How Hollywood Stocks Fared During the First Quarter of 2025 Amid Trump, Recession Fears

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2025’s Hollywood stock market debut has had its ups and downs, yet several stocks have managed to exceed the steeper drop seen in the general stock market as a whole.

The growth in streaming revenues at major industry players and anticipation of further consolidation or strategic restructuring has boosted investor confidence, yet struggles for traditional cable networks and uncertainties about regulatory policies during President Donald Trump’s second term, along with economic recession concerns, have weighed on media stocks.

Good news for streaming companies like Netflix, bad news for traditional cable providers like Comcast, due to changes in the industry, uncertain regulations, and fears of a recession.

Peter Supino of Wolfe Research stated in a report dated March 31 that the ‘Trump put’ significantly decreased in value during March. He summarized his findings as follows: In the realm of media and entertainment, Roku and Sphere Entertainment are the companies facing the greatest risk, whereas Netflix and Liberty Media’s Formula One Group appear to be the most secure. Regarding telecom and cable, Comcast is the company with the highest risk, while telcos seem to be the most resilient.

Netflix, the leading streaming platform, saw an impressive surge of 90% to reach $891.32 in 2024. However, it only experienced a modest increase of 4.6% to finish at $932.53 on Monday. After the release of Netflix’s fourth-quarter earnings report, financial analysts on Wall Street anticipate further growth in the future.

In the first three months of 2025, the projected paths for numerous entertainment company stocks changed dramatically. Following a 27% decline in their value throughout 2024, Paramount Global’s stock, which is expected to be taken over by David Ellison’s Skydance Media by mid-year, experienced an increase of 14.3 percent and closed at $11.96 on March 31.

Instead, let me rephrase that for you: In contrast, Comcast, the company owned by chairman and CEO Brian Roberts, was the first major entertainment firm to announce the spinoff of its primary cable networks into a separate entity in late November. The media conglomerate closed out Q1 with a 1.4% decrease, leaving its share price at $36.90.

In a parallel development, Disney, which has seen a resurgence since Bob Iger’s return as CEO and posted a 23% increase last year, experienced a 11% decrease in its stock price to $98.70 during the initial three months of 2025. On the other hand, Warner Bros. Discovery shares slightly increased by 0.6% to $10.73 on March 31. This rise followed a similar move made by Comcast when it spun off its cable networks in December.

Under Lachlan Murdoch’s leadership, Fox Corporation has experienced a remarkable growth trajectory since his father, Rupert Murdoch, transitioned to the position of Chairman Emeritus. In 2024 alone, the company saw a staggering 60% increase in its stock value and has maintained this positive momentum throughout 2025. As of the close of trading in 2025, the shares stood at a year-to-date gain of 15.5%, amounting to $56.60 each.

Contrastingly, during the first quarter of 2025, the S&P 500 stock index, which covers a wide range of companies, fell by approximately 4.6% to finish at $5,611.85 – its poorest three-year quarterly performance.

2023 saw Lionsgate, a major Hollywood player, make significant strides. However, in 2024, it experienced a setback, losing approximately 26% of its standing. Yet, the studio managed to reverse this trend in the first part of 2025. This upturn is due to the upcoming separation of Lionsgate’s studios business from Starz, which will result in two independent publicly traded companies: Starz Entertainment Corp. and Lionsgate Studios. As of Monday, Lionsgate’s stock price had increased by 1.8% over the first three months of this year, closing at $7.92.

Among smaller entertainment firms, AMC Networks experienced a decline in the final quarter of 2024, dropping by 48%. This downward trend persisted into the first quarter of the following year, with a further decrease of 31%, closing at $6.88. In contrast, TKO Group – the proprietor of UFC and WWE – saw its stock surge by 74% in the previous year. Remarkably, this upward momentum has carried over into the current year, with the stock climbing another 7%, ending at $152.81.

2025’s initial quarter saw varying performances in the cinema industry. Shares for AMC Theatres’ parent company, AMC Entertainment Holdings, dropped by 28.6%, closing at $2.87. Similarly, Cinemark’s stock dipped 19.6% to reach $24.89. However, Imax Corp.’s shares bucked the trend, climbing 5% to $26.35 by Monday’s market close.

In the initial quarter of 2025, Roku’s shares closed at a decrease of 5.4%, amounting to $70.44 each. Simultaneously, Sphere Entertainment’s stocks plummeted by 21%, finishing the day at $32.72 per share.

As a music enthusiast, I’ve got some exciting news to share about the performance of my favorite entertainment stocks during Q1! Warner Music Group shares rose by 1% to $31.35, while Universal Music Group, based in Amsterdam, saw its stock increase by 2.8%. In contrast, iHeartMedia closed at $1.65, dropping a significant 16.62%, and SiriusXM’s stock price dipped 1% to $22.55. Despite the slight dip, I’m still thrilled to see my beloved music groups on the rise!

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2025-04-01 15:54