rival to VodafoneThree.

9. Leadership and Insider Activity

Margherita Della Valle is Group Chief Executive (CEO), Pilar López became Chief Financial Officer on 1 December 2025, succeeding Luka Mucic, and Jean-François van Boxmeer is Chair. At the 27 July 2026 AGM, Olaf Koch and Pilar López were elected to the board and Amparo Moraleda retired; e&'s nominee director Hatem Dowidar resigned after e& agreed to sell its stake to Vega.

The following director and PDMR dealings were disclosed through RNS notifications in 2026. A PDMR is a person discharging managerial responsibilities.

Name	Date	Type	Shares	Plan Type
Joakim Reiter	18 Sep 2026	Sale	500,000	On-market sale
Shameel Joosub	07 Aug 2026	Sale	745,000	On-market sale
Jean-François van Boxmeer (Chair), Scott Petty, Joakim Reiter	04 Aug 2026	Dividend reinvestment	22,076; 23,428; 53,059	Dividend reinvestment plan
Margherita Della Valle (CEO)	30 Jul 2026	Grant	4,070,955 performance shares (maximum) and 4,885,147 options	Global Incentive Plan 2023 (GLTI and MVSO)
Alberto Ripepi	30 Jul 2026	Sale	1,000,000	On-market sale
Ahmed Essam	28 Jul 2026	Sale	2,500,000	On-market sale
Margherita Della Valle (CEO)	27 Jul 2026	Vesting; 2,658,846 sold on 28 Jul to cover tax	5,642,976 vested	Global Incentive Plan
Pilar López (CFO), Marika Auramo, Guillaume Boutin, Ruth McGill	25 Jun 2026	Purchase	57,194; 77,072; 98,915; 35,272	Bonus deferral
Simon Segars (non-executive director)	13 May 2026	Purchase	50,000	Open-market purchase

10. Key Risks

• Germany (Operational): Germany is 30% of revenue and its organic service revenue fell 0.2% in FY2026. Organic growth of only 1.2% in Q1 FY2027 shows the largest market has not yet returned to clear growth.
• Leverage (Financial): net debt was €25,411m at 31 March 2026 and the £4.3bn VodafoneThree buyout, paid in cash, adds about 0.4x to pro forma leverage; higher interest costs or weaker cash flow would limit dividends and buybacks.
• UK integration (Strategic): the £1bn annual cost target for VodafoneThree depends on merging two networks and IT systems without disrupting customers; delays or overruns would hit the growth targets set on 8 October 2026.
• Currency and emerging markets (Macro): Türkiye, Egypt and African markets add growth but expose euro-reported results to hyperinflation, currency devaluation and political risk; Safaricom adds Kenyan exposure.
• Regulation and spectrum (Regulatory): spectrum auctions, licence renewals, mobile termination and roaming rules and national network-security requirements can add costs in every market.
• Shareholder concentration (Governance): Vega expects to hold about 18.80% of the shares and 19.87% of voting rights by the end of 2026, giving one investor significant influence over strategy and capital allocation.

11. Recent Developments

• 10 Jul 2026 — Vega to buy e&'s stake. Vega, owned by the Niel family, agreed to buy e&'s entire 16.21% holding of 3,944,743,685 shares for about £4.4bn; the relationship agreement with e& ended and its nominee director resigned.
• 27 Jul 2026 — Q1 FY2027 trading update and guidance raised. Revenue rose 9.7% to €10,294m and organic service revenue 5.2%; FY2027 guidance was raised to Adjusted EBITDAaL of €13.0–13.3bn including Safaricom, with the upper end expected. The AGM was held the same day and all resolutions put to the meeting passed.
• 30 Jul 2026 — Full ownership of VodafoneThree. Vodafone completed the £4.3bn purchase of CK Hutchison's 49% stake and gave notice to redeem its US dollar capital securities due 2081.
• 03 Aug 2026 — VodafoneZiggo sale completed. Vodafone sold its 50% of VodafoneZiggo to Liberty Global for €1.0bn in cash plus 10% of Ziggo Group.
• 01 Sep 2026 — New partner for German fibre venture. Société Générale agreed to buy the 50% of the OXG fibre joint venture held by Geodesia.
• 08 Oct 2026 — VodafoneThree targets raised. The UK cost-saving target rose to £1bn a year by FY2032 and operating free cash flow is expected to more than triple by FY2032 compared with FY2025.
• 19 Oct 2026 — Satellite spectrum alliance. Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Orange and Telefónica signed a letter of intent to explore a joint bid for mobile satellite services spectrum.

12. Key Dates to Watch

• 10 Nov 2026 — H1 FY2027 results (six months to 30 September 2026), expected to include the interim dividend (Vodafone financial calendar)
• Expected Nov 2026 — ex-dividend and payment dates for the FY2027 interim dividend, to be set with the results
• TBC — completion of Vega's purchase of e&'s stake, which Vega expects by the end of 2026, subject to approvals
• 04 Feb 2027 — Q3 FY2027 trading update
• 18 May 2027 — FY2027 full-year results

Euro-area and UK interest-rate decisions and inflation data are on the ChartsView Economic Calendar. Discuss European telecoms with other investors in the ChartsView Forum.

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Disclaimer: This research is produced by ChartsView for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All information is sourced from publicly available company filings, press releases, and official data. ChartsView does not use analyst opinions or third-party ratings. Always conduct your own due diligence and consider your personal financial situation before making investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Last Updated: 8 Oct 2026

Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT) is the world's largest audio-streaming platform. It ended the second quarter of 2026 with 777 million monthly active users and, for the first time, more than 300 million paying Premium subscribers. Full-year 2025 revenue reached €17,186 million (+10%), operating income €2,198 million and net income €2,212 million. Momentum carried into 2026: Q2 revenue rose 14% to €4,777 million, the €1.3 billion of exchangeable notes was repaid in cash in March, and the buyback was increased by $1.5 billion in August. This refreshed report sets out Spotify's business model, five-year financial record, valuation, product roadmap, competitive position, insider activity and risks, using figures from the company's own filings and releases.

1. Company Snapshot

Spotify was founded in Stockholm in 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon and listed directly on the New York Stock Exchange on 3 Apr 2018. It is incorporated in Luxembourg, reports in euros under IFRS and files as a foreign private issuer (Form 20-F and 6-K). The shares trade in US dollars.

Field	Value
Ticker / Exchange	SPOT / NYSE
Sector	Communication Services — music, podcast and audiobook streaming
Headquarters	Stockholm, Sweden (registered office Luxembourg)
Founded / Listed	2006 / direct listing 3 Apr 2018
CEO / Leadership	Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström (Co-CEOs since 1 Jan 2026); Daniel Ek (Founder & Executive Chairman); Christian Luiga (CFO)
Employees	7,302 full-time (30 Jun 2026)
Market cap	~$105.5bn (≈€94.4bn at ECB rate 1.1177), $512.92 close, 7 Oct 2026
FY2025 Revenue	€17,186m (+10%)
FY2025 net income	€2,212m (diluted EPS €10.51)
Monthly active users	777m (Q2 2026)
Premium subscribers	300m (Q2 2026)
52-week range	$405.00 – $700.12

2. Bull vs Bear

Bull Case

• Scaled, structurally profitable model: operating income went from a €659m loss in 2022 to €2,198m in 2025, and trailing twelve-month operating income reached €2,653m at June 2026.
• Cash machine with a debt-free balance sheet: trailing free cash flow was €3,261m, the exchangeable notes were repaid in March 2026, and cash plus short-term investments stood at €9.4bn at 30 Jun 2026.
• Subscriber and user growth still compounding: Premium subscribers passed 300m in Q2 2026 (+7m in the quarter), MAUs reached 777m, and management has set a goal of 1bn MAUs by 2030.
• Gross margin expansion: gross margin was 33.4% in Q2 2026 versus 31.5% a year earlier, helped by marketplace tools, audiobooks and pricing.
• Growing capital returns: the board added $1.5bn to the buyback on 20 Aug 2026, taking available authorisation to about $2.2bn, with $662m already spent in 2026 to early August.

