Lionsgate Posts Sharply Higher Revenue Powered by Library IP

Lionsgate released its latest financial results on Thursday amid renewed takeover chatter around the major Hollywood studio, and as it posted sharply higher overall revenues and a narrowing loss in the second quarter of fiscal 2027.

The studio, led by CEO Jon Feltheimer, posted a second quarter net loss attributable to shareholders at $15.5 million, compared to a year-earlier $113.5 million, on overall studio revenue rising 41 percent to $668.8 million, against a year-earlier $475.1 million. That beat an analyst consensus for $627.6 million in overall revenues in the latest quarter.

Lionsgate posted an earnings per-share loss of 5 cents, compared to a year-earlier per-share loss of 39 cents. The adjusted OIBDA came to $72 million.

Lionsgate said its film and TV library, a major profit driver, generated $1.04 billion over the trailing 12 months, its second highest quarterly watermark. That massive studio library — a 20,000-title film and TV portfolio — houses active franchise IP like John Wick, Hunger Games as well as blue-chip library brands for live experiences and merchandising like Twilight, Oscar best picture winner La La Land and Dirty Dancing.

Lionsgate became a standalone company after splitting from the Starz premium cable and streaming service. The Jon Feltheimer-run studio recently became the subject of M&A chatter on Wall Street after Legendary reportedly submitted a takeover offer.

Lionsgate is also looking to build on a rebound for its Motion Pictures division after the release of Michael and The Housemaid and ahead of the The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping theatrical rollout in mid-November.

The company’s studios business, which combines the Motion Picture and TV production segments, saw Motion Picture segment revenue jump 30 percent to $359.3 million, compared to $276.4 million in the year-ago period. The key driver was the release of the Michael biopic and strong library revenue. And TV production segment revenue rose 56 percent to $309.5 million, against a year-earlier $198.7 million, on higher episodic deliveries, including for The Hunting Wives and The Studio.

The segment profit for the Motion Picture division, a key metric, came in at $88.7 million, compared to a year-earlier $30.5 million. The TV production segment profit was up sharply $21.6 million, against a year-earlier $12.5 million.

“Our strong performance in the quarter reflects all of the pieces of our fiscal 2027 plan coming together, reaffirming our confidence in this year’s forecast of significant adjusted OIBDA growth,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said in a statement that accompanied his latest results. “We had very positive momentum in the quarter as we continued to set in place our film tentpoles for the next three years. Combined with another great library performance and continued encouraging signs in our broader operating environment, we have growing visibility into our continued growth trajectory in fiscals 2028 and 2029.”