What happened
Shares of Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF-A -0.29%) (LGF-B -0.72%) closed Friday's trading session up 25.3% and 25.7%, respectively. The movie and TV studio reported stellar fiscal 2023 third-quarter results, and investors were starving for some good news.
So what
For the period, which ended Dec. 31, Lions Gate's sales rose 13% year over year to a cool $1.0 billion. Adjusted earnings soared from $0.02 per diluted share to $0.26 per diluted share over the same period. The average analyst was expecting its revenues to shrink by 2% while earnings were supposed to stop at $0.19 per share. The studio breezed by both targets by a wide margin.
Now what
The bulk of Lions Gate's sales growth came from its television production segment, where six shows were renewed during the fiscal third quarter.
Its share price has nearly doubled since it hit a cyclical low in early January. Investors are starting to see a future for Lions Gate's popular content franchises and promising video-streaming operations again. That being said, Lions Gate's stock still remains more than 37% below the multiyear high it touched in summer 2021.
All things considered, this media company is hardly the safest investment on the planet, but Lions Gate looks more investable after this robust report. Yes, the stock is less affordable now, but that's because the company showed off some muscles that many investors were starting to forget it had. Its TV production department, above all else, is punching way above its weight class right now.
