PSKY

It has been about a month since the last earnings report for Paramount Skydance (PSKY). Shares have added about 25.2% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500. Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is Paramount Skydance due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at its most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent drivers for Paramount Skydance Corporation before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late. Paramount Skydance Corporation reported second-quarter 2026 results, wherein both the top and bottom lines surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate.The quarter reflected continued strength in the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) business, a Studios turnaround and disciplined cost management, partially offset by ongoing weakness in TV Media.On the revenue front, PSKY posted total revenues of $6.91 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.88 billion by 0.43%. Revenues increased 0.93% year over year.PSKY reported adjusted earnings of 18 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 15 cents by 20%. The quarter included $153 million in transaction-related costs. GAAP operating income increased to $475 million in the second quarter of 2026 from $399 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating margin expanded to 6.9% from 5.8%, reflecting improved profitability across the DTC and Studios businesses and disciplined expense management despite continued pressure in linear television. Adjusted EBITDA rose 27% year over year to $1.10 billion, while adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 15.9% from 12.6%. The improvement was driven by continued DTC margin expansion, stronger Studios profitability and higher margins in TV Media through ongoing cost discipline. Management noted that enterprise-wide efficiency initiatives remain on track to deliver more than $2.7 billion in run-rate efficiencies by year-end 2026.On the advertising front, digital advertising continued to gain traction, with DTC advertising revenues up 8% year over year and Paramount+ advertising revenues rising more than 30%, supported by stronger engagement and improved monetization. DTC revenues came in at $2.47 billion, up 9% year over year, led by 16% growth in Paramount+ revenues to $2.06 billion on subscriber and ARPU gains. Paramount+ ended the quarter with 81.6 million subscribers, adding approximately two million despite nearly two million international hard bundle exits. DTC adjusted EBITDA climbed 44% to $366 million, with margin expanding to 14.8% from 11.2%, supported by the platform's best-ever retention quarter, driven by Dutton Ranch, UFC programming and the FIFA World Cup in select Latin American markets.Studios revenues grew 16% year over year to $1.31 billion on higher third-party television deliveries and the consolidation of Skydance licensing revenues, partly offset by a difficult theatrical comparison against Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Studios adjusted EBITDA improved to $36 million from a loss of $31 million a year earlier, reflecting a more disciplined approach to greenlighting, marketing and distribution.TV Media revenues declined 9% year over year to $3.13 billion, with advertising down 14% on the NCAA lap and international divestitures, and affiliate revenues down 6% amid continued pay TV subscriber declines. TV Media adjusted EBITDA rose to $1.06 billion, with margin expanding to 34% from 26.4%, on disciplined cost management. CBS held seven of the top 10 broadcast series in the most recent broadcast season. Cash and cash equivalents were $1.63 billion as of June 30, 2026, down from $1.94 billion as of March 31, 2026. Gross debt decreased sequentially to $15.16 billion from $15.48 billion, with $1.8 billion drawn under the revolving credit facility. Operating cash flow totaled $319 million and free cash flow was $258 million. For the third quarter, PSKY expects revenues of $6.95 billion to $7.15 billion, implying 4% to 7% growth year over year, with Paramount+ subscribers expected to be roughly flat sequentially. Adjusted EBITDA is projected at $875 million to $975 million (13.1% margin at midpoint), with approximately $200 million in transformation costs expected during the quarter. Studios and TV Media profitability are expected to improve year over year, while DTC margins are expected to moderate on higher content amortization tied to the second-half programming slate.For 2026, PSKY reaffirmed its $30 billion revenue target (4% growth) and raised its adjusted EBITDA outlook to $3.8-$3.9 billion from a prior guidance of $3.8 billion. Free cash flow conversion is now expected at a minimum of 10%, up from a prior guidance of 5%, before roughly $800 million in transformation costs. Management reiterated confidence that the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition will be completed. In the past month, investors have witnessed a downward trend in fresh estimates. The consensus estimate has shifted 30.11% due to these changes. Currently, Paramount Skydance has a average Growth Score of C, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. However, the stock has a score of B on the value side, putting it in the top 40% for this investment strategy. Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of C. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in. Estimates have been broadly trending downward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, Paramount Skydance has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Paramount Skydance Corporation (PSKY) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

As the Q2 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the consumer discretionary - broadcasting industry, including Paramount (NASDAQ:PSKY) and its peers. The Consumer Discretionary sector, by definition, is made up of companies selling non-essential goods and services. When economic conditions deteriorate or tastes shift, consumers can easily cut back or eliminate these purchases. For long-term investors with five-year holding periods, this creates a structural challenge: the sector is inherently hit-driven, with low switching costs and fickle customers. As a result, only a handful of companies can reliably grow demand and compound earnings over long periods, which is why our bar is high and High Quality ratings are rare. Broadcasting companies produce and distribute television and radio content, generating revenue primarily through advertising and, in some cases, retransmission fees (payments cable and satellite operators make to carry local channels). Tailwinds include resilient demand for live sports and event programming, which commands premium ad rates, and political advertising during election cycles. Headwinds, however, are substantial: secular cord-cutting (consumers canceling traditional pay-TV subscriptions) is shrinking linear audiences, digital platforms are capturing an increasing share of advertising budgets, and content production costs continue to rise. Regulatory scrutiny over media consolidation and spectrum ownership further constrains strategic flexibility. The 6 consumer discretionary - broadcasting stocks we track reported a mixed Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 3% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 3.1% above. Luckily, consumer discretionary - broadcasting stocks have performed well with share prices up 11.8% on average since the latest earnings results. Owner of Spongebob Squarepants and formerly known as ViacomCBS, Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PSKY) is a major media conglomerate offering television, film production, and digital content across various global platforms. Paramount reported revenues of $6.91 billion, flat year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 0.7%. Overall, it was a satisfactory quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but EPS in line with analysts’ estimates. Paramount delivered the weakest guidance update in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 28.2% since reporting and currently trades at $10.75. Is now the time to buy Paramount? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free. Founded in 1915, Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA) is a diversified media company, operating prominent cable news, television broadcasting, and digital media platforms. FOX reported revenues of $4.21 billion, up 28.1% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 15.5%. The business had a stunning quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS and EBITDA estimates. FOX pulled off the biggest analyst estimate beat and fastest revenue growth of the whole group. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 18% since reporting. It currently trades at $69.25. Is now the time to buy FOX? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free. Founded as a chain of daily newspapers, E.W. Scripps (NASDAQ:SSP) is a diversified media enterprise operating a range of local television stations, national networks, and digital media platforms. E.W. Scripps reported revenues of $490.4 million, down 9.2% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 3.4%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EPS and EBITDA estimates. E.W. Scripps delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth among its peers. Interestingly, the stock is up 12% since the results and currently trades at $3.31. Read our full analysis of E.W. Scripps’s results here. Specializing in local media coverage, Gray Television (NYSE:GTN) is a broadcast company supplying digital media to various markets in the United States. Gray Television reported revenues of $839 million, up 8.7% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 5.5%. It was an exceptional quarter as it also recorded revenue guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates. Gray Television pulled off the highest guidance raise of the whole group. The stock is up 13.9% since reporting and currently trades at $4.88. Read our full, actionable report on Gray Television here, it’s free. Occasionally featuring celebrity hosts like Ryan Seacrest on its shows, iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) is a leading multimedia company renowned for its extensive network of radio stations, digital platforms, and live events across the globe. iHeartMedia reported revenues of $977.2 million, up 4.7% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. Aside from that, it was a slower quarter as it produced a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates and EBITDA guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly. The stock is down 25.3% since reporting and currently trades at $2.77. Read our full, actionable report on iHeartMedia here, it’s free. Over the past year, investors have been forced to repeatedly answer the same question: what is the market’s biggest risk? The answer has changed several times, and each shift has reshaped market leadership. Late in 2025 and early 2026, artificial intelligence became the market’s primary uncertainty. Investors questioned whether AI would erode software pricing power and weaken competitive moats as AI made it easier to replicate once-differentiated products. By the spring, technology took a back seat to geopolitics. The U.S. conflict with Iran briefly became the market’s dominant narrative, raising concerns about oil prices, inflation, and global growth. But as energy markets remained orderly and fears of a prolonged supply disruption faded, investors quickly turned their focus back to fundamentals. Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Strong Momentum Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