Bear Case

• Label dependence caps margins: most content is licensed from a handful of major record labels and publishers, so royalty terms set a ceiling on gross margin.
• Guidance has started to disappoint: Q3 2026 guidance of 788m MAUs and €670m operating income came in below market expectations and the shares fell after the 4 Aug 2026 report; Q2 MAUs were 1m below guidance.
• Advertising remains weak: the Ad-Supported tier is only about 10% of revenue with a 17.4% gross margin in 2025, leaving Spotify reliant on Premium price rises.
• Rivals with deeper pockets keep raising prices too: Apple, Amazon and YouTube bundle music into wider ecosystems and can subsidise it, limiting Spotify's long-run pricing room.

3. Business Segments

Spotify reports two segments. Effective 1 Jan 2026 some revenue was moved from Ad-Supported to Premium to match the reporting reviewed by the new Co-CEOs, and periods from 2023 onward were recast. The table uses the recast FY2025 split; as originally reported, Premium was €15,350m (89.3%) and Ad-Supported €1,836m (10.7%). In H1 2026 Premium was 91% of revenue.

Segment	% of FY2025 revenue	What it is
Premium	~89.6% (€15,391m, recast)	Paid subscriptions (Individual, Duo, Family, Student) for ad-free, on-demand listening, plus audiobook listening hours and Audiobooks+ add-ons; recast 2025 segment gross margin 33.7%.
Ad-Supported	~10.4% (€1,795m, recast)	Free tier funded by audio, video and display advertising across music and podcasts, sold directly and through the Spotify Ad Exchange; recast 2025 segment gross margin 17.4%.

4. Business Model & Moat

How it makes money. Spotify charges a monthly subscription to 300m Premium members and sells advertising to the free tier. It pays the majority of revenue to rights-holders as royalties and keeps the spread, which it widens through price rises, marketplace programmes such as Discovery Mode, and higher-margin content like podcasts and audiobooks.

The data flywheel. With 777m monthly users, Spotify has the largest pool of listening data in the industry. That data powers personalisation — Discover Weekly, the AI DJ, Prompted Playlist and the new Taste Profile — which keeps users engaged and raises the cost of switching away from years of tailored history.

Platform neutrality. Spotify runs on phones, cars, speakers, consoles and TVs regardless of manufacturer, giving it reach that device-tied rivals lack. As the largest single payer to the recorded-music industry, it is also an indispensable distribution channel for labels and independent artists.

The free-to-paid funnel. The ad-funded tier is both a revenue line and the main acquisition channel for Premium, lowering subscriber acquisition costs compared with paid-only competitors.

5. Financial Health

Revenue compounded at about 15.5% a year from 2021 to 2025 while the cost base flattened, turning operating losses into a €2.2bn operating profit. Figures are in euros under IFRS from the annual 20-F filings and quarterly releases.

Fiscal Year	Revenue (€m)	YoY %	GAAP EPS	Adjusted EPS	Dividend/share	Long-term debt (YE)
FY2021	€9,668m	+22.7%	(€1.03)	(€1.03)†	€0.00	€1,202m
FY2022	€11,727m	+21.3%	(€2.93)	(€2.93)†	€0.00	€1,128m
FY2023	€13,247m	+13.0%	(€2.73)	(€2.73)†	€0.00	€1,203m
FY2024	€15,673m	+18.3%	€5.50	€5.50†	€0.00	€1,539m
FY2025	€17,186m	+9.7%	€10.51	€10.51†	€0.00	€1,458m‡

GAAP EPS is IFRS diluted EPS. †Spotify does not publish an adjusted EPS measure, so the Adjusted EPS column repeats IFRS diluted EPS. Long-term debt is the carrying value of the exchangeable senior notes, Spotify's only borrowings. ‡At 31 Dec 2025 the notes were classified as current ahead of their 15 Mar 2026 maturity; they were settled in cash for €1,304m ($1,499m) in Q1 2026, leaving no borrowings at 30 Jun 2026 (lease liabilities were €466m). FY2021 growth is measured against FY2020 revenue of €7,880m. Spotify has never paid a dividend.

Quarter / Half	Revenue (€m)	Adjusted EPS	GAAP EPS
Q2 2026	€4,777m (+14%)	€2.61†	€2.61
Q1 2026	€4,533m (+8%)	€3.45†	€3.45
Q4 2025	€4,531m (+7%)	€4.43†	€4.43
Q3 2025	€4,272m	€3.28†	€3.28
Q2 2025	€4,193m	(€0.42)†	(€0.42)
FY2025 total	€17,186m	€10.51†	€10.51

Q1 2025 (revenue €4,190m) is not shown individually. Quarterly diluted EPS does not sum to the annual figure because IFRS dilution is recalculated each period and is affected by fair-value movements on the exchangeable notes; Q4 2025 basic EPS was €5.71. The Q2 2025 net loss of €86m reflected finance costs tied to the share price despite €406m of operating income. Q2 2026 operating income was €655m, free cash flow €797m and gross margin 33.4%. Operating cash flow for the twelve months to 30 Jun 2026 was €3,337m.

6. Valuation

Raw metrics, October 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.

Metric	Value
Market cap	~$105.5bn (205.6m shares at $512.92 close, 7 Oct 2026); ≈€94.4bn at ECB reference rate 1.1177
Trailing P/E (GAAP)	~28x (market cap ≈€94.4bn / LTM net income €3,339m = H1 2026 + FY2025 − H1 2025). LTM profit is flattered by non-cash fair-value gains on the now-repaid exchangeable notes.
P/E (forward)	n/m — Spotify does not guide to EPS, and ChartsView does not use analyst consensus estimates
P/S (TTM)	~5.2x (market cap ≈€94.4bn / LTM revenue €18,113m)
P/FCF	~29x (market cap ≈€94.4bn / LTM FCF €3,267m; FCF = LTM operating cash flow €3,337m − purchases of property and equipment €70m, per FY2025 20-F and H1 2026 interim statements)
Enterprise value	~€85.4bn ≈ $95.5bn (market cap €94.4bn + lease liabilities €466m, no borrowings − cash €5,938m and short-term investments €3,450m per 30 Jun 2026 balance sheet; €1,118m long-term investments excluded)
EV/EBITDA (TTM)	~31x (EV €85.4bn / LTM EBITDA €2,757m; EBITDA = LTM operating income €2,653m + D&A €104m, the wider total of depreciation of property, equipment and right-of-use assets plus amortisation of intangibles)
52-week high	$700.12
52-week low	$405.00
Short interest (% of float)	2.21% (4.52m shares, settlement 15 Sep 2026, MarketBeat)
Days to cover	3.2 (15 Sep 2026 settlement)

7. What Are They Building

Audiobooks everywhere. Audiobooks are Spotify's biggest push beyond music. New Audiobooks+ add-on tiers were announced with Q2 results, Family and Student options are planned for later in 2026, new discovery features (including Prompted Playlist for audiobooks) arrived on 11 Aug 2026, and on 7 Oct 2026 Spotify said audiobooks are expanding to more than 180 markets.

Personalisation and AI. Taste Profile launched in the US on 23 Sep 2026, giving listeners direct control over the recommendation algorithm. AI-generated Personal Podcasts were introduced, and an AI covers and remix product is being built with label partners, including indie licensing body Merlin (added 4 Aug 2026). At the same time Spotify is labelling AI-generated artist profiles with “AI Persona” badges and excluding them from recommendations.

Creators and live. The Partner Program for video podcasters expanded to 35 more countries on 17 Sep 2026, Fresh Finds Forward will support about 10,000 independent artists a year, and Reserved offers US fans early access to concert tickets. Management set out a goal of 1bn MAUs by 2030 at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference in September. Track SPOT on ChartsView Live Charts.

8. Peer Comparison

Spotify is the largest pure-play music streamer but competes with technology giants that bundle music into wider services, plus regional and radio-based audio businesses. Market caps were checked in September and October 2026.

