Paramount Earnings Preview

Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) earnings yesterday saw the stock fall on a nearly $10B loss from the sinking value of its legacy TV operations, showing more evidence that the merger two years ago between Warner Bros. & Discovery has not worked out as hoped. Advertising revenue fell, and its TNT cable business lost the rights to NBA games beyond next season. A host of analyst have cut their price targets on the stock this morning. On the other hand, Disney’s (DIS) streaming services posted their first-ever profit – while there are other issues Disney is facing, it proves that streaming services with a great back catalog and some strong new hits can achieve a profit, further souring WBD’s difficulties.

Paramount (PARA) is next on the market’s chopping block, with its 2Q earnings due out after the bell. Created from the merge of Viacom and CBS in 2019, the company will soon merge with Skydance following a fierce bidding war. When it comes to streaming libraries, the logic seems to be that bigger is better. Paramount+ counted 71.2 million subscribers at the end of last quarter, and maintains some sports rights and strong theatrical releases. Still, it’s another streaming service in a sea of subscriptions, add-ons, password-sharing crackdowns, and content overload. Does it stand out enough to make it worth it to consumers? Or is it the first to go when they tighten their belts? Tune into Schwab Network for earnings breakdowns and more.

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