Interested in Weibo Corporation? Here are five stocks we like better. Weibo’s Q2 revenue rose 2% year over year to $453.8 million, as a 19% increase in value-added services offset a 1% decline in advertising revenue. Non-GAAP operating income was $125.4 million, while net income attributable to Weibo reached $102.7 million. User levels remained broadly stable, with 561 million monthly active users and 254 million daily active users in June. Feed improvements increased time spent and interactions, but lower-frequency users continued to show weaker visit frequency and retention, while reduced handset shipments affected new-user acquisition. Video consumption, interest-community engagement and AI-powered advertising tools all showed strong growth, but the advertising outlook remains cautious because of constrained consumer demand, intense competition and pressure on advertiser profitability. Management expects continued investment in creators, AI and content-marketing products to support longer-term growth. Paramount’s 30-Film Promise Puts AMC Back in the Box Office Conversation Weibo (NASDAQ:WB) reported second-quarter 2026 revenue growth of 2% as gains in value-added services offset a modest decline in advertising revenue amid cautious spending by advertisers in several industries. Total revenue for the quarter was $453.8 million, up 2% year over year, though down 4% on a constant-currency basis. Advertising and marketing revenue declined 1% to $381 million, while value-added service revenue rose 19% to $72.9 million. The company reported non-GAAP operating income of $125.4 million, equal to a 28% operating margin, and net income attributable to Weibo of $102.7 million, or diluted earnings per share of $0.38. → Looking Beyond CrowdStrike? 3 AI Security Stocks Stand Out Plot Twist: 12 States Could Stall the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Mega-Merger Chief Executive Officer Gaofei Wang said advertiser budgets remained constrained by a subdued consumer market, heightened competition and pressure on customers’ costs and profitability. Still, the company recorded advertising growth in automobiles, internet services, and food and beverage, while celebrity marketing also expanded year over year. Weibo reported 561 million average monthly active users and 254 million average daily active users in June. Monthly active users declined modestly sequentially, while daily active users were broadly flat from the prior quarter, according to Chief Financial Officer Fei Cao. → 3 Robotics Stocks Under $10: Value, Momentum, or Bet? The Netflix-Lionsgate Rumor Exposed a Bigger Shift in Media M&A Management said the company has shifted its user-acquisition strategy toward improving the conversion of newly acquired users into active users rather than expanding acquisition volume. The company also continues to refine its homepage feed, placing greater emphasis on recommendations for relationship-based content, trending topics and video. Wang said the changes improved time spent, the number of users engaging with the homepage feed, and interaction volumes during the second quarter. However, lower-frequency users are still adapting to the revised feed format, and their visit frequency and retention have lagged broader consumption improvements. → Michael Burry Is Betting Against Palantir Again—Should Investors Care? During the question-and-answer session, management added that lower shipments of handsets carrying pre-installed Weibo applications pressured new-user acquisition. Wang said this factor had an approximately 10% impact on the business. The company expects overall feed time spent and interactions to grow in the second half, but said converting lower-frequency users remains a key challenge. Weibo said video views and total video consumption time increased by double digits year over year in the second quarter, while average video consumption per user rose more sharply. The supply of high-quality videos also grew by double digits sequentially. The company has increased investments in attracting and supporting video creators as its recommendation system gives it more capacity to distribute content from newer accounts. Management said it added fewer than 10,000 video creator accounts in the second quarter and that roughly 70% continued to update videos weekly after one quarter. Wang said creator incentives and revenue-sharing arrangements could result in a near-term effect on gross margin, but the accounts are expected to generate additional content, advertising inventory and user engagement over time. Management said it expects the return on those investments to reach 70% to 100% by the end of the year, with fuller incremental returns anticipated next year. In its “super topics” interest communities, Weibo introduced new features for celebrity, sports and esports users, including event reviews, ratings and discussions. The company said daily active users and discussion participants in super topics increased by double digits year over year. Management said AI-enabled product development has helped the platform offer more customized features for different communities. Weibo continued to use artificial intelligence across product development, operations and advertising. In search, the company said it is enhancing its AI-powered Zhisou product’s ability to understand context and user intent in multi-turn conversations, particularly around public figures, intellectual property and trending topics. Management said Zhisou grew year over year in the first half but declined sequentially as competing large language models improved significantly during the first quarter. Weibo is upgrading the technology and adjusting the product experience, with a greater focus on guided and question-and-answer search embedded within posts, videos and trending-topic browsing. In advertising, AI-generated creative materials accounted for 50% of spending in promoted-feed, real-time-bidding ads in June. The company said it has used video-generation tools to help e-commerce advertisers with limited video assets. AI-optimized advertising materials in e-commerce had negative-feedback rates more than 30% below clients’ original materials, according to Wang. Cao said eCPM improved both year over year and sequentially, supported by AI integration in creative generation, targeting and bidding. However, Wang cautioned that higher eCPM did not necessarily indicate broad-based advertising-demand growth, because Weibo has also reduced lower-quality ad exposure and managed inventory to improve user experience. Weibo said automobile advertising grew on the back of frequent new-energy vehicle launches, while internet-services advertising benefited from marketing demand for AI-related products and services. Food and beverage revenue also rose, aided by World Cup-related marketing and new-product promotion. By contrast, handset advertising declined as manufacturers faced weaker demand, higher component costs and profitability pressure. E-commerce faced difficult comparisons with the prior year, while cosmetics and online gaming advertisers also remained cautious. Advertising revenue from Alibaba was $39.2 million, up 10% year over year, or 3% on a constant-currency basis. Cao said higher spending on AI-related activity offset softer spending in local services. For the second half, management said consumer-demand recovery may take time and competition for advertising budgets is likely to remain intense. Weibo also cited a high comparison base from last year’s food-delivery price war and a smaller advertising lift from this year’s World Cup than in the prior tournament. The company plans to expand standardized content-marketing products, simplify advertising tools and further develop celebrity marketing to attract more mid-sized advertisers. Wang cited a World Cup campaign involving Wang Lao Ji and footballer Erling Haaland, which generated more than 5 billion topic views and 1.4 million discussions on Weibo, as an example of its integrated celebrity, content and event-marketing approach. Weibo Corporation operates one of China’s leading social media and microblogging platforms under the brand name Weibo. Launched in August 2009 by Sina Corporation, Weibo enables users to create, share and engage with short-form posts in real time. The platform supports text, images, videos and live streams, and offers features such as trending topics, hashtag campaigns and public discussion forums to facilitate user interaction and content discovery. Weibo’s product suite extends beyond basic social networking to include digital content services such as live streaming, online games, value-added messaging and e-commerce integrations. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Weibo Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.

Paramount’s second quarter results were shaped by continued growth in its streaming and studio segments, alongside disciplined cost control initiatives. Management attributed improved profitability to a stronger slate of theatrical releases, double-digit subscriber and engagement growth for Paramount+, and a successful focus on operational efficiencies. CEO David Ellison pointed to the nearly doubled theatrical slate and expanded sports content portfolio as key contributors, stating, “We nearly doubled our theatrical slate, deepened our roster with top-tier creative talent, and expanded our sports portfolio.” Adjusted EBITDA gains reflected these strategic investments, even as linear TV revenues continued to decline. Is now the time to buy PSKY? Find out in our full research report (it’s free). Revenue: $6.91 billion vs analyst estimates of $6.87 billion (flat year on year, 0.7% beat) Adjusted EPS: $0.18 vs analyst estimates of $0.18 (in line) Adjusted EBITDA: $1.10 billion vs analyst estimates of $913.9 million (15.9% margin, 20.3% beat) The company reconfirmed its revenue guidance for the full year of $30 billion at the midpoint Operating Margin: 6.9%, up from 5.8% in the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $10.4 billion While we enjoy listening to the management’s commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls is the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention. Steve Cahall (Wells Fargo) asked about the likelihood and implications of the Warner Bros. Discovery merger. CEO David Ellison reiterated confidence in closing the transaction, emphasizing regulatory approvals and secured financing, while acknowledging ongoing litigation risks. Laura Martin (Needham) probed costs if the merger closes later than expected. CFO Dennis Cinelli detailed commitment fees and additional ticking fees, highlighting sufficient liquidity and a positive free cash flow outlook to manage extended timelines. Steve Cahall (Wells Fargo) questioned the sustainability of double-digit streaming revenue growth. Ellison and Cinelli pointed to runway for subscriber and ARPU growth, improved retention, and enhanced content and technology investments as central to future gains. Rich Greenfield (LightShed) asked if Paramount+ would become a platform or remain stand-alone. Ellison noted that the pending merger would shift the service to a scaled, combined offering, with a focus on unifying tech stacks and improving user experience. Robert Fishman (MoffettNathanson) sought detail on live sports strategy. Ellison confirmed live sports as a continued priority, citing UFC and other sports successes as reasons to expand the portfolio further. In the coming quarters, the StockStory team will be watching (1) the rollout and early user data from the convergence of Paramount+, Pluto, and BET+ platforms, (2) the pace of digital ad revenue recovery as the relaunch of Pluto and other advertising innovations unfold, and (3) the progress of the Warner Bros. Discovery transaction, especially regulatory and financial milestones. We will also monitor the impact of upcoming major content releases on engagement and subscriber trends. Paramount currently trades at $9.23, up from $8.38 just before the earnings. Is there an opportunity in the stock? Find out in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members). ONE MORE THING: Top 6 Stocks for This Week. This market is separating quality stocks from expensive ones fast. AI is taking down whole sectors with no warning. In a rotation this fast, you need more than a list of good companies. Our AI system flagged Palantir before it ran 1,662% between October 2022 and February 2026. AppLovin before it ran 753% between February 2024 and February 2026. Nvidia before it ran 1,178% between January 2023 and February 2026. Each week it produces 6 new names that pass the same tests. Get Our Top 6 Stocks for Free HERE. Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,460% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+271% between June 2020 and June 2025). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