Peer	Market cap (Oct 2026)	Key 2025 metric
Apple (Apple Music)	~$4.91 trillion (7 Oct 2026)	Raised US Apple Music Individual price to $11.99 from $10.99 on 17 Jul 2026; subscribers not disclosed
Alphabet (YouTube Music)	~$4.20 trillion (2 Oct 2026)	Q1 2026 was the largest quarterly increase in non-trial YouTube Music and Premium subscribers, per management; no count disclosed
Amazon (Amazon Music)	~$2.67 trillion (1 Oct 2026)	Raised Music Unlimited prices from March 2026; subscribers not disclosed
Tencent Music (TME)	~$14–16bn (early Oct 2026, varies by source)	Q2 2026 revenue RMB8.93bn (+5.8%), online music membership revenue RMB4.79bn (+8.1%)
Sirius XM (SIRI)	~$9.3–9.6bn (Aug–Sep 2026)	32.9m SiriusXM subscribers and Pandora 39.8m MAUs at Q2 2026

9. Insider Activity

Following the Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act, directors and officers of foreign private issuers such as Spotify have had to file Section 16 reports since 18 Mar 2026, so Spotify insiders now file Form 4s. Filings show regular option-exercise-and-sale transactions by Co-CEOs Alex Norström and Gustav Söderström under 10b5-1 plans, plus smaller sales by other executives and directors. No insider purchases were found. No 2026 sales by founders Daniel Ek (Executive Chairman) or Martin Lorentzon were found in the filings reviewed. The founders retain concentrated voting control through beneficiary certificates.

Name	Date	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Plan Type
Gustav Söderström (Co-CEO)	14 Sep 2026	Option exercise and sale	20,913	$537.19–$549.49	~$11.4m	10b5-1 (adopted 12 Jun 2026)
Dustee Jenkins (Chief Public Affairs Officer)	14 Aug 2026	Sale	~3,810	~$512.50	~$1.95m	Not confirmed
Alex Norström (Co-CEO)	3 Aug 2026	Option exercise ($151.25) and sale	5,436	~$499.96–$506.04	~$2.7m	10b5-1 (adopted 11 Dec 2025)
Alex Norström (Co-CEO)	2 Jun 2026	Sale (per Form 144)	5,436	~$499	~$2.71m	10b5-1 (adopted 11 Dec 2025)
Thomas Staggs (Director)	26 May 2026	Proposed sale (Form 144)	5,477	~$526	~$2.88m	Not confirmed
Christopher Marshall / TCV (Director)	26 May 2026	Proposed sale (Form 144)	2,650	~$521	~$1.38m	Not confirmed
Alex Norström (Co-CEO)	5 May 2026	Sale (per Form 144)	5,436	~$432	~$2.35m	10b5-1 (adopted 11 Dec 2025)
Alex Norström (Co-CEO)	1 Apr 2026	Sale (per Form 144)	5,436	~$480	~$2.61m	10b5-1 (adopted 11 Dec 2025)

Prices for the Form 144 rows are implied from the disclosed aggregate values. The company itself bought back €538m of stock in H1 2026 and held 4,657,063 treasury shares at 30 Jun 2026.

10. Key Risks

• Content-cost concentration (Commercial): dependence on a small number of major labels and publishers caps gross margin and exposes Spotify to adverse royalty renegotiations and licensing disputes, including the ongoing mechanical-royalty litigation with the Mechanical Licensing Collective in the US.
• User-growth slowdown (Operational): Q2 2026 MAUs were slightly below guidance and Q3 guidance was below expectations; sustained weaker user additions would undermine the 1bn MAU ambition and the funnel into Premium.
• Competitive bundling (Competitive): Apple, Amazon and Alphabet can bundle music into device, retail and video subscriptions and absorb losses on it, pressuring Spotify's pricing and acquisition costs.
• Currency and below-the-line volatility (Financial): euro reporting against a largely non-euro revenue base, plus share-price-linked social charges, make reported growth and net income volatile; Q3 2026 revenue guidance assumes a ~200bp FX tailwind.
• Regulation and AI content (Regulatory): app-store rules, content-moderation duties and the rapid rise of AI-generated music raise compliance costs and could disrupt catalogue economics.
• Platform reliability (Operational): a widespread outage on 29 Sep 2026 showed how service disruptions can hit user experience and brand trust.

11. Recent Developments

• 07 Oct 2026 — Audiobooks expand to 180+ markets. Spotify announced a broad international rollout of audiobooks, extending the product beyond its initial markets.
• 29 Sep 2026 — Service outage. Thousands of users in the US and elsewhere reported problems accessing Spotify during a widespread outage.
• 24 Sep 2026 — Q3 results date set. Spotify confirmed it will report third-quarter 2026 results on 22 Oct 2026 before the US market opens.
• 23 Sep 2026 — Taste Profile launches in the US. Listeners can now view and edit the profile that drives their recommendations.
• 20 Aug 2026 — Buyback upsized by $1.5bn. Combined with $723m remaining, about $2.2bn is now available for open-market repurchases.
• 04 Aug 2026 — Q2 2026 results. Revenue rose 14% to €4,777m, Premium subscribers passed 300m and gross margin hit 33.4%, but Q3 guidance for 788m MAUs and €670m operating income came in below expectations and the shares fell.

12. Key Dates

• 22 Oct 2026 — Q3 2026 results, before US market open (guidance: 788m MAUs, 305m Premium subscribers, €5.0bn revenue, 32.9% gross margin, €670m operating income).
• 31 Dec 2026 — end of fiscal year 2026.
• Expected Feb 2027 — Q4 and full-year 2026 results and the FY2026 Form 20-F.
• 04 Aug 2026 — Q2 2026 results released (most recent reported quarter).

Check the ChartsView Economic Calendar for macro events that move growth stocks and the euro, and join the discussion in the Forum.

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Disclaimer: This research is produced by ChartsView for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All information is sourced from publicly available company filings, press releases, and official data. ChartsView does not use analyst opinions or third-party ratings. Always conduct your own due diligence and consider your personal financial situation before making investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Last Updated: 02 Oct 2026

The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS) is a Burbank, California-based entertainment group founded in 1923 by Walt and Roy O. Disney. It reports three segments: Entertainment (film studios, ABC and other TV networks, and the Disney+ and Hulu streaming services), Sports (ESPN) and Experiences (theme parks, resorts, Disney Cruise Line and consumer products).

FY2025 revenue (52 weeks to 27 Sep 2025) rose 3.4% to $94,425m and adjusted EPS rose 19% to $5.93. In Q3 FY2026 revenue grew 7% to $25,248m and adjusted EPS reached $2.06. Management now plans at least $9bn of buybacks in FY2026. Josh D'Amaro replaced Bob Iger as CEO on 18 Mar 2026. The stock closed at $101.28 on 01 Oct 2026, giving a market value of about $175bn.

This refresh draws on Disney earnings releases (SEC 8-K exhibits), the FY2025 Form 10-K, the Q3 FY2026 Form 10-Q, SEC XBRL company facts and Form 4 filings, all retrieved on 02 Oct 2026. Follow the price on ChartsView Live Charts.

1. Company Snapshot

Field	Value
Full name	The Walt Disney Company
Ticker	DIS (NYSE)
Sector	Communication Services
Industry	Entertainment: streaming, TV networks, film studios, sports media, theme parks and cruises
Headquarters	500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California
Founded	1923
CEO / Leadership	Josh D'Amaro (CEO since 18 Mar 2026); Hugh Johnston (Senior EVP and CFO); Dana Walden (President and Chief Creative Officer); James Gorman (Chair)
Market cap	~$174.9bn (1,726.7m shares × $101.28 at the 01 Oct 2026 close)
Revenue (FY2025)	$94,425m (+3.4% YoY)
Net income (FY2025)	Diluted EPS $6.85 GAAP (lifted by a $3.3bn non-cash Hulu tax benefit); adjusted EPS $5.93
Employees	About 231,000 at FY2025 year-end (about 172,000 in the US), per the FY2025 10-K
Dividend	$1.50 per share for FY2026, paid as two $0.75 instalments (15 Jan 2026 and 22 Jul 2026)
Fiscal year end	Saturday closest to 30 Sep; FY2026 is a 53-week year

2. Bull Case vs Bear Case

Distilled from the full report below. Factual only, no ratings.

