Time Warner's Q3 Earnings Crush Expectations Thanks to 'Suicide Squad,' CNN (Updated)

Time Warner comfortably crushed earnings expectations for third quarter 2016, thanks in large part to the box office performances of “Suicide Squad” and “Sully,” a continuation of strong election-cycle TV ratings at CNN, as well as subscription growth from HBO.

Wall Street had forecast earnings per share (EPS) of $1.37 on $6.98 billion in revenue for the company, per a Yahoo Finance consensus. Zacks saw EPS coming in a penny lower. Time Warner’s reported revenue was actually $7.2 billion, up 9 percent overall, while EPS adjusted to $1.83 — 46 percent above the comparable 2015 quarter.

This all should make future parent company (if all goes well) AT&T quite happy. It definitely made Time Warner Chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes smile — and it even made the boss raise his 2016 outlook.

Also Read: Why AT&T-Time Warner Deal Could Kickstart More Big Media Mergers

“We had a strong third quarter, which keeps us on track to exceed our original 2016 outlook and underscores our leadership in creating and distributing the very best content,” Bewkes stated Wednesday in a media release. “In television, HBO took home more Primetime Emmy Awards than any other network for the 15th consecutive year and Time Warner’s divisions won a total of 40 Emmys, more than any other company.”

“CNN’s standout election coverage made it the No. 1 news network in primetime among adults 18-49 for the fourth consecutive quarter and Turner’s momentum doesn’t stop there,” he continued. “Year-to-date, TBS, TNT and Adult Swim are three of the top five ad supported cable networks in primetime among adults 18-49. In film, Warner Bros. had a strong quarter led by Suicide Squad and has the No. 1 release of the fall in Sully, while anticipation is off the charts for J.K. Rowling’s ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,’ which hits the big screen on November 18.”

“The agreement we announced on October 22 to be acquired by AT&T Inc. represents a great outcome for our shareholders and an excellent opportunity to drive long-term value well into the future,” Bewkes concluded. “Combining with AT&T is the natural next step in the evolution of our business and allows us to significantly accelerate our most important strategies.”

Also Read: What AT&T, Time Warner Deal Means for Content Amid a Flood of Distribution

AT&T Inc. agreed last month to buy Time Warner Inc. in a cash-and-stock deal worth $85 billion. The deal will create a distribution and content colossus, bringing together premium assets including satellite TV provider DirecTV, cellphone network AT&T Wireless, the Warner Bros. movie and television studios and HBO and Turner cable channels under one, massive corporate roof.

The legacy telephone company will pay $107.50 per share of Time Warner, which values the transaction at $85.4 billion, according to a statement released back then by the companies.

Time Warner executives will host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss the financials further. Most of the Q&A will probably focus on the AT&T deal, however.

For the record: A previous version of this story briefly stated that Time Warner missed on earnings expectations. That was incorrect. TheWrap regrets the error.

14 Billion-Dollar Acquisitions Before AT&T-Time Warner (Photos)

Think $85 billion is a lot of cash? Take a tour through the lurid amounts of money dropped on American media and content machines over the years.
1999: Disney Buys ABC
The alliance is such a potent brand that it's hard to imagine them as solo entities, but the $19.5 billion sale gave the Disney company an iconic TV brand to call its own.
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1999: Clear Channel buys AMFM Inc
The radio giant paid $20.6 billion for its rival AMFM, their 830 radio stations, 425,000 billboards and 19 TV stations per Forbes.
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1999: Viacom Buys CBS
Fifteen years ago, the media giant acquired the TV network for $34.1 billion. While the companies would split in 2006, always remember -- history repeats itself.
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2000: Time Warner and AOL Merge
It's often referred to as one of the most disastrous mergers in history. The $186.2 billion price tag seemed visionary at the time, but quickly devolved into a corporate culture way... and the of the dot-com collapse.
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2006: Disney Buys Pixar
In the first of a series of key moves from Disney CEO Bob Iger -- ones that would ensure long-term health and eventually see the company take record-breaking market share -- Steve Jobs was convinced to entrust the animation studio to them for a reported $7.4 billion.
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2009: Disney Buys Marvel
Iger's $4 billion purchase of the comic book studio changed the industry, secured Robert Downey Jr. as the highest paid actor in Hollywood and made a new constellation of stars and film franchises.
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2012: Disney Buys Lucasfilm
Bob Iger's hat trick was completed with a major coup in landing the "Star Wars" universe for $4 billion, which resulted in the No. 3 all-time top grossing film, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
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2013: Comcast Buys Remaining Stake in NBC
After purchasing a majority stake in 2011 for $30 billion, Comcast paid another $16.7 billion to wholly own the TV brand, film studio Universal and its California and Florida theme parks.
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2013: Yahoo Buys Tumblr
It's a relatively small price for a media acquisition, but spend-happy Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer raised a lot of eyebrows by paying $1 billion for the blogging platform Tumblr.
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2014: Facebook Buys WhatApp
While this is a straight-up tech acquisition, it's interesting to note that Facebook paid a staggering $22 billion for the European-based WhatsApp, a mobile application that lets users text for free over WiFi, to bolster their own messaging app. The company has repeatedly said it doesn't care to acquire content engines, but this signals a strong urge to level competition if they ever change their minds.
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2015: Activision Blizzard Buys King Mobile
The video game company literally spent $5.9 billion on fun and games. Mobile game company King counts the most successful app of all time, Candy Crush, and legacy social games like Bubble Witch in its stable. Now Activision gets to develop properties like a just-sold CBS game show based on Candy Crush.
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2016: Comcast Buys Dreamworks
After years of trying to offload his baby, Jeffrey Katzenberg fetched $3.8 billion for DWA and its respective franchises, like "Kung Fu Panda."
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2015: Dalian Wanda Buys Legendary Entertainment
A production company fetching $3.5 billion in a sale was not just jaw-dropping, it was an airhorn that the Chinese invasion into Hollywood had begun. It's also currently the benchmark for what many call inflated valuation... but Wanda's pockets are as deep as their patience is long.
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2016: Verizon Buys Yahoo
In a major deal that’s yet to formally close, Verizon is ponying up $4.83 billion for Yahoo’s core business, which includes advertising, content, search and mobile division.
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