AMC Global Media missed Wall Street targets for the third quarter on Monday. A large legal settlement and a shrinking cable business outweighed early benefits from its “Walking Dead” licensing deal with Netflix. Revenue reached $566 million, less than 1% above last year and short of the $585 million analysts expected. The company posted a diluted loss of $1.13 per share, against a $1.38 profit a year earlier, while analysts had forecast a loss of one cent.
A settlement drove much of the damage. AMC paid $85 million in cash toward a $120 million resolution of a breach-of-contract case tied to “The Walking Dead” and “Fear the Walking Dead,” with the remaining $35 million due by Jan. 31.
The core business continued to erode. Subscription revenue slipped 2% to $308 million as affiliate revenue fell 11% on losses in basic cable subscribers. Streaming revenue grew 4% to $181 million. AMC sold the streamer ALLBLK in late August for a $3.7 million pre-tax gain, and the buyer, Macro, signed a long-term content licensing agreement with AMC.
The Netflix windfall has yet to show up. AMC announced in July that Netflix would hold co-exclusive global streaming rights to all seven “Walking Dead” series, worth $500 million over five years, after which the rights return to AMC. Chief financial officer Hozefa Lokhandwala told analysts the company expects $460 million to $485 million in domestic content licensing revenue this year, and that “the majority of that revenue will be recognized in the fourth quarter.” The original series will also stream on AMC+ for the first time early next year.
That back-loaded timing puts the fourth quarter under scrutiny. After the deal, AMC set 2026 revenue guidance of $2.4 billion to $2.45 billion, including roughly $200 million to $225 million in Walking Dead licensing revenue. Skeptics have said the franchise payout may mask weakness elsewhere. A pre-earnings analysis asked whether the deal would serve as a bridge or a bandage for a business still losing cable subscribers.
Chief executive Kristin Dolan has defended the arrangement. She described the second quarter as “lumpy” and called Netflix an incredible partner for the franchise. Revenue in that quarter fell 9% as the cable industry kept shrinking. Monday’s report shows modest growth replacing that decline, though the gains came from streaming price increases and one-time items rather than a stronger cable base. Investors now wait for the year-end results to confirm that the licensing revenue arrives on schedule.
