Media conglomerate Paramount Skydance announced Monday that its pre-tax profits increased during the first quarter, driven by operational efficiency measures and stronger performance from its streaming and film studio divisions, which helped counterbalance weaker television results.
The entertainment company warned that second-quarter revenue will likely fall short of Wall Street projections, pointing to the absence of major blockbuster releases such as “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” and NCAA Final Four basketball coverage.
The company’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization reached $1.16 billion for the quarter, representing a 59% jump compared to the same period last year, boosted by the Paramount-Skydance combination. Total revenue grew modestly by 2% to $7.35 billion.
The profit gains stemmed from expense reductions following the corporate merger and an 11% surge in streaming revenue.
These financial results mark the first reporting period since Paramount completed its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, a strategic move designed to enhance the company’s scale in entertainment production by leveraging Warner’s extensive content library.
Management projects second-quarter revenue will range between $6.75 billion and $6.95 billion, falling below analyst forecasts of $7.07 billion based on LSEG data.
In an effort to strengthen its streaming platform, Paramount began airing Ultimate Fighting Championship events in January, contributing to Paramount+ reaching 79.6 million total subscribers during the first quarter.
The company indicated that subscriber growth for the streaming service will remain relatively flat in the upcoming quarter as it phases out approximately 2 million international bundled accounts.
Paramount reported adjusted earnings of 23 cents per share for the first quarter, surpassing analyst estimates of 15 cents per share.