Bull Case

• Experiences profit engine: Experiences earned $9,995m of segment operating income in FY2025, 57% of the group total. In Q3 FY2026 its operating income rose 20% to $3,017m, with Domestic Parks & Experiences up 27%. About $100m of that came from tariff refunds.
• Streaming is now profitable: Subscription video (SVOD) operating income was $712m in Q3 FY2026, a 12.9% margin. Management expects a double-digit SVOD margin for FY2026, and Entertainment operating income rose 64% in the quarter.
• Larger capital returns: The FY2026 buyback target has risen from $7bn to at least $9bn, and $7,245m was spent in the first nine months. The dividend went up 50% to $1.50 a share, and treasury shares rose from 79m to 148m between Sep 2025 and Jun 2026.
• Adjusted earnings growth guided to continue: Nine-month adjusted EPS rose 9% to $5.25. FY2026 guidance is about 12% adjusted EPS growth excluding the 53rd week (about 16% including it), and management expects double-digit growth again in FY2027.

Bear Case

• Sports profits under pressure: Sports operating income fell 17% to $858m in Q3 FY2026. The causes were NBA rights-cost timing, short early-round playoff series and a carriage dispute. UFC rights ended in Dec 2025.
• GAAP earnings well below adjusted: Trailing-twelve-month GAAP EPS is $4.85, against about $6.36 adjusted. Restructuring and impairment charges were $1,139m in the first nine months of FY2026, including $959m year-to-date on the A+E stake.
• Weaker free cash flow and heavy capex: Nine-month free cash flow fell 24% to $5,735m. Capex is running at about $9bn a year under a roughly $60bn ten-year parks and cruise plan. Total borrowings were $46.0bn at 27 Jun 2026, with $8.6bn due within a year.
• Restructuring and leadership change: There have been three rounds of job cuts in 2026, the latest about 300 HR and IT roles on 30 Sep, and on 01 Oct the WSJ reported a TV reorganisation. The CEO changed in March, and Bob Iger leaves the board on 31 Dec 2026.
• Rivals getting bigger: Paramount Skydance's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to close around 06 Oct 2026, and Netflix is worth about $283bn, well above Disney's ~$175bn.

3. What Does This Company Actually Do?

Disney makes films and TV series, distributes them through its own streaming services, TV networks and cinemas, and earns further revenue from them through theme parks, cruises and merchandise. ESPN, its sports business, is now 72% owned by Disney: the NFL owns 10% and Hearst 18%, following the NFL Network deal that closed on 31 Jan 2026.

Segment	% of revenue	What it is
Entertainment	45.0% ($42,466m)	Film studios (Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 20th Century), ABC and other linear networks, and the Disney+ and Hulu streaming services. FY2025 segment operating income was $4,674m.
Experiences	38.3% ($36,156m)	Domestic and international parks and resorts, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club and consumer products. FY2025 segment operating income was $9,995m.
Sports	18.7% ($17,672m)	ESPN domestic and international networks and ESPN direct-to-consumer (DTC). FY2025 segment operating income was $2,882m.
Eliminations	-2.0% (-$1,869m)	Intersegment revenue, for example Entertainment content licensed to Sports

Shares of FY2025 revenue of $94,425m, per the Q4 FY2025 earnings release. In Q3 FY2026 (to 27 Jun 2026), revenue was split as follows: Entertainment $11,345m (+6%), Sports $4,500m (+4%), Experiences $9,968m (+10%). From Q1 FY2027 most of consumer products moves from Experiences to Entertainment.

4. The Business Model

How it makes money. Disney has four main sources of revenue:

• subscription and affiliate fees from streaming and pay-TV distributors;
• advertising on ABC, ESPN, Disney+ and Hulu;
• theatrical and content licensing;
• spending at its parks, hotels and cruise ships, plus merchandise royalties.

Experiences is the main profit source, producing 57% of FY2025 segment operating income. Entertainment and Sports supply the characters and live events that bring visitors to the parks and subscribers to the streaming services.

Where the moat sits. The moat has three parts:

• Intellectual property: the Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars franchises can be used across films, streaming, parks and merchandise.
• Physical assets: the parks and cruise fleet are very hard to copy. Disney says it has more than 1,000 acres available to expand on.
• ESPN: the strongest sports brand in US media, now carrying NFL Network and RedZone distribution.

What changed in 2025–2026. Disney+ and Hulu now make a profit, with a 12.9% SVOD margin in Q3 FY2026. Hulu Live TV was combined with Fubo, which Disney 70% owns and has consolidated since 29 Oct 2025. ESPN launched its stand-alone DTC service (ESPN Unlimited, $29.99 a month) in Aug 2025 and swapped a 10% stake for NFL media assets. The planned $1bn equity investment in OpenAI and the Sora licensing deal announced in Dec 2025 were cancelled in Mar 2026, after OpenAI shut down Sora.

5. Financial Health

Sources: Disney quarterly and annual earnings releases (SEC 8-K exhibits), the FY2025 Form 10-K, the Q3 FY2026 Form 10-Q, and SEC XBRL company facts (data.sec.gov) for borrowings, cash flow, D&A and EPS. The fiscal year ends on the Saturday closest to 30 Sep.

Fiscal Year	Revenue ($m)	YoY %	GAAP EPS	Adjusted EPS	Dividend/share	Long-term debt (YE)
FY2021	$67,418m	+3.1%	$1.11	$2.29	$0.00	$48,540m
FY2022	$82,722m	+22.7%	$1.75	$3.53	$0.00	$45,299m
FY2023	$88,898m	+7.5%	$1.29	$3.76	$0.00	$42,101m
FY2024	$91,361m	+2.8%	$2.72	$4.97	$0.75	$38,970m
FY2025	$94,425m	+3.4%	$6.85	$5.93	$1.00	$35,315m

Notes on the annual table:

• GAAP EPS is diluted EPS from continuing operations attributable to Disney. Adjusted EPS is Disney's "diluted EPS excluding certain items".
• FY2020 revenue was $65,388m, the base for the FY2021 YoY figure.
• FY2025 GAAP EPS includes a $3.3bn non-cash tax benefit from the Hulu transaction and a $1.0bn prior-year tax resolution.
• Dividend/share is cash dividends paid in the fiscal year. The dividend was suspended in 2020; a $0.30 payment declared in Nov 2023 was paid in Jan 2024.
• Long-term debt is noncurrent borrowings at year-end (SEC XBRL tag LongTermDebtNoncurrent). The current portion was $6,711m at FY2025 year-end.

Quarterly results (most recent first)

Quarter / Half	Revenue	Adjusted EPS	GAAP EPS
Q3 FY2026 (to 27 Jun 2026)	$25,248m	$2.06	$1.51
Q2 FY2026 (to 28 Mar 2026)	$25,168m	$1.57	$1.27
Q1 FY2026 (to 27 Dec 2025)	$25,981m	$1.63	$1.34
Q4 FY2025 (to 27 Sep 2025)	$22,464m	$1.11	$0.73
FY2025 total	$94,425m	$5.93	$6.85

Release dates:

• Q3 FY2026: 05 Aug 2026
• Q2 FY2026: 06 May 2026
• Q1 FY2026: 02 Feb 2026
• Q4 FY2025: 13 Nov 2025

For the first nine months of FY2026, revenue was $76,397m (+6%), adjusted EPS $5.25 (+9%) and GAAP EPS $4.12. The Q3 FY2026 GAAP EPS of $1.51 compares with $2.92 a year earlier, which was lifted by the Hulu tax benefit.

Cash flow and balance sheet.

