Versant Media reports Q1 2026 results: $1.69B revenue, $286M net income, $100M buyback

Versant Media reported first quarter 2026 revenue of $1.69 billion, down 1.1% year-over-year, with net income of $286 million (down 22.1%) and Adjusted EBITDA of $704 million (down 7.0%). The revenue decline was driven by a 7.3% drop in linear distribution revenue due to subscriber declines and a 5.2% decline in advertising revenue, partially offset by 9.5% growth in Platforms revenue and 113.5% growth in content licensing revenue. The company generated $558 million in free cash flow during the quarter.

The company repurchased 2,694,125 shares of Class A common stock for $100 million during Q1 2026, leaving approximately $900 million remaining under its authorization. The Board declared a second quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share payable July 22, 2026, and announced a planned $100 million accelerated share repurchase agreement commencing May 15, 2026, expected to complete in Q2 2026. These actions demonstrate active capital return to shareholders while maintaining balance sheet strength.

The Platforms segment delivered high single-digit revenue growth of 9.5% in Q1 2026, driven by Fandango (movie ticketing, VOD transactions, and the newly integrated Fandango1 cinema operator offering) and GolfNow (tee time bookings, payments, and subscriptions). GolfPass reached its highest subscriber count ever during the quarter. This growth partially offset declines in the company's traditional linear distribution and advertising businesses.

Content licensing and other revenue surged 113.5% in Q1 2026, driven by the timing of licensing agreements including a large deal for "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" and other library titles recognized in the quarter. This represents monetization of the company's content library, though such licensing revenue can be lumpy and timing-dependent quarter to quarter.

Versant Media Group reported Q1 2026 total revenue of $1,687 million, down slightly from $1,706 million in Q1 2025. Linear distribution revenue declined to $1,006 million from $1,085 million, while content licensing and other revenue more than doubled to $121 million from $57 million. The company separated from Comcast on January 2, 2026, and now operates as a standalone public company.

Net income attributable to Versant was $286 million in Q1 2026, down from $367 million in Q1 2025. Adjusted EBITDA was $704 million with a 42% margin, compared to standalone adjusted EBITDA of $672 million and 39% margin in Q1 2025. The company incurred $5 million in transaction and transaction-related costs in Q1 2026 related to the Comcast separation.

Following the January 2, 2026 separation from Comcast, Versant incurred incremental costs including commercial agreements with Comcast (primarily for advertising and promotional inventory) and new corporate administrative functions required for a standalone public company. These include external reporting, internal audit, treasury, investor relations, board of directors, and stock administration functions that were previously provided by Comcast.

The company disclosed that all 2025 financial information is derived from Comcast's historical records using allocations and carve-out methodologies, and may not reflect actual standalone results. Management explicitly states this historical information may not be indicative of future performance or reflect actual expenses that would have been incurred as an independent company.

The company disclosed its financial results for the first quarter of 2026 ending March 31, 2026. The 8-K itself does not contain the actual financial figures; those are in the attached press release (Exhibit 99.1), which was not provided in this filing body.