Lionsgate’s Latest Quarter Blows Past Forecasts As Film Slate Revs Up
Lionsgate Studios saw revenue jump 18% to $724 million with operating income at $85 million, well above Wall Street forecasts, in a solid FY26 third quarter. The company’s fiscal year ends in March.
Motion Picture revenue of $421 million grew by 35% year-over-year driven by the releases of The Housemaid and Now You See Me: Now You Don’t.
The Housemaid came out December 19 so had just 12 days of domestic box office reflected in Q3 with most of the contribution hitting in the current fourth quarter and into fiscal 2027. Film segment profit of $58.5 million was squeezed by significantly higher P&A spend, which also contributed to a doubling Lionsgate’s net loss from the year before to about $44 million for the three months ended in September.
Television Production revenue of $303 million and segment profit of $55.7 million both declined from the year earlier period due to the timing of episodic deliveries, partially offset by strength in TV library revenue.
Trailing 12-month total library revenue rose 10% from the prior year to a record $1.05 billion, marking the 5th consecutive quarter of record library revenue.
“I’m pleased to report a quarter that keeps us on track for our fiscal 2026 financial targets and positions us for significant growth in fiscal 2027 and beyond,” said CEO Jon Feltheimer. “Our investment in our IP portfolio is achieving its intended results: our film and television pipelines are strong, our library continues to grow, and our extension of franchise properties across multiple platforms continues to increase.”
He’ll be hosting a call at 5 ET.
Lionsgate stock, which has been on a bit of a tear over the past six months amid media merger mania, popped on the numbers, trading up 2% at $8.98. As Seaport Global analyst David Joyce put it, the battle for Warner Bros Discovery “should create a second-level demand for scale by the remaining players in the industry.”
More to come