• Cash flow (FY2025).
  • Operating cash flow was $18,101m and capex (investments in parks, resorts and other property) was $8,024m, giving free cash flow of $10,077m.
  • D&A was $5,326m and income before income taxes was $12,003m.
• Cash flow (9M FY2026).
  • Operating cash flow fell 8% to $12,515m, mainly because deferred FY2025 taxes were paid under California wildfire relief.
  • Capex was $6,780m and free cash flow $5,735m.
  • Trailing-twelve-month operating cash flow was about $16,989m and capex about $8,696m.
• Balance sheet at 27 Jun 2026. Cash and cash equivalents were $5,185m. Borrowings totalled $46,041m: $8,627m current and $37,414m noncurrent. Total equity was $116,842m, including $6,810m of noncontrolling interests.
• FY2026 guidance (reiterated 05 Aug 2026):
  • adjusted EPS growth of about 12% excluding the 53rd week, or about 16% including it;
  • operating cash flow of at least $19bn;
  • capex of about $9bn;
  • buybacks of at least $9bn;
  • Q4 total segment operating income of about $4.9bn, including about $600m from the extra week.

6. Valuation & Market Data

Raw metrics, October 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.

Metric	Value
Market cap	~$174.9bn (1,726.7m shares × $101.28 at the 01 Oct 2026 close)
Enterprise value	~$215.7bn = market cap ~$174.9bn + total debt ~$46.0bn (current $8.6bn + noncurrent $37.4bn) − cash ~$5.2bn, per the 27 Jun 2026 balance sheet. Excludes $6.8bn of noncontrolling interests.
Trailing P/E (GAAP)	~20.9x ($101.28 / TTM GAAP diluted EPS of $4.85, Q4 FY2025 to Q3 FY2026). On TTM adjusted EPS of about $6.36 the multiple is ~15.9x.
P/E (forward)	~15.3x ($101.28 / about $6.64, which is FY2025 adjusted EPS of $5.93 grown by the guided ~12% excluding the 53rd week). Including the 53rd week (about $6.88) the multiple is ~14.7x.
P/S (TTM)	~1.77x (market cap / TTM revenue of $98,861m, Q4 FY2025 to Q3 FY2026)
EV/EBITDA (TTM)	~11.1x (EV ~$215.7bn / TTM EBITDA ~$19.4bn). EBITDA = TTM EBIT of $13,831m (income before income taxes $12,750m + net interest expense $1,081m) + TTM D&A of $5,529m (the cash-flow add-back). EBIT is after $1,521m of TTM restructuring and impairment charges, mostly the A+E write-down; excluding them, EV/EBITDA is ~10.3x.
P/FCF	~21.1x (market cap ~$174.9bn / TTM FCF ~$8.3bn). FCF = operating cash flow $16,989m − capex $8,696m (FY2025 less 9M FY2025 plus 9M FY2026). On FY2025 FCF of $10,077m the multiple is ~17.4x.
52-week high	$117.09 (MarketBeat)
52-week low	$92.18 (MarketBeat)
Short interest (% of float)	1.14% (latest MarketBeat update). At the 31 Aug 2026 settlement it was 1.20%, or 20.6m shares.
Days to cover	2.71 (latest MarketBeat update; 2.59 at the 31 Aug 2026 settlement)
Dividend yield	~1.48% ($1.50 FY2026 dividend / $101.28)

Share-price-based metrics use the 01 Oct 2026 close, when the stock fell 3.45% on the day. For live prices see ChartsView Live Charts.

7. What Are They Building

A ten-year parks and cruise expansion. Disney plans to spend about $60bn on Experiences over ten years, nearly double the previous decade. At the D23 Expo (14–16 Aug 2026) it announced 22 park projects, including:

• Walt Disney World: Monstropolis (2027), Tropical Americas, a Cars area and Villains Land;
• Disneyland Resort: a re-imagined Tomorrowland, a Coco attraction and an Avengers Campus expansion;
• international parks: a Lion King area in Paris, Marvel additions in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and a new Space Mountain in Tokyo.

Disneyland Abu Dhabi will be built and run by Miral, with Disney providing creative and operational oversight. No opening date has been announced.

A bigger cruise fleet. Disney Destiny (Nov 2025) and Disney Adventure (Mar 2026) raised stateroom capacity by about 50% year on year in Q3 FY2026. The ninth ship, Disney Believe, is due in Q4 2027; its features will be revealed on 07 Oct 2026.

One streaming app. Hulu is now fully integrated into the Disney+ app, and live TV and add-ons follow by the end of 2026. A "membership ecosystem" starts in spring 2027. Disney also plans to roughly triple local international originals over three years, and signed a creator-content deal with TikTok on 05 Aug 2026. The CFO said Disney is considering a free, ad-supported tier.

ESPN as a sports marketplace. ESPN Unlimited now carries NFL Network and RedZone distribution, with distribution tie-ups with MLB, FOX One and The CW. Formula E rights start on Disney+ and ESPN from the 2026/27 season. On 14 Aug 2026 D'Amaro told CNBC he has no interest in spinning off ESPN.

8. Competitive Landscape

Peer	Market cap (Oct 2026)	Key 2025 metric
Netflix (NFLX)	~$282.5bn	FY2025 revenue $45.2bn, +16%; operating margin 29.5%; more than 325m paid memberships (Netflix Q4 2025 letter on SEC)
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)	~$77.6bn	FY2025 revenue $37.3bn, −5%; 131.6m streaming subscribers (WBD Q4 2025 release on SEC)
Comcast (CMCSA)	~$77.0bn	FY2025 revenue $123.7bn, roughly flat; Theme Parks revenue +19% after Epic Universe opened; Peacock 44m paid subscribers (Comcast Q4 2025 release)
Paramount Skydance (PSKY)	~$11.6bn	FY2025 revenue about $29bn; Paramount+ about 79m subscribers (Paramount FY2025 release)

Market caps are from companiesmarketcap.com, 29 Sep to 01 Oct 2026; the Paramount Skydance figure may exclude some share classes. Paramount Skydance agreed to buy WBD for $31.00 a share in cash, an enterprise value of about $110bn. After a settlement with California and 11 other states on 21 Sep 2026, reports say the deal is expected to close around 06 Oct 2026.

9. Leadership and Ownership

Josh D'Amaro, formerly Chairman of Disney Experiences, was named CEO on 03 Feb 2026 and took over on 18 Mar 2026. Bob Iger stays on the board as senior adviser until he retires on 31 Dec 2026. Hugh Johnston is CFO and James Gorman is Chair. No open-market trades by the CEO or CFO were found in 2026. The only open-market purchase this year was a small one by director Amy Chang. Chair James Gorman bought 18,000 shares at $111.89 on 12 Dec 2025.

Name	Date	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Plan Type
Brent Woodford (EVP Control, Financial Planning and Tax)	01 Sep 2026	Option exercise and sale	3,618	$107.13	~$387,596	10b5-1 (adopted 24 Feb 2026)
Paul M. Roeder (Senior EVP, Chief Communications Officer)	19 Aug 2026	Sale	3,596	$106.32	~$382,327	No 10b5-1 footnote on the filing
Brent Woodford (EVP Control, Financial Planning and Tax)	14 Aug 2026	Option exercise and sale	7,238	$105.31	~$762,234	10b5-1 (adopted 24 Feb 2026)
Amy Chang (Director)	12 Feb 2026	Purchase	916	$107.85	~$98,791	Open market
Sonia L. Coleman (Senior EVP, Chief People Officer)	22 Jan 2026	Sale	2,473	$114.00	~$281,922	10b5-1 (adopted 23 May 2025)

Sources: SEC Form 4 filings on EDGAR, cross-checked against OpenInsider. Grants and tax-withholding transactions are not shown.

10. Risks and Challenges

• Sports rights costs (Operational): Sports operating income fell 17% in Q3 FY2026 because of NBA rights-cost timing and short playoff series. Large fixed rights contracts make ESPN's profits volatile from quarter to quarter.
• Linear TV decline and advertising (Macro): Pay-TV subscriber losses continue to shrink affiliate fees. Management also flagged a soft domestic SVOD advertising market, as more ad inventory pushes prices down.
• Box-office dependence (Operational): Mandalorian & Grogu and the live-action Moana underperformed, and Moana weighs on Q4 FY2026 Entertainment results. Film results depend on a small number of tentpole releases.
• International parks and travel (Macro): Shanghai and Hong Kong are soft, and management expects that to continue into Q4. Lower international visitation to US parks is also a headwind for Experiences.
• Execution and leadership transition (Operational): A new CEO, three rounds of job cuts in 2026 and a TV reorganisation reported on 01 Oct 2026 all raise the risk of disruption to content output and to staff.
• Capital intensity and leverage (Financial): The roughly $60bn parks plan, about $9bn of annual capex and at least $9bn of buybacks are all funded alongside $46.0bn of borrowings. Nine-month FCF fell 24%.
• Political and regulatory exposure (Regulatory): ABC's programming has drawn political scrutiny, including the Kimmel controversy. The A+E sale needs regulatory approval, and tariffs have affected consumer products costs.

