AMC Networks NASDAQ: AMCX executives highlighted streaming revenue growth, improving advertising trends, and continued free cash flow generation during the company’s first quarter 2026 earnings call, while also discussing plans for additional debt reduction and share repurchases.
First-quarter results and full-year outlook
CEO Kristin Dolan said the company had “yet another successful quarter of double-digit streaming revenue growth and robust free cash flow generation,” adding that AMC also saw “a notable improvement in first quarter advertising revenue trends.” Dolan said the company is “tracking to plan across all key metrics” and reiterated its 2026 financial outlook.
Chief Accounting Officer Mike Sherin said first-quarter consolidated net revenue declined 2% year-over-year to $542 million. Consolidated adjusted operating income (AOI) declined 34% to $69 million, representing a 13% margin. Free cash flow totaled $65 million in the quarter.
Management reiterated its 2026 outlook, which includes:
- Consolidated revenue of approximately $2.25 billion
- Consolidated AOI of approximately $350 million
- Free cash flow of at least $200 million
Sherin said AOI is expected to be “back half weighted due to the timing of licensing revenue and streaming rate events,” and he called out that second-quarter AOI is expected to be “the low point for the year” due to revenue dynamics and the timing of expenses, including increased marketing tied to series premieres.
Streaming strategy, bundles, and subscriber reporting changes
Dolan emphasized that streaming revenue is now the company’s “number one source of domestic revenue,” and said AMC expects “stable domestic subscription revenue this year.” Sherin said domestic subscription revenue declined 3% year-over-year, with streaming revenue growth of 11% offset by a 16% decline in affiliate revenue tied primarily to ongoing subscriber declines in the broader pay-TV ecosystem.
The company reported ending the quarter with 10.1 million streaming subscribers, compared with 10.2 million in the prior-year period. Sherin said retention in the first quarter was consistent with both the fourth quarter and the prior year’s first quarter, and that engagement reached “a five-year high.”
However, Dolan said AMC will stop reporting streaming subscribers quarterly as the company continues focusing on free cash flow rather than subscriber targets. “Because of this, we will no longer report streaming subscribers quarterly, although we will provide meaningful updates from time to time,” she said.
On distribution, Dolan highlighted “hard bundle arrangements” with partners including Charter and Philo, saying the company has seen 1.8 million hard bundle activations to date. She added that DIRECTV will hard bundle the ad-supported version of AMC+ into its video service later this year.
Asked about the strategy behind direct-to-consumer versus bundled acquisition, Dolan said AMC’s goal is to make its products available “everywhere we can,” and described the approach with distribution partners as largely blended. “We love the hard bundle scenario because for us, embedded in that is all the ancillary marketing that we get from partners,” she said.
Advertising trends improve as digital grows
Domestic advertising revenue declined 5% in the quarter, which Sherin attributed primarily to lower marketplace pricing. Still, Dolan pointed to improved trends, and President and Chief Commercial Officer Kim Kelleher said the company was “pleased with the ad revenue trends in Q1” and is seeing that strength continue into Q2.
Kelleher said AMC has “embraced the viewership changes that have come with streaming and FAST in AVOD,” and described a focus on optimizing digital delivery and yield. She said digital growth was up 44% versus the first quarter of 2025.
On linear, Kelleher said AMC is seeing increased viewership that “reflects the strength of our programming,” including higher ratings for originals in key demos. She also characterized the overall ad market as healthier than the same period last year heading into the upfront market.
Responding to a question about softness in rates alongside solid revenue performance, Kelleher said softer pricing was tied to the “increased ratings and available inventory” in the quarter. “Because of the largeness of the ratings increases, we’ve seen a little bit of softness,” she said, while adding that the company was “in very good shape.”
Content pipeline, FAST expansion, and licensing focus
Dolan outlined a slate of programming updates, including the greenlight of a multi-generational racing drama produced with NASCAR called Thunder Road, with Dennis Quaid in the lead role. Dolan said AMC is already seeing “notable inbound interest from advertising partners” in the series.
AMC also renewed its sports docuseries Rise in partnership with the NFL and Skydance Sports. Dolan said the next installment, Rise of the Saints, will focus on the New Orleans Saints and is expected to premiere early next year, with Eli Manning and Archie Manning participating.
Dolan also highlighted an upcoming partnership with Meta to make AMC streaming apps available on Meta Quest headsets, starting with AMC+ later this year.
In streaming, Dolan cited Acorn TV’s “Murder Mystery May” programming event and highlighted You’re Killing Me, a Brooke Shields series premiering May 18. She also said AMC is producing a second season of Irish Blood, which she said became the strongest show in terms of acquisition in Acorn’s history. Dolan said the company’s newer service, All Reality, is seeing “strong initial growth” driven by franchises including Love After Lockup, Mama June, and Bridezillas, and is now available through Roku and Apple after launching on Amazon last year.
On FAST, Dolan said AMC has more than 40 FAST channels and plans to launch 12 more in the coming months, while expanding FAST distribution in the U.K., LATAM, and Spain.
Content licensing also remained a key theme. Dolan said AMC has been “opportunistic around the deep library” it owns, and described internal efforts to improve inventory management so teams can more effectively surface rights available for licensing. Kelleher called the current licensing environment “a very robust and competitive market.”
Management also discussed The Walking Dead rights returning to AMC in early 2027, noting the company has aligned rights to January 2027 and is envisioning co-exclusive licensing arrangements. Dolan said AMC is “actively engaged in discussions with several major platforms,” and described significant inbound interest in the franchise. In response to an analyst question, Sherin said that for 2026, The Walking Dead rights are not included in the company’s estimated AOI outlook of approximately $350 million.
Balance sheet actions and share repurchases
Sherin said AMC retired its senior secured notes due 2029, exchanging the majority for existing 2032 notes to extend maturity, and redeeming the remaining portion with cash after quarter end. He said the company plans to pay down its remaining Term Loan A and terminate its credit facility “next week,” actions he said would leave roughly three-quarters of total debt not due until July 2032.
AMC also announced plans to repurchase approximately $30 million of Class A common stock through an accelerated share repurchase (ASR). Sherin said the company’s capital allocation priorities remain investing in content, generating free cash flow, and managing the balance sheet through debt reduction and maturity extensions, while returning capital to shareholders “occasionally and opportunistically.”
Dan McDermott, Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, said the ASR structure provides more certainty due to “lower float and volume limitations,” describing open-market repurchases as “kind of a grind” in the stock.
On a pro forma basis reflecting post-quarter-end redemptions and planned transactions, Sherin said AMC expects to have approximately $428 million of balance sheet cash and pro forma net debt and finance leases of approximately $1.3 billion, representing pro forma net leverage of 3.5x.
Separately, Dolan said the company’s search for a new CFO is progressing and that AMC will provide an update when it has news to share.
About AMC Networks NASDAQ: AMCX
AMC Networks Inc NASDAQ: AMCX is a global entertainment company that specializes in the development, production and distribution of premium content for television and streaming platforms. Headquartered in New York City, the company operates a portfolio of pay television channels in the U.S. and abroad, and offers direct-to-consumer streaming services that feature both original programming and licensed fare. AMC Networks is best known for critically acclaimed series such as “Breaking Bad,” “Mad Men” and “The Walking Dead,” and it continues to invest in new scripted and unscripted content across a range of genres.
The company's core television networks in the United States include AMC, IFC, Sundance TV and WE tv, while its joint venture with BBC Studios supports BBC America.
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