Image source: The Motley Fool. Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET Executive Vice President of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations - Kevin Creighton Chairman and Chief Executive Officer - David Ellison Chief Financial Officer - Dennis Cinelli Chief Strategy and Operating Officer - Andy Gordon Operator: Good afternoon. My name is Krista, and I'll be your conference operator today. I would like to welcome everyone to Paramount's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. I would now like to turn the call over to Kevin Creighton, Paramount's EVP of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations. Sir, you may begin your conference call. Kevin Creighton: Good afternoon, and thank you for taking the time to join us for the Paramount Q2 2026 Earnings Call. I'm Kevin Creighton, EVP of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations. Joining me today is our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, David Ellison; our Chief Financial Officer, Dennis Cinelli; and our Chief Strategy and Operating Officer, Andy Gordon. As a reminder, we will be making forward-looking statements today that involve risks and uncertainties. Our remarks will also include non-GAAP financial measures, and reconciliations of these measures can be found in our earnings letter or in our trending schedules, which contain supplemental information. These can be found on our Investor Relations website. I'll now turn it over to David for a few brief remarks before we address analyst questions. David Ellison: Thanks, Kevin, and good afternoon, everyone. A year ago, we set 3 priorities for the new Paramount: invest in storytelling, scale our direct-to-consumer business globally and drive enterprise-wide efficiency. 12 months in, I'm proud to say we are delivering on all 3. We nearly doubled our theatrical slate, deepened our roster with top-tier creative talent, greenlit 40 new and returning series for Paramount+, expanded our sports portfolio with the UFC, Zuffa Boxing while broadening our partnerships with UEFA, adding to an already strong lineup that includes the NFL, WNBA, PGA TOUR, March Madness and more. At the same time, we've made meaningful progress in technology and product development, including with the convergence of our streaming platforms, which is well underway, helping create a better, more seamless experience for users. And these investments are translating into stronger performance. Paramount+ grew to nearly 82 million subscribers, delivered its best quarter of retention ever and posted double-digit growth in total view hours, all while expanding margins throughout the first half of the year. Among the quarter's many highlights, our Studios business saw continued year-over-year profitability improvement while growing its pipeline with more than 90 series in production across the group this year. The early turnaround reinforces our confidence in the strategy, and we continue to make significant investments in theatrical and premium series to drive future engagement, subscriber growth and long-term value. Across our broader portfolio, TV Media's profit grew 14%, even as revenue declined amid the broader industry shift away from linear. And enterprise-wide, we're tracking to over $2.7 billion in run rate efficiencies by year's end and still expect a total of $3 billion plus from the Skydance-Paramount merger. We're also continuing to advance our proposed combination for Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal that builds on the foundations we've established by creating a stronger, well-capitalized creative-first company with the scale to compete alongside Netflix, Amazon, Apple and others, benefiting consumers, theatrical exhibition and creators alike. The clearances we've received from competition authorities and governments represent 65 jurisdictions worldwide, confirm that the facts of the law are on our side, and we remain confident the transaction will be completed. One year in, we're proud of the progress we've made, a testament to the extraordinary talent, hard work and dedication of our people around the world. Our conviction in our strategy is stronger than ever, and we're energized and optimistic about the opportunities ahead. And with that, I'll turn it back over to Kevin for your questions. Kevin Creighton: Great. Thanks, David. We'll now go ahead and take questions from the analyst community, and then we'll open it up in the last few minutes for any final questions we're not able to address. So our first question comes from Steve Cahall at Wells Fargo, is a general transaction update. Given that Paramount outbid a larger competitor for Warner, I think investors view it as a must-have rather than an opportunistic transaction. Can you give us an update on the path forward? And what is -- what if the WBD transaction doesn't come to fruition? David, maybe take that first one? David Ellison: Yes. No, Kevin, absolutely. And Steve, I really appreciate the question. Look, we remain highly confident that this transaction will close, and we're preparing for basically a successful combination once it does. If you take a step back and just look at exactly where we are today, we received approvals from basically 65 regulators representing 65 countries around the world, including the United States federal government, Canada, European Union, China and many more. And I think if you look at everybody who has published an opinion on the merger have all identified the markets the exact same way and have all come to the same conclusion, which is that this deal raises no competition concerns. And the facts simply speak for themselves. When you look at the television market share, excluding YouTube, the combined company would represent less than 20% of all television watch time, according to Nielsen. If you include YouTube, which is the industry standard, it represents 13.4% based on the most recent Nielsen data. When you look at the theatrical box office over the past 12 months, the combined company would represent 18% of the domestic box office. If you do a 24-month look back, it's 22%, competing against larger scale global players like Netflix, Amazon, Apple as well as other studios such as Sony, Disney, Lionsgate and A24. And we continue to believe very strongly that the combination of these 2 businesses create a stronger competitor that is good for Hollywood, good for consumers and good for the creative community. Look, as it relates to the ongoing litigation, we're absolutely open to finding a solution out of court, but we also really believe that we'll win at trial. We believe that the facts and the law are on our side, and the trial date was just set for March of this -- of next year. And as it relates to the financing, all that is in place, there's nothing at risk. And so we're confident we'll close the transaction, and we're working towards that as fast as we possibly can. Kevin Creighton: All right. Great. Thanks, David. Our second question, which follows on to that one, is from Laura Martin at Needham. And the question is, if the Warner transaction closes later than expected, what is the average burn rate, including ticking fees, commitments and any other costs for Paramount shareholders? Dennis Cinelli: Sure. Let me take that. So on the financing, both the equity and bridge is locked in and committed throughout the remaining time we need to close the deal. In terms of incremental cost, we have 2 areas. We do incur costs beyond September 30. The first is on the bridge, which carries modest fees. That will run $8 million to $9 million a month plus an additional bridge commitment fee due in June of '27. In total, this adds up to around $190 million of incremental financing if we don't close until June. The second, the merger agreement does provide an additional ticking fee for WBD shareholders, if we close after September 30. This is only payable when and if we close. It's $0.25 per share per quarter, which is about $650 million per quarter and will be funded at close through additional equity. In terms of the question on our current liquidity and balance sheet, we ended the quarter at $1.6 billion in cash, $3.2 billion of undrawn revolver capacity. This is sufficient to fund the business, our dividend, transaction-related costs through the extended time line. And actually, as we noted in the letter, we've seen positive free cash flow performance for the year. We took up our free cash flow guidance to 10% before transformation costs. So we feel good about where we stand in terms of liquidity and managing through this extended time period. Kevin Creighton: Thank you, Dennis. Appreciate it. All right. We will now go ahead and pivot towards the business. So our first question on the streaming business comes from Steve Cahall at Wells Fargo, and it's on DTC growth. So the question is, we've seen revenue growth slow at large streaming peers. Where do you think you are in terms of subscriber penetration and pricing for Paramount+? Do you believe that double-digit top line growth, which is both Netflix's target and Disney's for their DTC service is sustainable over the medium term? David, maybe you can take that one? David Ellison: Yes. No, Kevin, absolutely. And look, the short answer is yes, in terms of the double-digit growth. I mean, I think we just demonstrated that with 16% revenue growth year-over-year. But again, to just kind of level set, like let's take a step back in terms of where we are as a stand-alone company, which is our business is very much in transition of a majority of our revenue and EBITDA coming from the linear business to transitioning to Studios and streaming. And we're making really significant progress as we work towards those goals. Everything we're seeing on the streaming side of our business is accelerating throughout the year. We've got great momentum. We're seeing top line revenue grow. We're seeing improved profitability and ARPU also continue to improve. And I think it's worth noting that we're not yet at scale today. A lot of the competitors that we're competing with are a significant multiple of our size, which means that we have a tremendous amount of basically runway in terms of how we can continue to grow and scale Paramount+. And to do that, we really believe in this theme of art and technology working hand-in-hand together to really deliver a superior experience for users. We're -- if you look at the performance that we obviously had in Q2 with Dutton Ranch, the UFC as well as the World Cup in the select territories we had it in, all improved incredibly well for us. We have a remarkable technology and product team that are continuing to iterate to deliver the best possible experience to users. And so from that standpoint, we feel like we're very well positioned to continue to grow and scale the business. And with that, let me hand it over to Dennis to dive into some of the numbers from the quarter. Dennis Cinelli: Yes. Thanks, David. So it's worth reminding us how we sort of -- our investment philosophy in this business, right? We've talked about our owner-operators' mindset in the streaming business. We are investing in the long term to combine content and technology that will drive growth. And we still have a lot of room to run. We have room to grow subscribers, both domestically and internationally. We have room to deepen engagement. And you're seeing this come through in the quarter we had. So a couple of numbers. Revenue up 16% for Paramount+, roughly 1/3 of that was from subscriber growth, 2/3 from our ARPU increase. This is really flowing through some of the pricing actions, but also the continued improvement in our mix of subscribers. Overall, we added 2 million subscribers in the quarter, reaching 81.6 million globally. This was ahead of our expectations. And I think the thing to note here is a strong underlying growth. We added 4 million underlying subs before you exit the hard bundles, and that's nearly double the amount of underlying subs we added in Q1. This was driven, as David talked about, the performance in our content, Dutton Ranch, the biggest series in Paramount+ history, UFC, the World Cup. And then really encouraging is the input metrics, right? The best retention quarter in Paramount+ history. We had double-digit year-on-year growth in total engagement. And so we really see the business and the platform accelerating from here. As we talked about in prior letters, we expect DTC revenue to accelerate in the back half. This is driven by both subscription and advertising, both at Paramount+ and the reacceleration of Pluto as we relaunch that platform. And then in terms of 2027, it's a bit too early to guide on '27. But I think the thing to note is we will keep investing behind this business. We believe the opportunity will be multiples of where we are in terms of engagement, revenue and profit. And we really believe winning here comes down to having the best stories and the best technology to deliver that, and we're going to invest in both. Kevin Creighton: Our next question comes from Rich Greenfield at LightShed. And this one is a sort of overarching question on platforms. So the question is Netflix is ingesting TF1, Peacock is ingesting Starz, YouTube Premium and Peacock, and on and on. Do you foresee Paramount+ becoming a platform? Or have you consciously decided to remain a stand-alone service? David Ellison: So by the