David Zaslav, the chief executive of Warner Bros.
Mr. Zaslav’s compensation for 2023 is notable, however, because Warner Bros.
Losses totaled $3 billion in 2023, which was actually an improvement from $7 billion in losses the year before.
In addition, Warner Bros.
Discovery shareholders sent a clear message about Mr. Zaslav’s pay at the company’s most recent annual meeting: It’s too high.
For 2023, the Warner Bros.
In terms of free cash flow, Warner Bros.
Free cash flow totaled $6.2 billion, an 86 percent increase from the year before, vastly more than Wall Street had expected.
David Zaslav is the CEO of Warner Bros. According to a proxy statement that was submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, Discovery was compensated $49.7 million in the previous year, a 26 percent increase over the previous year.
Media CEOs frequently receive enormous compensation packages. But Mr. Dot Zaslav’s 2023 pay is noteworthy because Warner Bros. Not exactly a depiction of health, is Discovery. In 2023, losses came to $3 billion, a decrease from the previous year’s losses of $7 billion. The company’s declining cable television division, which includes CNN, was a major factor in the 4% decline in revenue.
Furthermore, Warner Bros. During the most recent annual meeting of the company, Discovery shareholders made it very clear that they felt Mr. Zaslav’s pay was excessive.
The $39.3 million he received in 2022 was approved by just 50.8% of shareholders in a nonbinding “say on pay” vote. Leading corporate governance firm ISS classifies approval with less than 70% of the vote as “low support.”.
2023 will see the Warner Bros. Top executives’ compensation formulas were modified by Discovery Board. The modification pertained to specific bonuses – linking them less to the stock price of the company and more to the creation of free cash flow, which is advantageous in debt repayment. (Share prices have recently dropped from $24 to roughly $8 over the past two years. ( ).
Talking about free cash flow, Warner Bros. In 2023, Discovery had an incredible year. Wall Street had much lower expectations than free cash flow, which came in at $6.2 billion, an 86 percent increase from the previous year. This was partially due to better financial results at the streaming division of the business, which turned a profit. The six-month Hollywood shutdown caused by union strikes also helped to reduce production costs.
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