Paramount Skydance reported $7.35 billion in first-quarter revenue, beating Wall Street forecasts and producing 23 cents a share in adjusted earnings. The company said its overall streaming business brought in $2.4 billion, up 11% year on year, while Paramount+ added 700,000 subscribers to reach nearly 80 million. Film studio income rose 11% to about $1.28 billion, helped by Scream 7, but the TV media segment fell as cord cutting continued to press on ad and distribution revenue. Paramount reaffirmed full-year targets of $30 billion in revenue and $3.8 billion in adjusted EBITDA as it moves to complete a proposed deal for Warner Bros. Discovery by the end of the third quarter.

Paramount expanded on those headline numbers after markets closed on Monday. Revenue for the quarter was $7.35 billion. That topped the LSEG consensus of $7.28 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were 23 cents, above the 15 cents analysts expected.

That performance marks the first quarter under Paramount Skydance's reorganised reporting structure. The company said it recast prior-period financials to reflect the new allocation across streaming, studios and TV media expense lines. Paramount also reported net earnings of $168 million, or 15 cents a share, versus $152 million, or 22 cents, in the comparable predecessor-period.

Streaming drives gains

The biggest lift came from streaming. Paramount said the streaming portfolio, which includes Paramount+, BET+ and Pluto, generated $2.4 billion in revenue. That was an 11% increase over the same quarter last year.

Paramount+ was the standout. The platform added 700,000 subscribers in the quarter. That put its total close to 80 million subscribers. Revenue from Paramount+ rose 17% year on year, the company said.

These gains came despite price rises on Paramount+ plans in January, which were the first since August 2024.

Mastheads

Executives have pointed to the broader streaming mix as a stabiliser for the company. The ad-supported Pluto service and niche services such as BET+ feed the overall direct-to-consumer revenue. And the company said its streaming segment helped offset weakness elsewhere in the business.

Film boost and TV media weakness

Paramount's studios also helped. Film revenue climbed about 11% to roughly $1.28 billion. The company flagged Scream 7 as the franchise's highest-grossing entry and a driver of that uptick. Paramount said it has nearly doubled its film slate for 2026 versus 2025 since completing the Skydance merger last year.

Television income told a different story. The TV media division, which includes CBS plus cable channels such as Nickelodeon, MTV and BET, brought in $3.67 billion. That was a 6% decline year on year. Paramount attributed the fall to the ongoing shift of viewers away from pay-TV bundles and to continuing pressure on ad revenues.

The mix shift is clear. Streaming and studios moved the top line higher. Linear TV pulled it back. The company said the new reporting structure aims to show those shifts more transparently.

Deals and outlook

Paramount reiterated its full-year guidance. The company kept a $30 billion revenue target and $3.8 billion in adjusted EBITDA. Management said those targets remain intact as the business integrates Skydance assets and scales up the film slate for 2026.

Separately, Paramount is progressing with a proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The company expects that deal to close by the end of the third quarter. The earnings update comes about nine months after the Paramount-Skydance merger completed.

For investors, the combination of stronger streaming growth and a larger film pipeline offers proof that the merged company can generate multiple revenue streams. But the decline in TV media underlines the structural challenge facing traditional broadcast and cable operations.

Related Articles

Paramount said it still expects the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition to close by the end of the third quarter, and reconfirmed full-year targets of $30 billion in revenue and $3.8 billion in adjusted EBITDA.

This article was created with AI assistance.