way, Rich, thank you so much for the question. I think important to note, we're in the middle of a transaction, which would not keep us at a stand-alone service. And one of the core thematics behind the WBD transaction is really getting us to scale in streaming. We'd be over 200 million basically gross subscribers at close. I think from a competitive standpoint, it's worth noting that, that just puts us right around Disney, still obviously not at the scale of Amazon or Netflix. So this is still an incredibly pro-competitive transaction. It accelerates our goals of getting to scale in DTC. It also strengthens our content offering between what we can offer between the 2 services, which we think positions us incredibly well to be able to grow and scale all aspects of our business in the future. Then let's talk about what we're doing today as we obviously prepare for that transaction, which is we're working on building a world-class experience for Paramount+. We're building -- an industry best-in-class product and technology team and incredibly compelling content offerings across films, series, sports and news. And we're on track to basically converge our tech stacks by the end of summer as we've guided towards. And we think that will -- the combination of that will position us incredibly well to be able to be successful and grow our direct-to-consumer business. As it relates to the platform question, I think the right way to address that is really looking at what is the consumer looking for that is not currently being delivered by the marketplace. And I think if you look at the trends across the tech businesses over the last, call it, 10 years, they've really been in the business of eliminating friction to improve convenience to drive value. That has not been the trend in media. I think a lot of us probably would like the convenience where everything is in one place, which we used to get with the cable bundle. Having the breadth of selection, all be centralized, I think these are things that users are asking for. And so I think you'll see us work to want to solve those problems really for how do we deliver the best possible experience for the consumer. We're very consumer-focused in terms of how we're approaching this. And then that turns into, well, what will really differentiate your service from your competitors. And we continue to believe that the quality of the content, the quality of the storytelling, which, again, the combination of WBD and Paramount really speaks to. I also really want to give a tremendous amount of credit to our basically studio teams to consistently punch above their weight. If you look at the series that have obviously been delivered this quarter, and from a technology standpoint, we are going to take an iterate, test and learn approach in terms of how we roll these things out. So we feel good about where we're going, and we're going to work really hard to make sure that we are delivering the best possible experience to users as consumer focus is really a big driver for us. Kevin Creighton: Great. Thank you, David. Okay. Our next question comes from Robert Fishman at MoffettNathanson, and this one is regarding sort of a broader bundling strategy. And his question is, any updated views on how you weigh investing behind Paramount+ to accelerate its growth versus partnering with other streaming platforms to leverage their distribution similar to Peacock's deal with YouTube Premium? And can you do both? Maybe Andy will go ahead, and give that one to you? Andrew Gordon: Yes. Thanks, Robert. And look, this is really a follow-on to what David just talked about, which is how we basically create the right distribution partnership that really lights up our consumers. And so when you step back, like we look at each partnership independent and separate, large or small against literally the same criteria. One, does it expand our reach to new audiences? Two, does it enhance our ability to own the direct relationship with the consumer? And three, do the economics work for us relative to our owned and operated direct franchise? There are other components that we also look like that are more technical. Is it a better customer experience? Can that customer experience be enhanced by what the partner can offer? Are we going to get shared data? Will the partner share their data in a way that helps them and it also helps us? Lastly, we also think about on our ad tiers, will that partnership essentially scale our own ad business and allow us to have the ad signal from that partner that will benefit us as well as them? It's a high bar for us to really consider some of these very large bundles, and it really has to fit in the framework that I just mentioned on all those different criteria. When you think about what we're trying to do and what David mentioned is we really want to scale our direct-to-consumer businesses. So putting Paramount+ with the assets of Warner Bros. once we close, it's important that we literally put that into a combined globally scaled stand-alone service where we have the direct relationship with the customer, the control of the data and the monetization strategy. That's really how we think about it, and that's how we're going to essentially grow the business as we move forward. Look, we have great relationships with the likes of Amazon, Roku, YouTube and Apple, and we'll continue to work with them on a variety of opportunities and things that are both enhancing for them as well as enhancing for us. Back over to you, Kevin. Kevin Creighton: All right. Great. Thanks, Andy. Our next question is on the tech convergence, and I think we may have touched on this a bit up in prior questions, but from Mike Morris at Guggenheim. Question is, is the Paramount+, Pluto, BET+ convergence still tracking to launch this summer? And what will you watch in early data to know it is working? And how do you think about bundle design or any changes at launch and where you might see benefit to advertising as well? David Ellison: Yes. So Mike, I really appreciate the question. The answer is yes. We're on track for everything that we've guided towards in terms of convergence. The web experience for Pluto has actually been live since June 30. And we're on track to basically roll out the O&O completion by the end of the summer, which is what -- which we've been working towards in our expectation. In terms of the early signals that we'll look for, it's really improvements across personalization and recommendation quality, discovery and engagement lift, a better ad experience and improved monetization as we unify the ad stacks across both Paramount+ and Pluto and also improved merchandising, which was not previously possible given connectivity between the 2 services had really siloed data where they didn't talk to one another. And by bringing them together, we're going to get significant benefits. I also think it's worth noting that we really view that as getting us to the starting line. There was some tech debt that we inherited when we acquired the company. And this really now puts us in a position to be able to iterate very quickly and also to make incremental investments in Pluto as we get towards the back half of this year because as we'll have an improved VOD experience, improved user experience, improved monetization engine, you are going to see us make select content investments into Pluto in fourth quarter of this year. As it relates to the front end, again, with having it be a truly unified stack, we can now iterate much quicker. And so you should look for us to obviously continue to improve the UI and UX merchandising as well as the basically ad stack across the 2 services. As it relates to pricing and bundle design, the right way to think about convergence is really as a technology integration that is bringing together the codebases and unifying the data that was previously siloed between the 3 separate services. As it relates to the specific question around the kind of ad tier ARPU, you should absolutely expect upside over time. And really, the structural goal that we're working towards is to be effectively indifferent as to which plan the subscriber chooses from a monetization perspective. So we are on track, and the team has been making incredible progress, and we will achieve the goals that we've set out. Kevin Creighton: All right. Great. Thank you, David. We'll now pivot a bit to industry trends. So our next question is from Sean Diffley at Morgan Stanley, and it's on AI. Question is, David, how do you envision AI and interactivity across the company? And how can you nurture intellectual property and keep it fresh and relevant for younger generations? David Ellison: Look, it's a fantastic question. I know we've talked about this a little bit on previous earnings calls. Look, we really do view artificial intelligence as a tool for storytellers, not a replacement for them. We are a content and storytelling company first. I think we demonstrated that with, I'd say, some of the models that infringed on copyright. We were kind of early to kind of step in and fiercely defend our copyrights and also fiercely defend the artists that we create them who are in the business of serving. That said, we think AI is going to be a big unlock and a positive for our business and for our industry. We think it's going to be a creative unlock in terms of storytelling, again, all through the lens of being a tool for artists. But I think if you think back to 1983 (sic) [ 1984 ] when James Cameron made the first Terminator film for a little over $4 million, that at that time was an original film with a first-time director. And when you think about what that would cost today, it would be hard for that movie to basically get made. And I think as you look at how the technology will make things more efficient, I think that will be a big unlock to creativity across the totality of our business, really driven by filmmakers and talent. I also think you're going to see significant efficiencies as AI is deployed across the business. One particular area is that in computer programming. The speed at which you can now iterate and complete projects is kind of on average, 50% more efficient in terms of what's possible. And I think that this technology has really changed that for the foreseeable future. I also think there were some things as it relates to the Seedance launch and the Sora launch that I don't think have been talked about enough, which was what did you see created on those days. You saw people wanting to interact with intellectual property with characters and universes that they love that they don't actually have the access to be able to do, which again speaks to the power of intellectual property and new avenues that can be created to be able to interact with it, with fans of the next generation, but I think also pretty much across the board, right? Like we're going to live in a world where, look, my daughter is a huge fan of PAW Patrol, right? We have a movie coming out in just under 2 weeks. We couldn't be more excited about it. But her favorite character is Skye, for anyone who is interested. And you're going to live in a world where if she wants to have a 10-minute conversation with Skye powered by an LLM, she can do that. And that will deepen fandom, deepen engagement, that's all possible. If you're a die-hard Star Trek fan and you want to basically create a 5-minute clip on the bridge of the Enterprise, that's going to be possible. So again, I think there's going to be really significant unlocks across the totality of the business that's really generated and propelled by artificial intelligence. But with that said, in a world of AI slop and user-generated content, I continue to believe there will be a premium for handcrafted filmmaker, high-quality artist-driven storytelling. And you're seeing that take place in the marketplace right now. You're seeing The Odyssey break records. You're seeing one of the biggest opening weekends of all time with Spider-Man. So from that standpoint, we are bullish on high-quality content that is handcrafted by storytellers. And so from that standpoint, we really believe that there are areas where AI will be great for our business. We believe in high-quality handcrafted storytelling, and you'll see us basically pursue both across the company. Kevin Creighton: Right. Great. Thank you, David. So now we'll go ahead and turn to the Studios. So our question comes from Peter Supino at Wolfe Research. And his question is, could you talk about the progress you've made rebuilding Studios? What have been the most valuable advances and what remains to be done that's controllable? David Ellison: So Peter, I really appreciate the