11. Recent Developments

• 01 Oct 2026 — TV reorganisation reported. The WSJ reported a reorganisation of Disney's TV businesses, with hundreds of job cuts. It is led by Debra O'Connell under Dana Walden and brings ABC Entertainment, 20th Television, Hulu Originals, Freeform and Nat Geo content together. The shares fell 3.45% to $101.28.
• 30 Sep 2026 — Third round of layoffs. Disney cut more than 300 jobs, mostly in HR and IT. It is the third round of cuts in 2026, after about 1,000 roles in April.
• 23 Sep 2026 — Streaming price rises. Disney+ Premium (no ads) rises from $18.99 to $21.49 a month, and the ad-supported tiers rise from $11.99 to $12.49. ESPN bundles also go up. Existing subscribers pay the new prices from 21 Oct 2026.
• 14 Aug 2026 — D23 Expo opens. Disney announced 22 park projects across six resorts and gave a first look at the cruise ship Disney Believe. The same week, D'Amaro told CNBC he will not spin off ESPN.
• 11 Aug 2026 — Formula E rights. Disney signed a multi-year deal to show Formula E on Disney+ and ESPN from the 2026/27 season.
• 05 Aug 2026 — Q3 FY2026 results. Revenue was $25,248m (+7%) and adjusted EPS $2.06, up from $1.61. Segment operating income rose 21% to $5,555m. The buyback target went up to at least $9bn, and a TikTok content deal was announced. Disney took an $812m impairment on its A+E stake.
• 05 Aug 2026 — A+E stake sale disclosed. Disney agreed to sell its 50% stake in A+E Global Media to a Hearst affiliate for about $1.2bn in cash, with the proceeds going to buybacks. Closing was expected by the end of FY2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

12. Key Dates Coming Up

• 07 Oct 2026 — Disney Cruise Line reveals the features of its ninth ship, Disney Believe, in a livestream; the ship is due in Q4 2027.
• 16 Oct 2026 — "Whalefall" (20th Century Studios) opens in cinemas.
• 21 Oct 2026 — Higher Disney+, Hulu and ESPN prices take effect for existing subscribers.
• Expected 12 Nov 2026 — Q4 and full-year FY2026 results, a 53-week year. Market calendars give this date; Disney had not confirmed it at the time of writing.
• Expected Nov 2026 — FY2027 dividend declaration. The FY2026 dividend was declared with Q4 results on 13 Nov 2025.
• 25 Nov 2026 — Disney Animation's "Hexed" opens for Thanksgiving.
• 18 Dec 2026 — Marvel Studios' "Avengers: Doomsday" opens.
• 31 Dec 2026 — Bob Iger retires from the board.

Macro events are on the ChartsView Economic Calendar, and you can discuss Disney on the ChartsView Forum.

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Disclaimer: This research is produced by ChartsView for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All information is sourced from publicly available company filings, press releases, and official data. ChartsView does not use analyst opinions or third-party ratings. Always conduct your own due diligence and consider your personal financial situation before making investment decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

See also: Technical analysis on Netflix · Netflix company tracker

Last Updated: 26 September 2026

Netflix is growing revenue in the low-to-mid teens and widening its operating margin, yet its shares closed at $71.14 on 25 September 2026, about 43% below the 52-week high set in October 2025. Since the previous version of this report, three things have changed. Netflix agreed to buy Warner Bros., then withdrew in February 2026 when Paramount Skydance outbid it, and collected a $2.8bn termination fee. It completed a 10-for-1 stock split in November 2025. It has also turned to record buybacks and a fast-growing advertising business. This report sets out what Netflix's shareholder letters and SEC filings show: revenue, earnings, cash flow, debt, insider dealing and scheduled events. All per-share figures are on a post-split basis, and every valuation figure is shown as a calculation.

1. Company Snapshot

Field	Value
Company	Netflix, Inc., headquartered in Los Gatos, California
Ticker / exchange	NFLX, Nasdaq Global Select Market
CEO / Leadership	Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters (co-Chief Executive Officers); Spence Neumann (Chief Financial Officer). Co-founder Reed Hastings did not stand for re-election to the board at the 4 June 2026 annual meeting
Employees	About 16,000 full-time employees at 31 December 2025 (FY2025 Form 10-K), 68% of them in the US and Canada
Revenue (FY2025)	$45,183m, up 15.9% year on year (fiscal year ended 31 December 2025)
Net income (FY2025, GAAP)	$10,981m; diluted EPS $2.53 (post-split); operating margin 29.5%
Revenue (trailing twelve months to 30 June 2026)	$48,371m
Market cap	~$296.2bn (4,163.9m shares outstanding per the Q2 2026 Form 10-Q cover, at the $71.14 close of 25 September 2026)
Paid memberships	More than 325m at the end of Q4 2025, the last figure disclosed; Netflix no longer reports subscriber numbers quarterly
Dividend	None. Netflix returns cash through share repurchases, with $27.1bn of authorisation remaining after Q2 2026
Most recent reported period	Q2 2026 (quarter ended 30 June 2026), reported 16 July 2026

Live price action for NFLX and the wider media sector can be followed on the ChartsView Live Charts page.

2. Bull Case and Bear Case

Bull Case

• Double-digit growth at scale: revenue grew 15.6% in FY2024 and 15.9% in FY2025 to $45,183m. Q1 2026 grew 16.2% and Q2 2026 13.4%, and full-year 2026 guidance is $51.0bn to $51.4bn, up 13% to 14%.
• Margins are still widening: the operating margin rose from 26.7% in FY2024 to 29.5% in FY2025. Management guides 31.5% for 2026 and 33.2% for Q3 2026, against 28.2% in Q3 2025.
• Advertising is doubling: ad revenue grew more than 2.5 times in 2025 to over $1.5bn, and Netflix targets roughly $3bn in 2026. The ad tier passed 250m monthly active viewers, the Ads Suite received MRC accreditation, and the 2026 US upfront nearly doubled commitments.
• Heavy capital returns: Netflix repurchased $4.7bn of stock in Q2 2026, its largest quarter ever, after adding a $25bn authorisation in April. It expects about $12.5bn of free cash flow in 2026.
• A clean exit from Warner Bros.: walking away from the Warner Bros. deal in February 2026 left Netflix with a $2.8bn termination fee and no acquisition debt. Net debt was about $5.2bn at 30 June 2026.

Bear Case

• Growth is slowing into the second half: Q3 2026 revenue guidance is $12.86bn, up 11.7%, against 16.2% in Q1 and 13.4% in Q2. Full-year guidance was narrowed to $51.0bn to $51.4bn from $50.7bn to $51.7bn.
• A larger rival is forming: Paramount Skydance settled the state antitrust suit over its Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition on 21 September 2026, clearing the way to close. The combined group would bring HBO Max, Paramount+ and two major studios under one owner.
• Insiders are sellers, not buyers: every 2026 Form 4 transaction found was a sale or an option exercise followed by a sale. Reed Hastings sold roughly $38m a month early in the year, and both co-CEOs and the CFO sold in August.
• Live sport is expensive per hour watched: management says live programming is just over 5% of content spend but about 1% of viewing hours, as NFL, boxing, MLB and FIFA Women's World Cup rights are added.
• Earnings quality is noisy: Q3 2025 carried a roughly $619m Brazilian non-income tax charge, and Q1 2026 EPS of $1.23 was lifted by the $2.8bn termination fee. Trailing GAAP figures therefore overstate or understate the underlying run rate, depending on the period.

