WildBrain Holds Course Through a Thin Quarter

WildBrain opened fiscal 2027 the way a studio does when the money is scheduled for later: revenue barely moved, earnings slipped, and management kept every target for the year. For a company that has recently sold its stake in Peanuts and shutting its Canadian television channels, the first quarter was less a verdict than a waiting room.

The numbers

For the three months to 30 September 2026, WildBrain booked revenue of $58.3 million from continuing operations, up 1% from $57.9 million a year earlier. Franchise and global licensing rose 5% to $19.7 million, the WildBrain Network (its YouTube, FAST and AVOD business) climbed 7% to $11.7 million, and content dipped 1% to $28.5 million.

Margins were thinner. Gross margin fell to $24.5 million, or 42% of revenue, from 45%, with content margin dropping to $2.0 million from $6.1 million. Adjusted EBITDA attributable to shareholders halved to $2.0 million from $4.1 million. The net loss from continuing operations narrowed sharply to $6.6 million from $39.5 million, and free cash flow was negative $13.6 million.

“Following the significant transformation of WildBrain last year, our focus is now firmly on execution,” said Josh Scherba, president and CEO.

The bet on the back half

WildBrain reaffirmed its outlook of $270 million to $295 million in revenue and $28 million to $32 million in adjusted EBITDA for fiscal 2027, and says licensing and advertising activity is weighted to the second quarter. About $30 million is earmarked for franchise marketing, content, technology and infrastructure, which the company expects to push free cash flow below zero for the year. Those are company forecasts, and the first quarter leaves the rest of the year a lot of ground to cover.

Meanwhile, capital is going back to shareholders. After the quarter closed, WildBrain completed a substantial issuer bid, buying 13.8 million shares at $1.45 for $20 million, on top of one million shares repurchased in the quarter. It also bought Personality AI, a character technology company, in August.

What is on screen

The brands doing the work are familiar. Strawberry Shortcake’s Bake Shop, a CG series of 26 three-minute episodes, premiered on 16 October on the official Strawberry Shortcake YouTube channel, rolling out over the next year, with the character’s 50th anniversary arriving in 2028. Teletubbies lifted distribution revenue through a broadcaster licensing deal. WildBrain still sells The Snoopy Show, Snoopy in Space and Camp Snoopy abroad and to Knowledge Kids at home, and its CPLG agency still brokers Peanuts licensing.

In live action, season two of Finding Her Edge is shooting in Southern Ontario for Netflix through December 2026. Season one landed on 22 January 2026.

For context on how Canada’s broadcasters fared this autumn, see Bell Media’s latest quarter and Netflix’s own results. WildBrain’s shift from channels to YouTube and licensing also sits squarely inside the debate over Ottawa’s new streaming contribution rules.

What it means for you

• More Strawberry Shortcake is coming free on YouTube: Bake Shop episodes keep arriving through 2027, with ads, not a subscription.
• Finding Her Edge season two is in production now; with cameras rolling to December, a 2027 Netflix release is the realistic window, though no date has been set.
• In Canada, the Snoopy series are headed to Knowledge Kids, so Canadian families will have a broadcast home for The Snoopy Show, Snoopy in Space and Camp Snoopy.
• WildBrain’s spending is tilted toward its own characters, which means more short-form and YouTube content from the brands parents already know.

Sources

• WildBrain: WildBrain Reports Q1 2027 Results, 12 Nov 2026
• WildBrain: Conference call notice for Fiscal 2027 Q1 results, Oct 2026
• WildBrain: Strawberry Shortcake’s Bake Shop announced, 1 Sep 2026
• WildBrain: Strawberry Shortcake content and licensing partnerships, 28 Sep 2026
• WildBrain: Finding Her Edge season 2 cast, 2 Sep 2026
• WildBrain: Snoopy series international sales, 6 Oct 2026