question. And look, we're really proud of the work that we've made in basically in 1 year across the Studios business, right? I mean from a measurable standpoint, we've obviously Q2, we delivered a profitable quarter for our Studios business coming off of a loss. And we really do view our Studios business as a long-term growth driver for the business, and we really are just getting started. I think if you look at where we were basically a year ago when we bought the company across Paramount Pictures, there were 8 films released that year. Literally a year later, we have 15 films that we're releasing in 2026, which we're incredibly proud of. Across our Television Studios, we're on track to deliver 90 series this year and 800 episodes of television. And that is absolutely durable and growing. We've also -- in credit to Josh and Dana and Josh Goldstein, they've been doing a lot of work to obviously improve the marketing and distribution business in terms of using more data and analytics to make marketing more efficient and also to target in a way that is much more effective. I think Scary Movie outperformance is a great reflection of that. And then as you look forward into 2027 and beyond, we really are building our slate in a way that we're really excited about. We have Children of Blood and Bone coming from Gina Prince-Bythewood, who's a phenomenal filmmaker. I was fortunate enough to get to produce The Old Guard with her. We have the next installment in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. John Krasinski has obviously returned to A Quiet Place with Emily Blunt. We have a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies coming. We have Teyana Taylor's Get Lite. We couldn't be more excited about our Days of Thunder sequel with Tom Cruise and Jerry Bruckheimer as well as what we're doing on Call of Duty with Pete Berg and Taylor Sheridan, just to name a few. And another thing you'll see us do is we really do believe in the philosophy of betting on people and betting on talent. And that's something you will continue to see us do, and we have an incredible group of artists that we're very fortunate to have call Paramount home. We're thrilled that The Duffer Brothers are now here. They're hard at work on their first feature film that we're really excited about. Matt and Trey Parker have been doing unbelievable work. Jon Chu, Issa Rae, James Mangold, and then, of course, basically Taylor Sheridan. We just released Season 3 of Lioness. He's working on the next season of Landman as well as writing Call of Duty literally as we speak. I think he is a singular artist whose track record more than speaks for itself. And so all of those are things that are controllable that we've been working hard towards that we're excited about. And also, I would say one of the other things that we've been seeing really big improvements over is from our licensing group. When we got here, we made improvements to our Pay 1 deals that have really been performing well for us. Recent success from Skydance Animation. Swapped just joined the top 10 of Netflix's most-watched original films. We'll actually be the #2 most-watched animated movie behind KPop Demon Hunters and really joins The Adam Project. So we're proud that basically the legacy Skydance business now has 2 of Netflix's top 10. And what we're going to continue to do is obviously continue to invest in content, continue to grow our Studios business, and you will only see that accelerate in the future. Kevin Creighton: Great. Maybe, Dennis, do you want to briefly touch on financials of that? Dennis Cinelli: Yes. So I can run through the Studios results. Studios continued its run of improving adjusted EBITDA year-on-year. Adjusted EBITDA was $36 million in the quarter, up from a loss last year. Revenue was up 16%, a few of the areas that drove the results. So as Dave mentioned, theatrical beat our plan. Scary Movie really delivered franchise best opening. This year-on-year partially is offset by the lapping of Mission: Impossible. Our film slate profitability improved year-on-year. This was a bit better than our expectations. And one of the things that is interesting, I'd like to add a metric to look under the hood in that performance, we've implemented a more disciplined data-driven approach to greenlighting, marketing and distribution. And so each dollar of marketing spend is doing more for us. Each dollar of marketing spend is generating 11% more box office in '26 versus '25. Across our TV Studios, we saw double-digit licensing growth. This was driven by third-party deliveries at Paramount Television Studios as well as the consolidation of Skydance licensing. And then in terms of our outlook, so we expect studio performance, as we've talked about, to continue to be a growth engine for us. We expect this to be durable. We have 8 films that remain in the back half of '26. This includes PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie, Street Fighter, Mr. Irrelevant with the NFL. Between the higher output volume, our improved marketing discipline, our licensing momentum that David talked about and then the visibility into our slate for '27, we feel good about Studios sustaining its profitable path and being not just sort of a 1-quarter pop, but a growth driver for us as well as a profitability driver. And so overall, you'll see Studios, the segment grow profitability '26 versus '25. Kevin Creighton: All right. Great. Thank you. We'll now go ahead and pivot to TV Media. We have a couple of questions on that. So the first one comes from John Hodulik at UBS on cord-cutting. The question is cord-cutting seems to be slowing driven by the proliferation of skinny bundles. How is Paramount positioned with the linear ecosystem? And is this dynamic a net positive or negative for the company? Andy, maybe I'll turn that one over to you. Andrew Gordon: Sure. And John, thanks for the question. I think I'll take the second part kind of first and just talk about where we're positioned in the ecosystem. I would say the relationship with our affiliate partners has never been better. The content that we provide through both CBS, our cable channels and our P+ credentials are very important to their consumer base, whether it's our CBS primetime lineup, whether it's our sports offering, whether it's some of the great programming we have on our cable channels as well as all the things that we serve on the original side of Paramount+, the affiliate wants to have us in the ecosystem. I will say that we've noticed the affiliate revenue declines has slowed somewhat based on the following, which is subscriber declines are slowing in terms of their rate of growth of slowing down, meaning that they're not shrinking as much as quickly. And sort of the rates we're getting are essentially resilient on a business-as-usual basis. Having said that, we're very conservative about how we look at the future and how we look at those declines, and we're managing the business very effectively around that. In fact, the team has done a great job in making sure that as revenue declines, actually margins are improving in terms of being more efficient in going after that business, which we find to be incredibly attractive to the overall ecosystem at Paramount. I do want to call out that there is a lot of innovation that's happening with our MVPDs as well as our virtual MVPDs. YouTube and Charter are very large relationships of ours. In particular, Charter has really cared about the video product, and they've done a very good job in sort of packaging both as a bundle relative to our cable channel, CBS, and our P+ credentials, which are critical in terms of their relationship with us and what they offer the customer, and they have 10 million of those. But they also have been very thoughtful on looking at skinny bundles in terms of where the customer may want to just have sports or just have certain general entertainment. And we're okay with that as long as it sort of provides a really good customer experience and it provides the right economics for us overall. So that's -- Kevin, that's really the answer. Kevin Creighton: Great. Thanks, Andy. Appreciate it. Next question is from Jessica Reif Ehrlich at Bank of America, and this one is on advertising in the upfront. And generally, just a question on the overall tone or color regarding the advertising market for Paramount over the past quarter and -- as we look out. Maybe, Andy, do you want to take that one as well? Andrew Gordon: Sure. Jessica, great to hear from you. I hope you're in a great place at the moment. But let me start with the question, and then I will turn it over to Dennis for the numbers. Look, we could not be more excited. We've had a very strong upfront season, double-digit percentage increase year-over-year. I think we credit not only to our content offerings and what we're offering to our advertising clients, but that we have a really awesome digital-first management team and new leadership around what we're doing in advertising. Quite frankly, this has been the strongest upfront season since the CBS-Viacom merger. And we couldn't be more thrilled to see where we're ultimately going to go into the end of the year and into next year. I will say that we are very focused on making that digital transition. We've started on the sales side with our new leadership team, but we're also focused on the product side where we really are investing in technology that will allow us to monetize more ad impressions across our entire digital portfolio, whether it be in Paramount+ ad tiers, Pluto and our digital sites across the company. And I think you'll see more of that product innovation as we get into the end of the year and into next year. But this is a critical component of ultimately where we want to be from an ad perspective. So let me turn it over to Dennis to go through some of the numbers relative to advertising over this quarter. Dennis Cinelli: Great. Thanks, Andy. So in terms of advertising results, so in the second quarter, organic ad revenue trends were pretty stable and then a little bit better than typically seasonal patterns. Our DTC advertising growth nearly offset continued TV Media pressure as we make that digital transition that Andy talked about. Maybe it's worth a couple of the breakouts. In TV Media, Q2 advertising declined 14% year-on-year. This was driven by a couple of headwinds. One is 8 percentage point impact from the NCAA, where last year, we had the Final Four, and this year, we did not. We also have the 3 percentage point headwind from our sale of Telefe and Chilevision, and this was partially offset by a 2 percentage point political benefit. In Paramount+, we continue to have really encouraging results. We delivered double-digit ad growth. This was driven by our premium demand, including live sports programming, UFC, World Cup. And then really encouraging our sell-through continuing to increase year-on-year. On Pluto, this remained a drag. It was consistent with our Q1 results. Again, we're relaunching that platform here in the summer. And so we will -- we do expect that Pluto to return to growth in the back half of the year. And then Andy talked about the investments we've been making across the team and the pricing and packaging and our technology stack. And what we'll see in the back half is overall ad revenue for the company return to growth. Turn it back to you. Kevin Creighton: All right. Great. Thank you. We'll now go ahead and move on to our financial results and guidance. We got a question after we printed today from Steve Cahall at Wells Fargo. And the question is, you've raised your FY '26 adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow guide. You topped your Q2 guidance, but you didn't raise your revenue guidance. Should we imply that synergies are coming through more strongly? Or are there additional operating outperformance? And then on the free cash flow side, is $800 million still a good number for '26 cash restructuring costs? And I guess my step back is just maybe, Dennis, it would be helpful to walk through kind of some of the puts and takes on the quarter and the outlook. Dennis Cinelli: Yes. Sounds good. So we'll talk through the pieces. Overall Q2, I mean, we've talked about a lot of the pieces was a strong quarter. We feel really good about how the company executed in the quarter, and you saw that in the results. Overall revenue and adjusted EBITDA were at or above the high end of our prior guidance ranges. Revenue growth was led by DTC at 9%. Studios was up 16%. Adjusted EBITDA grew 27% year-on-year to $1.1 billion. Profitability was up across all 3 segments, which was a great quarter for us. Given this outperformance, we