Morgan Stanley raises target for Warner Bros. Discovery stock to USD 31.00

Published on 10/06/2026 at 09:51 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS

Streaming adjusted EBITDA reached USD 512 million in Q2 2026, up more than 60 percent. For Warner Bros. Discovery stock, USD 77.6 billion is the market value.

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Warner Bros. Discovery (ISIN US9344231041) faces a higher analyst valuation after Morgan Stanley raised its target from USD 29.00 to USD 31.00 on September 22, 2026, while retaining an Equal Weight rating, as MarketBeat reported. The target is 0.16 percent above the USD 30.95 primary-market quote from October 5, 2026.

Streaming profitability accelerates

Warner Bros. Discovery's streaming segment generated more than USD 3.0 billion in revenue during the second quarter of 2026, while adjusted EBITDA reached USD 512.0 million, up more than 60 percent from the second quarter of 2025, according to Benzinga. Management also cited an adjusted EBITDA margin of nearly 17 percent for the segment in that period.

The streaming result changes the earnings mix: a recurring subscription business contributed USD 512.0 million of adjusted EBITDA even as traditional television and studio activity remained more exposed to content timing. Subscriber-related revenue growth accelerated to 10 percent excluding foreign exchange effects in the second quarter, with the source describing a 200-basis-point sequential improvement.

Revenue remains the counterweight

Consolidated revenue was USD 8.7 billion in the second quarter of 2026, down 11.2 percent from the same period a year earlier, while diluted earnings per share reached USD 0.06. MarketBeat reported that earnings per share exceeded the USD 0.14 loss consensus by USD 0.20, but revenue missed the USD 9.25 billion consensus by USD 0.53 billion.

That split matters for the target increase. Morgan Stanley's USD 31.00 valuation reflects improving streaming economics, while the 11.2-percent revenue decline shows why the broader portfolio still has to stabilize beyond the direct-to-consumer segment.

Stock valuation and trading context

Warner Bros. Discovery operates across studios, television networks and direct-to-consumer streaming, with brands including HBO Max, Warner Bros., CNN and Discovery. The primary listing is Nasdaq under ticker WBD, and the company had a market capitalization of USD 77.6 billion as of October 5, 2026.

The primary-market quote was USD 30.95 on Nasdaq on October 5, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. ET in after-hours data. Its 52-week range was USD 17.08 to USD 30.99, leaving the quote USD 0.04 below the reported high. The further course of trading is shown by the continuously updated real-time quote of Warner Bros. Discovery stock.