David Zaslav, Chief Executive Officer and President of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBD), sold shares totaling approximately $59.4 million on July 13, 2026. The transactions involved the sale of 2,184,782 shares of Series A Common Stock at a weighted average price of $27.22 per share, with individual sales prices ranging from $27.00 to $27.59. These sales were executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan established on March 12, 2026, as previously disclosed by the company. The sale comes as WBD stock has surged 128% over the past year, currently trading at $27.25, though InvestingPro analysis suggests the stock is overvalued at current levels. For deeper insights into WBD’s valuation and 8 additional InvestingPro Tips, investors can access the comprehensive Pro Research Report.
Prior to these sales, Mr. Zaslav acquired 2,089,876 shares of Series A Common Stock through the exercise of employee stock options at a price of $10.16 per share, amounting to a total value of $21,233,140. These options were part of a grant made on June 12, 2025, under Mr. Zaslav’s employment agreement. The total grant consisted of 20,898,776 options exercisable in five equal annual installments beginning on June 12, 2026. The performance-based stock price hurdles applicable to 60% of these options were satisfied prior to the transaction date, making all options subject only to the time-based vesting schedule.
Following these transactions, Mr. Zaslav directly holds 6,902,840 shares of Series A Common Stock. Additionally, 153 shares are held indirectly by his spouse.
In other recent news, Paramount’s $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is facing significant legal challenges. The Writers Guild of America has filed a lawsuit to block the merger, claiming it would reduce competition for screenwriting services. This lawsuit follows another filed by California and 11 other states, which argues that the merger would lessen competition, increase prices, and lower content quality. Despite these legal hurdles, Needham maintains that the deal will close, and Raymond James expects the merger to proceed by July 22. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery is advancing its advertising technology through a partnership with Amazon Web Services. The company is using agentic AI to enhance its advertising capabilities across U.S. linear and digital channels. This development aims to unify and optimize advertising processes, offering a more streamlined buying experience.
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