The stock price of Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF-A) saw a 15% boost recently, on the back of Q4 results that beat analyst expectations. The company is going gangbusters with its TV operation, thanks in particular to the hit prison dramedy series Orange Is the New Black, which airs on Netflix.
But not all is so rosy for the company. In this clip from the Motley Fool Money radio show, Chris Hill and Matt Argersinger talk about why its earnings aren't as impressive as they initially seem, and they identify a key segment in which Lions Gate is really struggling to succeed.
A transcript follows the video.
This podcast was recorded on May 27, 2016.
Chris Hill: Fourth-quarter profits for Lions Gate Entertainment came in much higher than Wall Street was expecting, and shares up more than 10% on Thursday, Matty.
Matt Argersinger: Yeah. Nice gain. You have to remember that these results simply beat guidance that was already lowered significantly earlier this year. But here, the story's on the TV side. Revenue from TV productions up 71% to nearly $250 million. They had a really big new licensing deal with Netflix for Orange Is the New Black earlier in the year. That really drove the results there. But really not getting it done in the box office. Actually, I wanted to ask Steve, did you happen to go see Gods of Egypt?
Steve Broido: I don't even know what that is. Is that a film?
Argersinger: [laughs] Exactly! Apparently no one else did, either, because that was a really big miss for them in the quarter. They sunk a lot of money into it and it didn't do much at the box office. In many ways, Lions Gate is still that hit-or-miss business. But certainly, on the TV side, that's where the trend for content is going. If they can continue to hit home runs there, the business should do very well.
Hill: Four of the five biggest box office hits from Lions Gate are the four Hunger Games movies. Can they get that woman to write a few more books?
Argersinger: They could revitalize that, do a prequel, I don't know, do something.
