AMC Networks — the entertainment conglomerate that includes a number of popular cable channels, including AMC, IFC and SundanceTV — posted a 25 percent increase in profit year-over-year, but missed on revenue estimates, when reporting its third quarter earnings before the opening bell on Thursday.
The network behind “Better Call Saul” and “The Walking Dead” posted $648 million in revenue and $1.68 adjusted earnings per share for the three months ended Sept. 30. That adjusted EPS number was up 41 percent versus the comparable three-month period last year, by the way.
The company narrowly missed on analyst projections of $660 million in revenue, but easily cleared estimates of $1.17 EPS. AMC Network’s sales were up 2.1 percent year-over-year.
AMC Networks President and CEO Josh Sapan pointed to the company’s nimbleness in adjusting to the changing television landscape in a statement accompanying earnings.
“We delivered strong financial performance in the third quarter, and we are on track to meet our 2017 full-year financial targets of total company revenue and adjusted operating income growth,” Sapan said in a statement. “Our results reflect the consistent execution of our long-term strategy of investing in high-quality, immersive content that is resulting in growing demand among traditional distributors, virtual MVPDs, advertisers and consumers; and, importantly, is giving us the ability to monetize the demand for our content through new revenue streams.”
“In an evolving media and entertainment marketplace, AMC Networks is well positioned based on our size, our pricing and our content, which includes 4 of the highest-rated dramas on all of basic cable, giving us the ability to continue to further invest in our content, our brands and new businesses,” the boss concluded.
The highlight for Sapan’s AMC was clearing $108 million in adjusted earnings — a big jump from the $86 million it pulled in during Q3 of 2016.
To fend off the attack from streaming powerhouses, AMC launched its own over-the-top service over the summer — AMC Premiere; the $5 a month platform lets users watch shows online at the same time they debut on old school television, attempting to thread the needle between industry stalwarts like Netflix and traditional TV.
Shares of AMC Networks have been beaten up during the last three months, with the company’s stock falling about 21 percent to $50.99 before markets opened on Thursday.
The company will hold a call to discuss earnings at 11 a.m. EST.