are raising our full year adjusted EBITDA outlook. We're putting a range on it from $3.8 billion to $3.9 billion. We are increasing our free cash flow conversion to be at least 10% from previously 5%. This is while keeping our $30 billion of revenue outlook in place. And so I'll talk through some of the puts and takes here. So on the adjusted EBITDA increase, we are making progress on our transformation. As we noted in the letter, we are taking up our synergies realized through this year to $2.7 billion. You're seeing that flow through in this guidance. We're able to -- we're seeing upside from our cost management efforts. And we're doing this even as we reinvest in the business. We're reinvesting in technology. We've also talked about the programming investments we're making. On revenue, revenue is pretty consistent with what we've said previously. Our guidance is we will have accelerating DTC revenue. Studios will continue to grow, and we're managing against the linear declines. The trend -- this sort of continues our transition of revenue more towards our growth engines, streaming and Studios as well as our profit base. And we'll talk through Q3, you're going to see that revenue step up in our Q3 guidance, revenue growth up in our Q3 guidance. And I'll come back to that. So on free cash flow outlook, one of the things that I've been focused on, the teams are focused on, especially since I've been here is just making sure we are implementing a ton of discipline in free cash flow and managing the business accordingly. And we're starting to see that come through. So we did take up our free cash flow outlook for the year. It's 10%, excluding our transformation costs. This still reflects our elevated content spend tied to programming, right? Our content investments are still in an early ramp, namely our expanded film slate as well as our broader originals lineup. And also, it carries in some of our -- and this will moderate. Given this is an investment year, our investment in content will moderate as we become to a steadier profile. We still see -- I think the thing to call out is 10% free cash flow conversion is not our end goal. As we've talked a lot about, we do see a clear multiyear opportunity over the midterm to deliver sustainable top line growth and to close the gap in our profit margin and free cash flow conversion to our relevant peer companies. In terms of Q3, just to state the guidance, we expect revenue of $6.95 billion to $7.15 billion. This is growth from 4% to 7% year-on-year. This is an acceleration of the business as we see our investments pay off. Our adjusted EBITDA is $875 million to $975 million in guidance. This is really driven by the accelerating growth in DTC and Studios as well as moderating declines in TV Media. In terms of Paramount+ subscribers, we do expect subscribers to be relatively flat quarter-on-quarter. In terms of the Q3 revenue growth, we talked a little bit about this, right? We will see accelerating growth in DTC. This includes improving both advertising trends as well as subscription strength. We'll see accelerating Studios growth, which includes our strong slate in the back half of the year as well as our delivery on licensing, both first run licensing as well as our library. A thing to call out is our library revenue is growing double digits. And then TV Media, we will see less of a decline year-on-year given -- versus Q2, just given we don't have the NCAA comp. On Q3 adjusted EBITDA, as we noted in the last call, our profitability is going to be more heavily weighted to first half. This is driven by the step down year-on-year in DTC in the second half. It's really comes down in Q3, where the timing of content amortization, which is really our sports portfolio as well as some of the new originals hits us more in Q3 and start to moderate in Q4. However, Studios and TV Media profitability will continue to improve. Overall, we feel really good about our results in Q2. We feel good about improving our adjusted EBITDA guidance and our free cash flow guidance, and we look forward to continue to execute. Kevin Creighton: All right. Great. Thanks, Dennis. And our last question before we go ahead and open it up. Andy, maybe this one is for you on transformation. The question is from Ric Prentiss at Raymond James. And it's what are 2 to 3 -- what are the 2 to 3 biggest areas left of cost savings across PSky? Andrew Gordon: Yes. Before I get to that, let me just remind everybody that we started prior to closing last year, we thought we'd save $2 billion by merging Skydance and Paramount together. During our first quarter earnings call after we closed, we raised that to $3 billion plus, basically based on understanding what we could do by reorganizing the businesses. That was a 50% increase over what we thought we could do prior to closing. And when you think about what we did in reorganizing, we put cable and broadcast into the same group and use the management team running CBS essentially reduce redundancies, centralized shared services and institute best practices. We did the same thing in Studios, where we put the film studios of both Skydance and Paramount together with all the Television Studios of Skydance and Paramount with the exception of CBS into one business unit, and we got the same type of efficiencies there. We've also improved the ROI on the content spend for every dollar of production that we put into motion since we've closed. Some of the big step functions that we've noticed over this year that's gotten us to an incremental $200 million in run rate by the end of the year and into next year really are technology and what we're spending in technology relative to our running the company on the ERP side. Our migration to Oracle Fusion will essentially be complete by the end of next year, and that will save us a ton of money. In addition from that on the product side, David already talked about integrating Paramount+, BET+ and Pluto to the same tech stacks. When you look at the combination of all that together and also economizing on our third-party spend with cloud providers, that's roughly a $200 million savings overall in our program. And then there's another $100 million across consolidating facilities management, other procurement efficiencies such as professional services and marketing, all of which will sort of be part of this year, but also flow into next year as we get into that $3 billion-plus synergy target. So thanks, Kevin. Kevin Creighton: All right. Great. Thanks, Andy. We'll now go ahead and transition to taking any final questions live. Before we do, just a quick note before we open up the line. Given the pending transaction, we won't be taking any questions on the deal today before -- beyond what we've already discussed. So please keep any final questions focused on the business or the industry, but not on the transaction. With that, Krista, can we go ahead and open up the line for final questions? Operator: Your first question comes from Robert Fishman with MoffettNathanson. Robert Fishman: You guys called out in the letter how premium live sports is improving the engagement, strengthening retention and increasing the value to your service. Does that push you to add even more sports rights in the years ahead? Clearly, there's some bigger ones coming in the next few years, including the success of World Cup. And then if you can touch on maybe how you think about the broader portfolio when you do include Warner Bros., whether that's a rebalancing or prioritizing of the different rights that you do have in the portfolio? Kevin Creighton: Yes. We'll take the first part. As I mentioned, we're not going to address anything on the transaction side. But David, do you want to touch on the first piece maybe? David Ellison: Yes. No, no, absolutely. So I mean, look, we're a big believer in live sports, and I think you should look for us to obviously continue to expand in terms of how we look at the portfolio there. And look, I'd say our confidence based on the UFC's performance on Paramount+ has only really reaffirmed basically that position. I think if you go all the way back to where we started with UFC 324, that delivered the largest live exclusive event in the history of Paramount+. We then beat that record with basically UFC 250, which did 17 million viewers across the U.S. and Lat Am. And as TKO announced on their earnings call, 45 million globally, which I think really speaks to the power of that sport. And then in July with the McGregor fight, we obviously, again, set a new high watermark for Paramount+ in terms of peak concurrent streams. And so from that standpoint, I think you should definitely look at us as a buyer of sports rights. That obviously is a category we believe in a great deal. And I look forward to when we can answer the WBD question later on. Andrew Gordon: I would just sort of add to what David said, which is the Champions League has been something we've had in the U.S., and we've been able to secure that both in the U.K. and Germany. And there are other territories that have come up that we'll announce shortly that are also very attractive to us, too. Operator: Your next question comes from the line of David Joyce with Seaport Research Partners. David Joyce: I was wondering what sort of discussions you've had or have coming up with your affiliate partners, distributors on the linear side over the next 12 to [ 18 ] months. What sort of proportion of your portfolio does that include? And are you able to roll out the combination with your streaming services as a bundle with any more distributors from here? Andrew Gordon: Great. Let me address that, David, if that's okay. Let me start with the last part, which is most of our distributors want our streaming credentials. It's critical to our offering generally. And we continue to do that in the right way and some perform better than others on their platforms. That is something that is clearly important to our affiliate relationships. And I would say that between now and the next 18 months, generally all will come up for renewal and sort of they're sequential. So every time we do this, they're usually 18 to 2 years out, and we're just continuing to progress with them. And so far, those discussions have been going very well this year so far. Operator: Thank you. I will now turn the conference back over to Kevin for closing comments. Kevin Creighton: All right. Thanks, Krista. I appreciate it. Thank you all for joining us today. And if you have any follow-on questions, please feel free to reach out to me or Logan on the Investor Relations team. Thanks. Operator: Ladies and gentlemen, this does conclude today's conference call. Thank you for your participation, and you may now disconnect. 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This article is a transcript of this conference call produced for The Motley Fool. While we strive for our Foolish Best, there may be errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in this transcript. As with all our articles, The Motley Fool does not assume any responsibility for your use of this content, and we strongly encourage you to do your own research, including listening to the call yourself and reading the company's SEC filings. Please see our Terms and Conditions for additional details, including our Obligatory Capitalized Disclaimers of Liability. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Paramount Skydance (PSKY) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript was originally published by The Motley Fool

