Paramount Worldwide (PARA) Second Quarter 2024 Earnings Report | Wilnesh News

Paramount WorldwideSecond-quarter revenue fell 11%, missing analysts’ expectations, due to lower licensing, TV advertising and cable subscription sales.

Still, earnings surged as the company’s streaming division unexpectedly turned a profit — the first time Paramount has announced quarterly profits for its direct-to-consumer business.

Here’s how Paramount performed for the quarter compared to Wall Street expectations, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: Adjusted 54 cents, expected 12 cents
• income: US$6.81 billion, expected US$7.21 billion

The revenue decline compared with analysts’ expectations was the largest since February 2020, according to LSEG. Paramount attributed the miss to declining TV licensing revenue, which is difficult for analysts to model given their start and end dates.

Paramount+ revenue increased 46% due to year-over-year subscriber growth and price increases. Paramount+ customer base fell 2.8 million from the previous quarter to 68 million as the company Termination of Korea Cooperation Agreement Partnered with entertainment company CJ ENM’s Tving streaming platform.

Paramount’s streaming division lost $424 million last year and made a profit of $26 million this quarter. Analysts expected a loss of $265 million for the quarter.

Paramount reiterated that Paramount+ expects to be profitable in the United States by 2025.

Paramount’s quarterly profit benefited from the absence of NFL licensing fees during the quarter, which will take effect later this year.

Paramount shares are down 31% year-to-date due to falling cable subscriber numbers and a weak linear TV ad market.

The company agreed to merge with Skydance Media last month. The deal, which includes a 45-day exploration period during which a special committee of Paramount’s board of directors can find another buyer, will end later this month.

Paramount has identified $500 million in cost savings, including job losses, as part of $2 billion in synergies related to the Skydance deal.

Paramount also took a $6 billion one-time impairment charge related to the decline of its cable network. This follows a $9.1 billion write-down by peers Warner Bros. Discovery Wednesday.

Paramount had to view the fee as an adjustment it was forced to make due to its deal with Skydance.