4 Things I Learned From Lions Gate's Earnings Report

Ask investors a year ago if they thought Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE: LGF-A)(NYSE: LGF-B) could thrive financially without having the Hunger Games franchise act as a tailwind, and you'd probably have found more skeptics than optimists. Fast-forward to Aug. 8, when Lions Gate reported a 16% year-over-year increase in movie-group revenue. Division operating profits tripled over the same period. No wonder the stock is up 22% over the trailing 12 months. 

Lions Gate's film portfolio is performing well even as the 2017 box office hasn't been kind to some big studios. For example, Walt Disney's (NYSE: DIS) U.S. theatrical ticket sales were down over 31% through the weekend. 21st Century Fox's (NASDAQ: FOX)(NASDAQ: FOXA) receipts are down 13% over the same period, while Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) Warner Bros. needed a boost from Wonder Woman to eke out a 2.3% increase over last year's haul through mid-August. 

Yet Lions Gate's story doesn't begin and end with fiscally responsible filmmaking. Here are five things every investor should know that I picked up during the fiscal first-quarter earnings call, thanks to comments transcribed by S&P Global Market Intelligence. 

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Source: Fool.com