3. Business Segments

Netflix reports a single operating segment: its streaming service. It discloses revenue by geographic region, shown below for FY2025. In Q2 2026, UCAN revenue grew 10%, EMEA 14%, LATAM 21% and APAC 16%.

Segment / region	% of revenue	What it is
United States and Canada (UCAN)	44.2% ($19,957m)	The most mature market and the lead market for advertising, live NFL games and price increases. US prices rose on 26 March 2026, with the ads plan moving to $8.99 a month
Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)	32.1% ($14,515m)	The second-largest region. The ad plan is due to launch in nine more EMEA countries in March 2027, and the first UK Upfront was held in September 2026
Latin America (LATAM)	11.9% ($5,358m)	The fastest-growing region in Q2 2026, at 21%. It is also the source of the Brazilian non-income tax charge taken in Q3 2025
Asia-Pacific (APAC)	11.8% ($5,354m)	Growing through local-language originals and live events. Netflix streamed the 2026 World Baseball Classic in Japan

4. Business Model and Moat

How it makes money. Most revenue comes from monthly subscriptions across ad-supported, Standard and Premium plans in more than 190 countries. Advertising is a growing second stream: Netflix sells ads on its cheapest plan through its own Ads Suite and programmatic partners. Content is the main cost. It is capitalised and amortised through cost of revenue, so reported depreciation and amortisation is small, at $333m in FY2025, while content amortisation runs to billions. Management guides cash content spend at about 1.1 times amortisation for 2026.

Where the durable advantage sits. Netflix has the largest paid streaming base, with more than 325m memberships. That scale spreads content, technology and marketing costs across more subscribers than any rival, and it funds a local-language slate that travels across regions. Its recommendation system and viewing data shape both what it commissions and how it is presented. It has also shown it can raise prices without losing its growth.

Where the model is fragile. Streaming competes for time with free video platforms such as YouTube and with bundles from companies whose main business lies elsewhere, such as Amazon. Hits are not predictable, so revenue growth depends on a steady flow of successful titles. Live sports rights cost more per hour watched than scripted content. Moving into advertising also exposes Netflix to the ad cycle, which subscription revenue does not.

5. Financial Health

All figures come from Netflix's quarterly shareholder letters and Form 10-K and 10-Q filings, cross-checked against its SEC XBRL data. Netflix completed a 10-for-1 stock split on 14 November 2025. Per-share figures for FY2024 onward are as restated by Netflix. Figures for FY2021 to FY2023 are the originally reported diluted EPS of $11.24, $9.95 and $12.03, divided by ten. Netflix pays no dividend.

Fiscal Year	Revenue ($m)	YoY %	GAAP EPS	Adjusted EPS	Dividend/share	Long-term debt (YE)
FY2021	29,698	+18.8%	$1.12	$1.12 †	Nil	$14,693m
FY2022	31,616	+6.5%	$1.00	$1.00 †	Nil	$14,353m
FY2023	33,723	+6.7%	$1.20	$1.20 †	Nil	$14,143m
FY2024	39,001	+15.6%	$1.98	$1.98 †	Nil	$13,798m
FY2025	45,183	+15.9%	$2.53	$2.53 †	Nil	$13,464m

† Netflix does not report an adjusted or non-GAAP EPS figure, so the GAAP diluted figure is repeated. ‡ Long-term debt is the non-current portion at year end. Short-term debt was a further $700m at FY2021, nil at FY2022, $400m at FY2023, $1,784m at FY2024 and $999m at FY2025. At 30 June 2026, short-term debt was $2,484m and non-current debt $11,826m, a total of $14,309m.

Cash generation and balance sheet: FY2025 operating cash flow was $10,149m, capital expenditure $688m, and depreciation and amortisation of property, equipment and intangibles $333m. GAAP operating income was $13,327m. For the twelve months to 30 June 2026, operating cash flow was $11,971m, capital expenditure $819m, and depreciation and amortisation $372m. Q1 2026 operating cash flow includes the $2.8bn Warner Bros. termination fee. At 30 June 2026, cash and equivalents were $9,099m and short-term investments $29m, a total of $9,128m against $14,309m of debt. Net debt was therefore about $5.18bn, and stockholders' equity was $30,152m.

Quarter / Half	Revenue ($m)	Adjusted EPS	GAAP EPS
Q2 2026	12,560	$0.80 †	$0.80
Q1 2026	12,250	$1.23 †	$1.23
Q4 2025	12,051	$0.56 †	$0.56
Q3 2025	11,510	$0.59 †	$0.59
Q2 2025	11,079	$0.72 †	$0.72
Q1 2025	10,543	$0.66 †	$0.66
FY2025 total	45,183	$2.53	$2.53

Q2 2026 operating income was $4,193m, a 33.4% margin, and net income was $3,401m. Q1 2026 EPS of $1.23 includes the $2.8bn termination fee, booked in interest and other income; Netflix had forecast $0.76 before the fee. Q3 2025 EPS absorbed the Brazilian tax charge of about $619m. For Q3 2026, management guides revenue of $12,860m, an operating margin of 33.2%, net income of $3,452m and diluted EPS of $0.82.

6. Valuation Metrics

Raw metrics, September 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.

Metric	Value
Market cap	~$296.2bn (4,163.9m shares at the $71.14 close of 25 September 2026)
Trailing P/E (GAAP)	~22.4x (price $71.14 / trailing twelve-month diluted EPS $3.18, the sum of Q3 2025 to Q2 2026). That total includes both the Q1 2026 termination fee and the Q3 2025 Brazil tax charge
P/E (forward)	~21.7x on annualised Q3 2026 guidance (price $71.14 / $3.28, being guided Q3 EPS of $0.82 times four). Netflix does not publish full-year EPS guidance
P/S (TTM)	~6.1x (market cap $296.2bn / trailing revenue $48.37bn)
Enterprise value	~$301.4bn (market cap $296.2bn + total debt $14.31bn − cash and short-term investments $9.13bn, per the 30 June 2026 balance sheet)
EV/EBITDA (TTM)	~20.5x (EV $301.4bn / EBITDA $14.73bn; EBITDA = trailing operating income $14.35bn + depreciation and amortisation of property, equipment and intangibles $0.37bn from the cash flow statement). Content amortisation is treated as an operating cost and not added back
P/FCF	~26.6x (market cap $296.2bn / free cash flow $11.15bn; FCF = trailing operating cash flow $11.97bn − capital expenditure $0.82bn). The trailing figure includes the $2.8bn termination fee; on management's 2026 FCF guidance of about $12.5bn the multiple is ~23.7x
52-week high	$124.86 (21 October 2025)
52-week low	$65.08 (17 July 2026, the day after Q2 results)
Short interest (% of float)	~2.3% of float, being 94.19m shares short against a float of about 4.14bn at the 15 September 2026 settlement date (Nasdaq data via Benzinga and MarketBeat)
Days to cover	~3.6 days at the 15 September 2026 settlement date
Price/book	~9.8x (market cap $296.2bn / stockholders' equity $30.15bn at 30 June 2026)

Because content costs sit inside operating income as amortisation, EV/EBITDA for Netflix is close to EV/operating income and is not directly comparable with companies that capitalise and depreciate physical assets. The one-off items in Q3 2025 and Q1 2026 roughly offset in trailing EPS but not in trailing free cash flow.

7. What Are They Building

An in-house advertising business. The Netflix Ads Suite, launched in May 2025, now carries MRC accreditation. It offers programmatic access to Pause Ads and live inventory, AI-generated pause-ad formats, interactive formats and household demographic targeting. Pause Ads go programmatic across partner platforms in October 2026. The ad plan launches in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland in March 2027.

Live events and sport. Netflix's NFL deal runs through the 2029-30 season and covers a Week 1 game, Thanksgiving Eve, Christmas Day, Week 18 and NFL Honors. Venue distribution of those games comes through EverPass Media from September 2026. Other live rights include WWE, MLB fixtures, boxing (Tyson Fury against Anthony Joshua on 11 December 2026) and the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Beyond scripted series. Netflix now carries video podcasts from Spotify and The Ringer, iHeartMedia and Barstool, and creator shows from Ms. Rachel and Mark Rober. It also streams publisher video from Condé Nast and Hearst, and TF1's linear channels inside the app in France. Its games are cloud-played TV party games that use a phone as the controller, plus the Netflix Playground app for children.

