Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD)
Studios and networks, 35,500 employees, 48% U.S.. Read October 2, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending December 31, 2025, filed February 27, 2026. Ranked 10 of the 11 Communication Services companies read so far, by the share within reach now.
Within reach now
22%
End of 2028
54%
Employees, annual report
35,500
Leading staffing pattern
Motion Picture and Video Industries
Share of the working time within reach, long-run pace, four times in five
- Now22%
- End of 202745%
- End of 202854%
- End of 203056%
What changes for its people by the end of 2028, by its industries' figures
- Stays with people 44%
- Becomes checking a model's work 42%
- Handed over with lighter checks 10%
The filing states the total and the U.S. share, nothing by segment, so the studio and networks shares are by description (c), said so.
The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
What follows from the reading
Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 22% now, 45% at the end of 2027, 54% at the end of 2028, 56% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 56% desk work, 23% people work and 21% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 44% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 42% becomes checking a model's work and 10% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.
Headcount
35,500 employees as of December 31, 2025 (stated). 48% in the U.S. and 52% outside.
The filing: “As of December 31, 2025, we had approximately 35,500 employees, including full-time and part-time employees of our wholly-owned subsidiaries and consolidated ventures, with 48% located in the U.S. and 52% located outside of the U.S.”
The workforce as industry patterns
| Pattern | Share | Reason, from the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Motion Picture and Video Industries | 50% | The studios make films and television programs (content licensing 26% of revenue, and the production behind distribution and advertising revenue); the filing states no count by segment, so the share is by description (c). |
| Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers | 50% | The networks and the streaming service distribute content and sell advertising (distribution 50% of revenue, advertising 21%); by description (c), with no count stated. |
What the filing says about the workforce: About 35,500 full-time and part-time employees of wholly-owned subsidiaries and consolidated ventures, 48% in the U.S.; on-site wellness centers in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and London; enrollment in the stock purchase plan suspended for 2026.
What the filing says about AI
13 sentences in the filing name AI. Thirteen sentences: generative AI's uncertain impact on its intellectual property rights and the law around its content, and the risk that competitors gain an advantage by using it.
- “Further, new technologies such as generative AI and their impact on our intellectual property rights remain uncertain, and development of the law in this area could impact our ability to protect against infringing uses or result in infringement claims against us.”
- “Changes to these laws and regulations, including changes to the law surrounding the use of new technology such as AI, could either strengthen or weaken our ability to license and protect our content and combat its theft or misuse. 13 Foreign Laws and Regulations The foreign jurisdictions in which our products and services are offered have, in varying degrees, laws and regulations governing our...”
- “In addition, new technology, including generative artificial intelligence ("AI"), is evolving rapidly and becoming more prevalent in business operations and content generation, and our ability to compete could be adversely affected if our competitors gain an advantage by using such technologies.”
- “The advertising market is also evolving and sensitive to general economic conditions, consumer buying patterns, advertising agency influences (such as how those advertising agencies manage their clients' marketing budgets and negotiate for our advertising inventory), and developments in AI technology.”
- “The use of AI tools in advertising technology is also becoming more prevalent.”
Its annual reports, year by year
Sentences naming AI in each annual report, counted by one rule, beside the median report in the Index that year. Each count links its filing. Every company, by year and sector
- Fiscal 20210median 0
- Fiscal 20220median 0
- Fiscal 20235median 1
- Fiscal 20246median 4
- Fiscal 202513median 10
Headcount by filing year
As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.
| Period | Employees | Filed | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-12-31 | 35,500 | 2026-02-27 | 10-K |
| 2024-12-31 | 35,000 | 2025-02-27 | 10-K |
| 2023-12-31 | 35,300 | 2024-02-23 | 10-K |
| 2022-12-31 | 37,500 | 2023-02-24 | 10-K |
| 2021-12-31 | 11,000 | 2022-02-24 | 10-K |
| 2020-12-31 | 9,800 | 2021-02-22 | 10-K |
| 2019-12-31 | 9,200 | 2020-02-27 | 10-K |
| 2018-12-31 | 9,000 | 2019-03-01 | 10-K |
| 2017-12-31 | 7,000 | 2018-02-28 | 10-K |
| 2016-12-31 | 7,000 | 2017-02-14 | 10-K |
| 2015-12-31 | 7,000 | 2016-02-18 | 10-K |
| 2014-12-31 | 6,800 | 2015-02-19 | 10-K |
| 2013-12-31 | 5,700 | 2014-02-20 | 10-K |
| 2012-12-31 | 4,500 | 2013-02-14 | 10-K |
| 2011-12-31 | 4,600 | 2012-02-17 | 10-K |
| 2010-12-31 | 4,200 | 2011-02-18 | 10-K |
| 2009-12-31 | 4,400 | 2010-02-22 | 10-K |
| 2008-12-31 | 4,000 | 2009-02-26 | 10-K |
Limits of this reading
- No count by segment: the studio and networks shares are by description (c).
- The count includes consolidated ventures' employees, as the filing states it.
Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0001437107-26-000020, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Questions about this company
- How much of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'s working time is within reach of AI?
- An estimated 22% now and 54% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five, from the workforce Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'s own annual report describes and BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. It is an estimate with a stated method. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings, and it says nothing about what the company will do.
- How many people does Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. employ?
- 35,500 as of December 31, 2025, as its annual report for the period ending December 31, 2025 states. About 48% in the U.S.
- What kinds of work make up Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'s workforce?
- Read from its annual report as a blend of 2 industry staffing patterns, the largest Motion Picture and Video Industries; by those patterns the work is about 56% desk work, 23% people work and 21% body work. Each share has a one-sentence reason on this page that can be checked against the filing.
- What does Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.'s annual report say about AI?
- 13 sentences in the filing name AI. Its annual reports for fiscal 2021 to 2025 name it in 0, 0, 5, 6 and 13 sentences, year by year. They are counted and quoted on this page, never judged: a count says how much a filing talks about AI, not what the company does with it.
- How is this estimated?
- Claude Fable 5.1 read the annual report under the Index's written rubric (version 1) on October 2, 2026: the stated headcount, the share in the U.S. when stated, and the workforce as a blend of industry staffing patterns. The estimates are the site's industry estimates weighted by those shares, from O*NET tasks with estimated lengths and METR's measurements of how long a task AI models can finish. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.