AMC Global Media Streaming Revenue Rises 6% in Q2, U.S. Ad Sales Down 11%
AMC Global Media reported its second-quarter 2026 earnings Thursday on the heels of announcing a $500 million co-exclusive streaming deal with Netflix for “The Walking Dead.” Streaming revenue for the second ...
AMC Global Media reported its second-quarter 2026 earnings Thursday on the heels of announcing a $500 million co-exclusive streaming deal with Netflix for “The Walking Dead.”
Streaming revenue for the second quarter, which ran March-May, increased 6% year over year to $180 million.
U.S. ad sales were down 11% at $109 million, with AMC noting that figure included “the one-time impact of a now resolved system integration issue in the second quarter” and excluding that factor “advertising revenue declined in the mid- single digit percent area.”
In Q2, AMC Global says “restructuring and other related charges” came to $1.3 million, including a $800,000 charge due to its restructuring plan in its International segment and $500,000 related to severance charges.
AMC has updated its full-year revenue forecast to between $2.4 billion-$2.5 billion based on the estimated impact of the new “The Walking Dead” licensing agreement with Netflix. Under the deal, AMC expects to receive a cash payment of approximately $25 million this year and annual cash payments of approximately $100 million in 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030, and the remaining amount in 2031.
Per AMC, “As a result of the extended payment terms, the aggregate revenue that the Company will recognize will be based on the present value of future payments, which is estimated to be approximately $445 million. In each of 2026 and 2027, the Company expects to recognize annual revenue related to the license agreement between $200 million to $225 million.”
Currently, AMC Global Media’s streaming portfolio consists of AMC+, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now, ALLBLK, HIDIVE and All Reality. AMC’s linear networks include AMC, BBC AMERICA (which includes U.S. distribution and sales for BBC News), IFC, SundanceTV and We TV. The company also owns film distribution labels Independent Film Company and RLJE Films (which it acquired outright in Q4), and in-house studio AMC Studios.
During its last quarterly earnings results in May, AMC said it will no longer report streaming subscribers on a regular quarterly basis moving forward. At that time, AMC said streaming subscribers had fallen 1% year-over-year to 10.1 million during the January-March quarter. AMC did not disclose a new streaming subscriber count for Q2 on Thursday.
Overall, AMC Global Media’s domestic revenue fell 11% to $470 million in Q2. U.S. subscription revenue was down 5% ($306 million) and affiliate revenue dropped 17% ($126 million). Content licensing sales plunged 34% to $56 million.
Turning to international operations, AMC saw subscription revenue tick down 1% ($46 million) while ad sales climbed 13% ($29.4 million) and content licensing rose 6% ($2.6 million). Total international revenue for Q2 was up 4% at $79 million.
Wall Street forecast a loss of earnings per share (EPS) of 7 cents on $554.65 million in revenue, according to analyst consensus data provided by LSEG. AMC reported an adjusted loss per share of 28 cents on $547 million in revenue.
“We are pleased to announce today an expansion of our relationship with a key long-term partner, Netflix,” AMC Global Media CEO Kristin Dolan said in a letter to shareholders accompanying the financial results. “We have reached a global co-exclusive licensing agreement for the streaming rights to the entire Walking Dead Universe, which will provide a meaningful source of cash flow for years to come. We renewed distribution agreements with major partners Comcast and YouTube. We are increasing our guidance for the full year as we leverage the value of our IP, the importance of our studio and the strength of our partner relationships, particularly in the area of distribution.”