Interested in Paramount Skydance Corporation? Here are five stocks we like better. Streaming momentum improved: Paramount+ revenue rose 16% year over year, adding 2 million reported subscribers to reach 81.6 million globally. Management highlighted stronger retention, engagement and ARPU, while platform integration with Pluto and BET+ is expected to improve monetization. Profitability and guidance strengthened: Studios returned to adjusted EBITDA profitability, TV Media profit increased 14%, and full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance rose to $3.8 billion–$3.9 billion. Paramount also expects more than $2.7 billion in annualized efficiency savings by year-end while maintaining its $30 billion revenue outlook. Warner Bros. Discovery deal remains central: Management said it remains highly confident the transaction will close, with financing committed and $1.6 billion in cash plus $3.2 billion of undrawn credit capacity. However, delays could add substantial costs, including roughly $190 million in bridge-financing expenses if closing extends to June 2027 and quarterly ticking fees after September 30. 3 Stocks Standing Out and 2 Losing Momentum as the Tech Rally Cracks Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ:PSKY) said its second-quarter performance reflected progress in its efforts to expand streaming, rebuild its studios business and reduce costs, while management reaffirmed confidence in the company’s proposed combination with Warner Bros. Discovery. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Ellison said Paramount+ reached nearly 82 million subscribers, delivered its best retention quarter to date and recorded double-digit growth in total view hours. The company also reported improving profitability in its studios operations and 14% profit growth at TV Media despite revenue pressure from the continuing shift away from linear television. → Meta’s Earnings Drop Shows Wall Street Wants More Than Ad Growth Plot Twist: 12 States Could Stall the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Mega-Merger “A year ago, we set three priorities for the new Paramount: invest in storytelling, scale our direct-to-consumer business globally, and drive enterprise-wide efficiency,” Ellison said. “Twelve months in, I’m proud to say we are delivering on all three.” Chief Financial Officer Dennis Cinelli said Paramount+ revenue increased 16% year over year in the quarter, with roughly one-third of the increase coming from subscriber growth and two-thirds from higher average revenue per user, or ARPU. The service added 2 million reported subscribers during the quarter, reaching 81.6 million globally. → 4 Oil and Gas ETF Plays as Prices Stay Sky-High The Netflix-Lionsgate Rumor Exposed a Bigger Shift in Media M&A Before exits from “hard bundles,” Paramount+ added 4 million underlying subscribers, nearly double the underlying additions reported in the first quarter, Cinelli said. Management attributed the gains to content including Dutton Ranch, UFC programming and World Cup coverage in select territories. Ellison said Paramount+ has substantial room to grow relative to larger competitors and reiterated management’s view that double-digit revenue growth is achievable. He pointed to improvements in subscriber growth, engagement, profitability and ARPU, while describing the company’s strategy as combining content investment with product and technology development. → Ulta's Growth Is Real, But So Are the Risks The company said it remains on schedule to converge the technology platforms behind Paramount+, Pluto and BET+ by the end of the summer. Pluto’s web experience has been live since June 30, according to Ellison. Management expects the integration to improve personalization, content recommendations, merchandising, advertising and monetization by unifying data and ad technology that had previously been separated across the services. Paramount plans to make select content investments in Pluto during the fourth quarter after completing the platform work. Ellison said the company’s long-term goal is to become effectively indifferent from a monetization standpoint as to whether a subscriber selects an advertising-supported or other plan. Ellison said Paramount remains “highly confident” its proposed Warner Bros. Discovery transaction will close. He said the deal has received approvals from regulators and governments in 65 jurisdictions, including the U.S. federal government, Canada, the European Union and China. Management argued that the combined company would remain a smaller competitor than major technology and media platforms. Ellison said the combination would account for less than 20% of television watch time excluding YouTube, based on Nielsen data, and 13.4% including YouTube. He also said the combined company would represent 18% of domestic box office over the past 12 months and 22% over a 24-month period. On litigation related to the transaction, Ellison said Paramount is open to an out-of-court solution but believes it would prevail at trial. A trial date has been set for March of next year, he said. Cinelli said the equity and bridge financing for the transaction are committed through the remaining closing period. If the deal does not close until June 2027, incremental bridge financing costs would total about $190 million, including monthly fees of $8 million to $9 million and an additional commitment fee. If a closing occurs after Sept. 30, Paramount would also owe Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders a ticking fee of $0.25 per share per quarter, or about $650 million per quarter, funded through additional equity at closing, Cinelli said. Paramount ended the quarter with $1.6 billion in cash and $3.2 billion of undrawn revolving-credit capacity. Cinelli said this liquidity is sufficient to fund operations, the dividend and transaction-related costs through an extended timeline. Paramount’s studios segment generated $36 million in adjusted EBITDA in the quarter, compared with a loss a year earlier, while revenue rose 16%. Cinelli said theatrical results exceeded the company’s plan and that Scary Movie delivered a franchise-best opening. Management said it has increased its film-release slate from eight films a year ago to 15 films planned for 2026. Paramount Television Studios is on track to produce 90 series and 800 television episodes this year, Ellison said. Cinelli said the company’s more data-driven greenlighting, marketing and distribution efforts have improved the return on marketing spending. Each marketing dollar is generating 11% more box office in 2026 than in 2025, he said. Paramount has eight films scheduled for the second half of 2026, including Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie, Street Fighter and Mr. Irrelevant. Ellison also said Paramount intends to remain an active buyer of sports rights. He cited UFC programming as a driver of engagement, noting that UFC 250 drew 17 million viewers across the U.S. and Latin America and 45 million viewers globally, according to figures announced by TKO. Advertising trends were mixed during the quarter. TV Media advertising revenue declined 14% year over year, including an 8-percentage-point impact from the absence of the NCAA Final Four compared with the prior-year period and a 3-percentage-point effect from the sales of Telefe and Univision. Paramount+ advertising, however, delivered double-digit growth, supported by premium demand and live sports. Chief Strategy Officer and COO Andy Gordon said Paramount had a strong upfront advertising season, with a double-digit percentage increase year over year. Management expects companywide advertising revenue to return to growth in the second half, aided by Paramount+ and an anticipated return to growth at Pluto. Paramount raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook to $3.8 billion to $3.9 billion and increased its free-cash-flow conversion outlook to at least 10%, excluding transformation costs. The company maintained its full-year revenue outlook of $30 billion. For the third quarter, Paramount forecast revenue of $6.95 billion to $7.15 billion, representing year-over-year growth of 4% to 7%, and adjusted EBITDA of $875 million to $975 million. The company expects Paramount+ subscribers to be relatively flat sequentially in the third quarter. Management said it now expects more than $2.7 billion in annualized efficiency savings by year-end and continues to target more than $3 billion in total savings from the Skydance-Paramount merger. Gordon said technology initiatives, including an Oracle Fusion migration, unified streaming technology stacks and reduced third-party cloud spending, represent about $200 million of savings. Facility management, procurement, professional-services and marketing efficiencies are expected to contribute another $100 million. Paramount Skydance Media Group (Nasdaq: PSKY) is a media and entertainment company created through the proposed combination of Paramount Global’s filmed entertainment and streaming operations with Skydance Media, a privately held content studio. The combined business will encompass the development, production and distribution of feature films, television programming and digital content, drawing on a library of legacy Paramount Pictures franchises alongside Skydance’s blockbuster tentpoles and animation slate. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Paramount Skydance Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.

Paramount Skydance reported second-quarter results on Tuesday and raised its full-year profit outlook, as growth in streaming and film offset a continued decline in its cable television business. The company boosted its full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA target to between $3.8 billion and $3.9 billion, attributing the improvement to efficiencies unlocked by the Skydance combination, with total expected savings from that deal pegged at $3 billion. Paramount still projects total 2026 revenue of $30 billion, representing 4% growth year over year, the company said. Total revenue for the second quarter came in at $6.91 billion, up slightly from the same period a year earlier. Wall Street had expected $6.88 billion in revenue, according to CNBC. Net earnings attributable to the company were $41 million, or 4 cents per share, compared with $57 million, or 8 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter. The direct-to-consumer segment, encompassing Paramount+, BET+, and the ad-supported free service Pluto TV, posted a 9% revenue gain to $2.47 billion, while the film division grew 16% to $1.31 billion. TV media, dragged down by the ongoing cable decline, slipped 9% to $3.13 billion. Paramount+ added 2 million subscribers during the quarter, bringing its global total to 81.6 million. Paramount credited a strong content lineup for making the second quarter its best-ever period for keeping subscribers, pointing to the "Yellowstone" spinoff "Dutton Ranch" and live sports rights including UFC events and FIFA World Cup matches broadcast across parts of Latin America. Looking ahead to the third quarter, the company guided for total revenue in a range of $6.95 billion to $7.15 billion and said it anticipates subscriber growth at Paramount+ will hold roughly steady relative to the second quarter. CEO David Ellison also addressed Paramount's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which has been delayed by an antitrust lawsuit brought by a group of U.S. state attorneys general. Facing the state-level legal challenge, Paramount last month extended the deal's outside closing deadline to June 2027. Regulators at the Justice Department's antitrust division and in multiple overseas markets, including in Europe, have already signed off on the transaction. The states' case is set to go before a court in March 2027, according to CNBC. "We remain confident it will be completed, creating a stronger, more competitive, creative-first media company that builds on the foundation we've established," Ellison said in a shareholder letter. The results arrive at something of an anniversary mark, with the Skydance-Paramount combination having closed just under a year ago.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Paramount+ Subscribers: Grew to nearly 82 million subscribers. Paramount+ Retention: Delivered its best quarter of retention ever. Paramount+ Viewing Hours: Posted double-digit growth in total view hours. TV Media Profit: Grew 14% year-over-year. Studio Profitability: Continued year-over-year profitability improvement. Run Rate Efficiencies: Tracking to over $2.7 billion by year's end. Merger Efficiencies: Expecting a total of $3 billion-plus from the Skydance Paramount merger. