Earnings Analysis: Streamers Hit Profit, but Competition for Subs Is Fierce

The major streaming players in Hollywood have wrapped up another round of earnings, setting the stage for a flurry of landscape-shifting moves that will play out over the coming months and years as competition for audiences’ attention remains fierce. 

Those include Netflix’s recently announced deals with French broadcaster TF1 and Middle East broadcaster MBC Group, the NFL taking a 10% stake in Disney’s ESPN in exchange for control of the NFL Network, ESPN’s standalone streamer launching on Aug. 21 and in a bundle with Fox One on Oct. 2, a unified Hulu and Disney+ app launching in 2026, and David Ellison’s Paramount striking a seven-year, $1.1 billion per year media rights deal with the UFC, to name a few. 

Netflix remains the dominant force in subscribers and revenue per user. But the results offer a few themes that underscore the competitive performance of streamers this past quarter. Most critical: The age of media companies spending recklessly to win new subscribers is over, with all but Peacock in the black with a clearer line of sight into maintaining sustainable operations.

But it’s unclear how much longer we’ll get this kind of visibility. Disney said it would follow Netflix in ending subscriber and ARPU disclosures for its services by the first quarter of 2026, and it’s likely other companies will follow suit.

Even though it led this trend last year, Netflix’s lead over its legacy media competitors on the two metrics remains wide. The streaming king last reported 301.63 million subscribers and ARPU in the U.S. and Canada of $17.26 in the fourth quarter.

Prime Video also does not disclose their quarterly subscribers, ARPU or profits/losses, though Amazon in May said at its upfront that the latter streaming service reaches more than 130 million ad-supported viewers in the U.S. alone. When combined with the tech giant’s other entertainment properties, the portfolio reaches a total ad-supported audience of 300 million. Last year, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said he has “increasing conviction” Prime Video would become a “large and profitable business” on its own.

Likewise, Apple TV+ isn’t broken out separately because it’s such a tiny part of the tech giant’s massive services revenue business.

Subscribers

With Netflix still dominant, streaming continues to be a race for second place.

In that spot is Disney, who reported a total of 207.4 million subscribers across Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. When broken out by service, Disney+ added 1.8 million subscribers for a total of 127.8 million and Hulu added 800,000 subscribers for a total of 55.5 million, while ESPN+ remained flat at 24.1 million subscribers.

Looking ahead, Disney expects to add more than 10 million subscribers in the fiscal fourth quarter, with the majority of the increase coming from Hulu as a result of its expanded deal with Charter Communications. Disney+ is expected to see a modest increase in subscribers from the third quarter.

Warner Bros. Discovery added 3.4 million direct-to-consumer subscribers for a total of 125.7 million globally. The company remains on track to hit at least 150 million subscribers by the end of 2026, with more international market launches for HBO Max planned for Germany, Italy, the U.K. and Ireland.

Its password crackdown initiative will kick off in earnest in September, with “more fixed” rather than voluntary messaging. Executives expect to see benefits from that move starting in the fourth quarter of 2025 and into 2026.

Paramount+ shed 1.3 million subscribers for a total of 77.7 million, primarily reflecting the expiration of an international hard bundle deal. The company declined to provide updated guidance for the streamer as control of the company changed hands from the Redstone family to the Ellison family, though New Paramount CEO David Ellison has said the company would invest more in content to help scale its streaming business.

Peacock remained at 41 million paid subscribers, driven by a seasonally light quarter for sports and the new season of “Love Island USA.” The service recently hiked its prices by $3 per month, which Comcast president Mike Cavanagh told analysts would be reflected in its earnings results later this year. It is also testing a new Select tier, which will feature  current seasons of NBC and Bravo programming and a broad assortment of library titles.

Average Revenue Per User

Disney+’s average revenue per user was flat at $8.09 domestically, driven by higher ad revenue offset by the impact of subscriber mix shifts, while international grew 2% to $7.67 due to price increases.

Hulu SVOD only and Hulu + Live TV ARPU were both flat at $12.40 and $100.27, respectively, due to higher ad revenue and the impact of subscriber mix shifts. ESPN+ ARPU fell 3% to $6.40 due to lower ad revenue.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s domestic ARPU fell to $11.16, primarily driven by broader wholesale distribution of HBO Max basic with ads, while international ARPU was flat year over year at $3.85, but up from $3.63 in the previous quarter due to growth in international markets with lower ARPU.

Peacock last reported ARPU of around $10 in the fourth quarter and Paramount+ does not break out its quarterly ARPU figure. 

Profits and losses

Netflix’s profits surged 45.6% to $3.13 billion in its second quarter of 2025. Looking ahead, the company is forecasting net income of $2.98 billion in its third quarter of 2025.

Disney+ and Hulu swung to a combined streaming profit of $346 million, compared to a loss of $19 million in the year-ago period. While the services will stop reporting subscribers starting in the first quarter of 2026, Disney will continue to break out their combined profitability. It expects $1.3 billion in entertainment DTC operating income for fiscal 2025.

Hulu + Live TV, which is on track to merge with Fubo between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, is expected to reach $4.6 billion in revenue and a profit of $118 million for full year 2025, per a preliminary proxy filing. Those figures are projected to grow to $5.8 billion and $312 million, respectively, by 2029.

WBD’s streaming business eked out an operating profit of $293 million, compared to a loss of $107 million a year ago, as HBO Max continued its international expansion. The company anticipates the streaming segment will deliver a profit of approximately $1.3 billion in 2025.

Following its split in mid-2026, HBO Max will stay with Warner Bros., which includes its streaming and studios businesses, while Discovery+ will go with Discovery Global, which includes its global linear networks business.

Paramount+ streaming profit grew to $157 million from a profit of $26 million a year ago. Though the company has declined to provide updated guidance, Ellison has said a more “fulsome” update on New Paramount’s plans would come during its third-quarter earnings call in November.

Peacock narrowed its streaming loss to $101 million in the second quarter, compared to $348 million in the prior year period, but management has declined to say when the service would turn the corner on profitability.

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