Starz (STRZ) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

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DATE

May 7, 2026, 5 p.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• President and CEO — Jeffrey Hirsch

• Chief Financial Officer — Scott MacDonald

• President of Domestic Networks — Alison Hoffman

• Chief Strategy Officer — Nilay Shah

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Full Conference Call Transcript

Jeffrey Hirsch: Thank you, Nilay, and convey you each for joining us. Today marks the 1-year day of our separation. The Starz of contiguous is structurally stronger than the concern was erstwhile we separated a twelvemonth ago. Over the past 12 months, we've made important strides successful mounting the concern up for semipermanent worth creation. We person been laser-focused connected achieving our fiscal goals of expanding margins to 20%, converting 70% of adjusted OIBDA to unlevered escaped currency travel and delevering to 2.5x arsenic rapidly arsenic possible.

I'm blessed to study successful our archetypal year, we person met oregon exceeded each our cardinal fiscal targets, created a caller licensing gross watercourse by restructuring the Canadian business, started to rebuild our contented room done ownership, announced our archetypal co-commission partner, helping to amended portion economics of our originals, the aged our slate portion expanding our astir fashionable franchises. And overall, we person unwound galore of the constraints of operating wrong a workplace structure. As I outlined connected the past call, calendar '26 volition service arsenic a fiscal inflection constituent for the business. Cash travel timing is present person aligned with manufacture norms.

Adjusted OIBDA is becoming much predictable and consistent, and we are managing the concern against the metrics that substance most: OTT gross growth, adjusted OIBDA, escaped currency travel and delevering. We are disconnected to a large commencement successful calendar '26. We had a beardown archetypal quarter, gathering oregon exceeding each fiscal guides, which Scott volition sermon successful much detail. Our structural enactment is showing up straight successful the numbers, and our contented continues to perform. The finale of Power Book IV: Force started the 4th disconnected strong. The premier Season 8 of Outlander achieved a 4-year bid precocious successful its Premier Week.

And conscionable aft the quarter, we released -- the Housemaid and it rapidly acceptable records arsenic our best-performing Pay 1 movie successful some acquisition and streaming viewership. I expect this momentum volition proceed done the year. We person 1 of the strongest contented slates up with our proven deed series, Raising Kanan, Outlander: Blood of my Blood and P-Valley, supported by the upcoming MICHAEL biopic. Congratulations to John and the Lionsgate squad for the large container bureau performance. It volition further fortify our already robust docket this year. In summation to our lineup of returning series, we announced this week that our archetypal STARZ owned archetypal Fightland, volition premiere successful conscionable a fewer months connected July 31.