Versant Posts 34-Cent EPS Beat as Digital Platforms Grow 10%

Versant Media earned 34 cents per share in the third quarter, nearly seven times the 5 cents Wall Street analysts expected, as revenue from its digital platforms grew almost 10% year over year. The company reported the results Tuesday and reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance.

Digital platform revenue reached $245 million, including what the company called "significant growth" in ticketing at Fandango. Versant said Fandango posted its highest ticketing revenue since the pandemic. The caveat sits in the advertising line: ad revenue fell 5.3% to $373 million, a decline the company attributed mainly to the comparison against last year's Ryder Cup broadcast.

Total revenue slipped to $1.59 billion from $1.66 billion a year earlier. LSEG analysts had expected $1.57 billion, though Versant said the comparison was not immediately clear. The company noted the figure reflects its acquisition of golf simulation company Full Swing and the sale of sports management software firm SportsEngine.

What do the numbers show?

Net income came in at $47 million, or 34 cents per share, down from $80 million, or 56 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted EBITDA of $353 million beat the $305 million consensus estimate from StreetAccount.

Versant completed four major distribution renewals this year, following its spinoff from Comcast's NBCUniversal.

"We're building deeper consumer relationships, expanding our reach and creating new opportunities for growth and monetization across our four core markets," CEO Mark Lazarus said in a statement.

The promise is broad; the measurement of "deeper relationships" is not specified. What the company did quantify: its networks reached more than 120 million viewers monthly in the quarter, with aggregate viewership up by double digits year over year.

The portfolio includes CNBC, MS NOW, Golf Channel and other cable and digital properties. Disclosure: Versant Media is the parent company of CNBC.

Where is growth coming from?

Versant launched two new products in the quarter as growth drivers: MS NOW's direct-to-consumer offering and Fandango's on-demand product. CNBC is expected to launch its own direct-to-consumer product next year.

Those launches matter because the legacy business keeps shrinking. Linear TV revenue declined 5.8% to $935 million, pressured by cord-cutting and subscriber declines. That segment still represents roughly 59% of total quarterly revenue — about $935 million out of $1.59 billion — which underscores how much of the diversification plan remains ahead.

Executives have said they intend to shift the revenue mix so that digital, platform, subscription, ad-supported and transactional businesses eventually supply 50% of the total. The company began trading on the Nasdaq in January after separating from Comcast.

Live sports remains a bright spot. Versant reported "robust audience engagement" and said WNBA viewership on its USA Sports networks ran 25% above the prior year's cable average. Whether that engagement converts into durable advertising gains is the question the company did not address.

What happens to the guidance and the buyback?

Versant reaffirmed its full-year revenue outlook of $6.2 billion to $6.45 billion and its adjusted EBITDA outlook of $1.9 billion to $2.05 billion. It raised one component, saying it now expects free cash flow to exceed its prior range of $1 billion to $1.2 billion.

The company also announced an additional $100 million accelerated stock repurchase program beginning Wednesday, with the transaction expected to be completed during the fourth quarter.

The buyback signals confidence in cash generation, but the deeper test is structural: whether digital platform growth — running at roughly $245 million a quarter — can outrun the roughly $935 million-per-quarter linear decline. The CNBC streaming launch next year will be the next measurable marker of that shift.