- Revenue came in at $566 million, a less than 1% increase compared to last year and below the $585 million predicted by analysts at Yahoo Finance
- An $85 million settlement payment for a case related to “The Walking Dead” and “Fear the Walking Dead” was paid out
- AMC’s stock increased by 6% in after hours trading
AMC Global Media reported a less than 1% increase in revenue during its third quarter on Monday after the market closed. Revenue came in at $566 million, which was notably less than the $585 million predicted by analysts at Yahoo Finance. However, the quarter also included an $85 million all-cash settlement payment, which impacted revenue.
The settlement had to do with a case involving breach of contract claims related to “The Walking Dead” and “Fear the Walking Dead,” marking the resolution of a nearly 10-year-old case. Though AMC’s co-exclusive deal with Netflix over “The Walking Dead” was announced last quarter, a majority of that revenue isn’t expected to be reported until later this year.
Diluted earnings per share came in at a loss of $1.13 compared to the $1.38 gain the company saw this time last year. EPS also missed predictions from analysts at Yahoo Finance, who estimated the quarter would have a loss of $0.01.
Though AMC was buoyed by increases in streaming revenue, the continuing decline of cable was the main reason for the lackluster quarter. Subscription revenue decreased 2% year-over-year to hit $308 million. That was primarily due to an 11% decline in affiliate revenue thanks to basic subscriber declines, but it was offset by a streaming revenue increase of 4% to $181 million. Revenue from ALLBLK, which AMC divested from during the quarter, was not included in this quarter.
Here are some of the key takeaways during the quarter.
AMC settles “Walking Dead” case for $120 million
Nine years ago, five producers of “The Walking Dead” sued AMC over unpaid profits. Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, David Alpert, Charles Eglee and Glen Mazzara were part of that original lawsuit, which was followed by a similar “Fear the Walking Dead” lawsuit from showrunner Dave Erickson last year. A large chunk of that settlement — specifically, an all-cash payment of $85 million — was paid during this quarter, and the remaining $35 million will be paid no later than Jan. 31.
This settlement partially explains AMC’s third quarter results. But another major reason for missing Wall Street expectations has to do with the company’s $500 million co-exclusive deal with Netflix and AMC+ over the streaming rights to “The Walking Dead.” Though this partnership was announced last quarter, a majority of that revenue isn’t expected to be reported until later this year.
When the Netflix and AMC+ deal does start generating revenue, it’s expected to be a major boost for the company. Last quarter, AMC updated its 2026 outlook due to the arrangement, estimating that its full-year consolidated revenue will be in the range of $2.4 billion to $2.45 billion. That outlook remained unchanged on Monday.
“For the full year, we anticipate domestic operations content licensing revenue in the range of $460 million to $485 million. The majority of that revenue will be recognized in the fourth quarter,” Hozefa Lokhandwala, chief financial officer at AMC, said on Monday during the company’s third quarter earnings call.
The company also announced that, when “The Walking Dead” and its spinoffs come to AMC+ on Jan. 7, extra content and behind-the-scenes footage will be included. That will be followed by the fourth and final season of “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon,” which will premiere in February.
“‘The Walking Dead’ universe is an evergreen franchise for us,” Dan McDermott, chief content officer and president of AMC Studios, said during the call. “The audience expands with every new generation that finds it. We have lots of plans to keep new series coming in this universe well into the future.”
AMC’s divestiture from ALLBLK will not change its outlook
AMC divested from the streamer ALLBLK in late August after Charles D. King’s Macro acquired the company. The transaction led to a pre-tax gain of $3.7 million, which was recorded in impairment and other charges. Despite losing this streamer, AMC reported an unchanged financial outlook for 2026.
Dolan noted that when AMC first acquired the streamer, ALLBLK had 60,000 subscribers, a number the company grew to 600,000 subscribers.
“[The Macro team] is very focused on this particular audience. We think they can take it to the next level with more scripted series because they have the machine that can drive the real attention of the Black audience,” Dolan said.
“We were really quite diligent and careful in our investment expense on programming. But, what we were seeing as we got further into it, was that the unscripted content we were putting on from WeTV was really driving a lot of the viewership,” Dolan said.
That insight led to AMC launching the reality TV-focused streamer All Reality. AMC executives did not release further details about the transaction but did note that ALLBLK was profitable. Though ALLBLK now belongs to Macro, AMC also entered into a long-term content licensing agreement with Macro during the quarter.
AMC intends to keep co-producing content with other networks
During the quarter, AMC announced several co-production deals, including a deal with Netflix that will see the spy drama “Bannerman” as its first project.
“We have a very attractive partner model with a great partner in Netflix that allows us to reduce our programming cash investment and support our core business while still allowing for that shared long-term upside,” McDermott said.
Other recent co-productions include a new partnership with Alcon Entertainment and StudioCanal to make the series “Point Break” and a partnership with NASCAR on the racing show “Thunder Road,” which stars Dennis Quaid. These co-productions are part of a concentrated strategy from the company.
“The near-term monetization is across our own platforms, and the long-term licensing opportunity comes after both parties’ initial license period ends. Then revenue flows through a waterfall, costs are recouped and profits are shared. That’s very appealing to us,” McDermott continued. These benefits increase when it comes to international co-productions, which allow AMC to jointly own an asset and sell it in the company’s own territories without having to take on the full economic brunt of a project.
“What we’re seeing is multiple partners around the world want to join up with us,” McDermott said. “It’s just an attractive business model that I think a lot of people are engaging in, and we’re doing it more and more.”
