What Happened?
Shares of global entertainment and media company Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) jumped 3.5% in the morning session after reports indicated that several media giants, including Paramount, Comcast, and Netflix, were preparing bids to acquire the company.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Warner Bros. Discovery formally launched a sale process and set a November 20 deadline for first-round, non-binding offers, with the goal of finalizing a deal before the year's end. This development followed the company's disclosure that its board had started a review of its options after receiving unsolicited interest from multiple parties. The potential bidding war signaled strong interest in the media conglomerate's assets, which include HBO, CNN, and the Warner Bros. movie studios.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $22.91, up 3.5% from previous close.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Warner Bros. Discovery’s shares are very volatile and have had 22 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 14 days ago when the stock gained 3.7% on the news that reports surfaced that streaming giant Netflix was actively exploring a bid for the company's studio and streaming business.
According to several reports, Netflix hired the investment bank Moelis & Co. as its financial adviser to review a possible offer. In a move signaling that discussions were progressing, Netflix also gained access to Warner Bros. Discovery's financial data. This development allowed the streaming service to evaluate a prospective offer more closely. The news prompted a positive reaction in the market, as the potential for an acquisition drove investor interest and pushed the share price higher.
Warner Bros. Discovery is up 115% since the beginning of the year, and at $22.91 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $23.05 from November 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Warner Bros. Discovery’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $951.60.
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