AI and product. Netflix uses large language models for recommendations and conversational search. It bought InterPositive, an AI filmmaking-tools company, in March 2026, and says generative AI was used in about 300 titles in 2026. A redesigned mobile app with a vertical video feed rolled out from April 2026. Netflix House venues are open in Dallas and King of Prussia.

8. Competitive Landscape

Market capitalisations were re-checked live at the 25 September 2026 close. Metrics come from each company's own results releases or filings.

Peer	Market cap (September 2026)	Key 2025 metric
Alphabet (GOOGL), owner of YouTube	~$4,206bn	YouTube's 2025 total revenue was more than $60bn, including $11.4bn of ad revenue in Q4 2025 (Alphabet Q4 2025 results)
Amazon (AMZN), owner of Prime Video	~$2,693bn	2025 net sales $716.9bn, up 12% (Amazon Q4 2025 release)
Walt Disney (DIS)	~$183.3bn	FY2025 (to September 2025) revenue $94.4bn, up 3% (Disney FY2025 release)
Spotify (SPOT)	~$104.9bn	751m monthly active users and 290m paid subscribers at Q4 2025; now a video-podcast partner of Netflix
Comcast (CMCSA), owner of Peacock	~$77.8bn	Peacock 2025 revenue $5.4bn, up 10%, with 44m paid subscribers (Comcast Q4 2025 release)
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)	~$77.4bn	131.6m streaming subscribers at the end of 2025, up 13%; being acquired by Paramount Skydance
Paramount Skydance (PSKY)	~$11.2bn	78.9m Paramount+ subscribers at 31 December 2025

Netflix's market value is larger than Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance combined. Its most direct rivals for viewing time are YouTube and Amazon, whose parents are far larger and do not need streaming to be profitable on its own. The Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery combination would be the largest traditional-studio competitor once it closes.

9. Insider Activity

Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters and CFO Spence Neumann all sold stock in August 2026, and no open-market purchases by insiders were found in 2026. Several sales were made under Rule 10b5-1 plans adopted on 4 May 2026. Reed Hastings, who left the board in June, sold about 390,000 to 426,000 shares a month from January to June 2026. He still held about 21.16m shares through a trust after his 1 June 2026 sale. The table is compiled from SEC Form 4 filings, with all share counts on a post-split basis.

Name	Date	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Plan Type
Richard Barton (Director)	09 Sep 2026	Option exercise and sale (9 to 10 September)	1,440	$75.27 to $76.26	~$0.11m	Rule 10b5-1 (adopted 4 May 2026)
Spence Neumann (CFO)	10 Aug 2026	Sale	9,248	$75.79	~$0.70m	No 10b5-1 footnote
Greg Peters (Co-CEO)	06 Aug 2026	Sale	27,312	$73.54	~$2.01m	No 10b5-1 footnote
David Hyman (General Counsel)	04 Aug 2026	Option exercise and sale	5,723	$72.85	~$0.42m	Not verified
Ted Sarandos (Co-CEO)	03 Aug 2026	Sale (3 to 4 August, after RSU vesting)	133,162	$72.90 to $73.48	~$9.73m	Rule 10b5-1 for 3 August sales (adopted 4 May 2026)
Bradford Smith (Director)	17 Jun 2026	Option exercise and sale	35,990	$77.52	~$2.79m	Not verified
Reed Hastings (then Director)	01 Jun 2026	Option exercise and sale	386,700	$85.85 to $86.73	~$33.2m	Rule 10b5-1 (adopted 8 August 2023)
Reed Hastings (Director)	01 May 2026	Sale	407,550	$93.13	~$37.96m	Rule 10b5-1

Earlier in 2026, Neumann sold 114,520 shares between 27 February and 2 April at $95.50 to $98.00, and Peters sold 105,781 shares on 29 January at $82.94. The August sales by both co-CEOs came at prices close to the 52-week low.

10. Key Risks

• Content hit rate and engagement: revenue growth depends on a continuous supply of titles that people want to watch, and Netflix no longer publishes subscriber counts. Weaker engagement would show up first in slower revenue growth and less pricing power.
• Competitive consolidation: Paramount Skydance's pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery would combine two studios and two streaming services. YouTube and Amazon compete for the same viewing time with far larger balance sheets.
• Advertising execution: management's 2026 plan assumes ad revenue roughly doubles to about $3bn. Advertising is cyclical and relies on measurement, programmatic partners and ad-tech that Netflix has built only since 2025.
• Rising cost of live rights: NFL, boxing, MLB and FIFA rights cost more per viewing hour than scripted content. Live programming is just over 5% of content spend but about 1% of viewing hours, so the payback depends on ads and retention.
• International tax and currency exposure: more than half of revenue comes from outside UCAN. The roughly $619m Brazilian non-income tax charge in Q3 2025 showed how local tax disputes can hit margins. Currency moves also shift reported growth: Q2 2026 revenue rose 13.4% reported against 12% FX-neutral.
• Price-rise tolerance: US prices rose on 26 March 2026 across all plans. Repeated increases carry churn risk, particularly as more members move to the cheaper ad-supported plan.

11. Recent Developments

• 25 Sep 2026 — Sesame Street film in development. Netflix is developing a Sesame Street feature film with Sesame Workshop and Rideback, and has extended its series deal through Season 62.
• 24 Sep 2026 — First UK Upfront and ad-plan expansion. Netflix said Pause Ads will be sold programmatically from October and that the ad plan will launch in nine more EMEA countries in March 2027. It also confirmed that Tyson Fury against Anthony Joshua will stream live on 11 December 2026.
• 21 Sep 2026 — Paramount Skydance settles Warner Bros. Discovery antitrust suit. The settlement with state attorneys general clears the path for Paramount Skydance to complete its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, the deal Netflix withdrew from in February. Netflix shares rose about 2% that day.
• 01 Sep 2026 — EverPass NFL distribution deal. A multi-year agreement brings Netflix's NFL games to bars, restaurants and other commercial venues through EverPass Media.
• 10 Aug 2026 — US upfront closed with commitments nearly doubled. Netflix said sponsorships for its 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup games had sold out and that its Ads Suite had received its first MRC accreditation.
• 03 Aug 2026 — Co-CEOs sell stock. Ted Sarandos sold 133,162 shares on 3 and 4 August for about $9.73m, and Greg Peters sold 27,312 shares on 6 August for about $2.01m.
• 16 Jul 2026 — Q2 2026 results in line; FY2026 revenue range narrowed. Revenue was $12,560m (+13.4%), operating margin 33.4% and EPS $0.80. Buybacks were a record $4.7bn. Full-year revenue guidance was narrowed to $51.0bn to $51.4bn. The shares fell more than 7% the next day to a 52-week low of $65.08.

12. Key Dates to Watch

• 20 Oct 2026 — Q3 2026 results posted at about 1:01pm Pacific time, followed by a live video interview at 1:45pm. Guidance is revenue of $12,860m, an operating margin of 33.2% and EPS of $0.82.
• Expected Oct 2026 — Pause Ads become available programmatically through partner demand-side platforms.
• 25 Nov 2026 — NFL Thanksgiving Eve game streamed on Netflix.
• 11 Dec 2026 — Tyson Fury against Anthony Joshua, live from Cardiff.
• 25 Dec 2026 — NFL Christmas Day games streamed on Netflix.
• 31 Dec 2026 — FY2026 fiscal year end. Management guides revenue of $51.0bn to $51.4bn, a 31.5% operating margin and about $12.5bn of free cash flow.
• Expected Jan 2027 — Q4 2026 results and 2027 guidance; date TBC.
• Expected Mar 2027 — ad plan launches in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.

Netflix pays no dividend, so there are no ex-dividend dates to track. Macro releases that move large-cap media and technology stocks are listed on the ChartsView Economic Calendar. Reader discussion of these dates continues in the Forum.

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