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 2 Warning Sign with PSKY. Is PSKY fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: August 04, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Paramount+ subscriber base grew to nearly 82 million, with its best-ever retention quarter and double-digit growth in total view hours. Direct-to-consumer revenue grew 16% year-over-year, driven by a mix of subscriber growth and ARPU increases. The studios business returned to profitability with adjusted EBITDA of $36 million, up from a loss last year, and revenue growth of 16%. The company is on track to achieve over $2.7 billion in run-rate efficiencies by year-end, with a target of $3 billion-plus from the Skydance-Paramount merger. The proposed Warner Bros. Discovery combination has received regulatory approvals from 65 jurisdictions, with management expressing high confidence in closing. The company raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance to $3.8-$3.9 billion and increased free cash flow conversion guidance to at least 10%. The upfront advertising season was the strongest since the CBS-Viacom merger, with double-digit percentage growth year-over-year. The company is making progress on technology convergence, with the Paramount+, Pluto, and BET+ platforms on track to unify by the end of summer. The theatrical slate has nearly doubled to 15 films in 2026, with a strong pipeline including 'Sonic the Hedgehog' and 'Days of Thunder' sequels. Live sports, including UFC and the World Cup, have driven record engagement and subscriber growth, reinforcing the company's commitment to sports rights. TV Media revenue declined due to the broader industry shift away from linear, with advertising down 14% year-over-year in Q2. The company faces incremental financing costs of around $190 million if the Warner Bros. Discovery deal closes by June 2027, including bridge fees and ticking fees. The Warner Bros. Discovery transaction is subject to litigation, with a trial set for March 2027, creating uncertainty and potential delays. Paramount+ subscriber growth was partially offset by exits from hard bundles, with 4 million underlying adds before those exits. Pluto TV remained a drag on advertising revenue, though a relaunch is expected to return it to growth in the back half of the year. The company's free cash flow conversion is still below peer levels, with elevated content spend expected to moderate over time. Q3 adjusted EBITDA is expected to be lower due to timing of content amortization, particularly for sports and new originals. The company's revenue guidance of $30 billion was not raised despite EBITDA and free cash flow improvements, indicating ongoing linear declines. The company faces potential additional ticking fees of $650 million per quarter for Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders if the deal closes after September 30. The company's liquidity position, while sufficient, includes $1.6 billion in cash and $3.2 billion in undrawn revolver capacity, which may be strained by extended transaction timelines. Q: Given that Paramount outbid a larger competitor for Warner, investors view it as a must-have rather than an opportunistic transaction. Can you give us an update on the path forward and what if the WBD transaction doesn't come to fruition? A: David Ellison (Chairman and CEO) stated they remain highly confident the transaction will close, citing approvals from 65 regulators worldwide, including the US, EU, and China. He emphasized that the combined company would represent less than 20% of TV watch time (13.4% including YouTube) and 18% of the domestic box office, confirming no competition concerns. Regarding litigation, they are open to an out-of-court solution but believe they will win at trial, which is set for March of next year. Financing is fully in place with nothing at risk. Q: If the Warner transaction closes later than expected, what is the average burn rate, including ticking fees, commitments and any other costs for Paramount shareholders? A: Dennis Cinelli (CFO) detailed the incremental costs: the bridge loan carries modest fees of $8-9 million per month plus an additional commitment fee in June 2027, totaling around $190 million if closing is delayed until June. The merger agreement provides a ticking fee for WBD shareholders of $0.25 per share per quarter (about $650 million per quarter) if closing occurs after September 30, funded through additional equity. He confirmed the company ended the quarter with $1.6 billion in cash and $3.2 billion in undrawn revolver capacity, sufficient to fund operations and transaction costs through the extended timeline. Q: We've seen revenue growth slow at large streaming peers. Where do you think you are in terms of subscriber penetration and pricing for Paramount+? Do you believe that double-digit top-line growth is sustainable over the medium term? A: David Ellison (Chairman and CEO) affirmed the sustainability of double-digit growth, citing 16% year-over-year revenue growth in Q2. He noted the business is transitioning from linear to streaming and studios, with streaming momentum accelerating. Dennis Cinelli (CFO) added that revenue growth was driven roughly one-third by subscriber growth and two-thirds by ARPU increases. The company added 2 million subscribers in the quarter (81.6 million total), with 4 million underlying subs before exiting hard bundlesnearly double Q1. They highlighted best-ever retention and double-digit engagement growth, expecting D2C revenue to accelerate in the back half. Q: Netflix is ingesting TF1, Peacock is ingesting Starz, YouTube Premium in Peacock, and on and on. Do you foresee Paramount+ becoming a platform, or have you consciously decided to remain a standalone service? A: David Ellison (Chairman and CEO) noted the pending WBD transaction would create a combined service with over 200 million gross subscribers, positioning them near Disney's scale. He emphasized the focus on building a world-class Paramount+ experience, with tech stack convergence on track by end of summer. Regarding platform strategy, he highlighted the consumer desire for convenience and centralized selection (like the old cable bundle), suggesting they will work to solve those problems. He stressed that quality content and storytelling will differentiate their service, with a test-and-learn approach to product rollout. Q: Any updated views on how you weigh investing behind Paramount Plus to accelerate its growth versus partnering with other streaming platforms to leverage their distribution, similar to Peacock's deal with YouTube Premium? And can you do both? A: Andy Gordon (Chief Strategy and Operating Officer) explained they evaluate each partnership against criteria: expanding reach to new audiences, enhancing the direct consumer relationship, and favorable economics relative to their owned-and-operated direct franchise. Additional factors include customer experience, shared data, and scaling their ad business. He emphasized the high bar for large bundles and the goal of scaling D2C businesses, particularly combining Paramount+ with Warner Bros. assets to create a globally scaled standalone service with direct customer relationships, data control, and monetization strategy. They maintain strong relationships with Amazon, Roku, YouTube, and Apple. Q: The Paramount+, Pluto, BET+ convergence still tracking to launch this summer? And what will you watch in early data to know it is working? A: David Ellison (Chairman and CEO) confirmed they are on track, with the Pluto web experience live since June 30 and O&O completion by end of summer. Early signals include improvements in personalization, recommendation quality, discovery, engagement, ad experience, and monetization through unified ad stacks. He noted the convergence addresses inherited tech debt and positions them to iterate quickly, with select content investments into Pluto planned for Q4. Regarding pricing and bundle design, he framed convergence as a technology integration unifying code bases and data, with expectations for ad-tier ARPU upside and a structural goal of being indifferent to which plan subscribers choose from a monetization perspective. Q: David, how do you envision AI and interactivity across the company and how can you nurture intellectual property and keep it fresh and relevant for younger generations? A: David Ellison (Chairman and CEO) views AI as a tool for storytellers, not a replacement, while defending copyrights against infringing models. He cited AI's potential for creative unlocks, referencing James Cameron's first Terminator film as an example of how efficiency can enable original content. He noted significant efficiencies in computer programming (about 50% more efficient). He highlighted new avenues for fan interaction with IP, such as personalized conversations with characters (e.g., Paw Patrol's Sky) or creating Star Trek clips, deepening fandom and engagement. He emphasized a continued premium on handcrafted, high-quality, artist-driven storytelling, citing recent box office successes. Q: Could you talk about the progress you've made rebuilding studios? What have been the most valuable advances and what remains to be done that's controllable? A: David Ellison (Chairman and CEO) highlighted Q2 profitability (up from a loss last year), expanding the theatrical slate from 8 to 15 films in 2026, and delivering 90 series and 800 episodes of television this year. He credited improved marketing and distribution using data analytics, with scary movies outperforming. He outlined an exciting 2027 slate including Children of Blood and Bone, Sonic the Hedgehog, A Quiet Place, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Days of Thunder with Tom Cruise, and Call of Duty with Taylor Sheridan. He emphasized the philosophy of betting on talent, with the Duffer Brothers, Matt and Trey Parker, and Taylor Sheridan now at Paramount. Dennis Cinelli (CFO) added that studios' adjusted EBITDA was $36 million in the quarter, For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Paramount Skydance Corporation PSKY reported second-quarter 2026 results, wherein both the top and bottom lines surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate.The quarter reflected continued strength in the Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) business, a Studios turnaround and disciplined cost management, partially offset by ongoing weakness in TV Media.On the revenue front, PSKY posted total revenues of $6.91 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.88 billion by 0.43%. Revenues increased 0.93% year over year.PSKY reported adjusted earnings of 18 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 15 cents by 20%. The quarter included $153 million in transaction-related costs. Paramount Skydance Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Paramount Skydance Corporation Quote GAAP operating income increased to $475 million in the second quarter of 2026 from $399 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating margin expanded to 6.9% from 5.8%, reflecting improved profitability across the DTC and Studios businesses and disciplined expense management despite continued pressure in linear television. Adjusted EBITDA rose 27% year over year to $1.10 billion, while adjusted EBITDA margin expanded to 15.9% from 12.6%. The improvement was driven by continued DTC margin expansion, stronger Studios profitability and higher margins in TV Media through ongoing cost discipline. Management noted that enterprise-wide efficiency initiatives remain on track to deliver more than $2.7 billion in run-rate efficiencies by year-end 2026.On the advertising front, digital advertising continued to gain traction, with DTC advertising revenues up 8% year over year and Paramount+ advertising revenues rising more than 30%, supported by stronger engagement and improved monetization. DTC revenues came in at $2.47 billion, up 9% year over year, led by 16% growth in Paramount+ revenues to $2.06 billion on subscriber and ARPU gains. Paramount+ ended the quarter with 81.6 million subscribers, adding approximately two million despite nearly two million international hard bundle exits. DTC adjusted EBITDA climbed 44% to $366 million, with margin expanding to 14.8% from 11.2%, supported by the platform's best-ever retention quarter, driven by Dutton Ranch, UFC programming and the FIFA World Cup in select Latin American markets.Studios revenues grew 16% year over year to $1.31 billion on higher third-party television deliveries and the consolidation of Skydance licensing revenues, partly offset by a difficult theatrical comparison against Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Studios adjusted EBITDA improved to $36 million from a loss of $31 million a year earlier, reflecting a more disciplined approach to greenlighting, marketing and distribution.TV Media revenues declined 9% year over year to $3.13 billion, with advertising down 14% on the NCAA lap and international divestitures, and affiliate revenues down 6% amid continued pay TV subscriber declines. TV Media adjusted EBITDA rose to $1.06 billion, with margin expanding to 34% from 26.4%, on disciplined cost management. CBS held seven of the top 10 broadcast series in the most recent broadcast season. Cash and cash equivalents were $1.63 billion as of June 30, 2026, down from $1.94 billion as of March 31, 2026. Gross debt decreased sequentially to $15.16 billion from $15.48 billion, with $1.8 billion drawn under the revolving credit facility. Operating cash flow totaled $319 million and free cash flow was $258 million. For the third quarter, PSKY expects revenues of $6.95 billion to $7.15 billion, implying 4% to 7% growth year over year, with Paramount+ subscribers expected to be roughly flat sequentially. Adjusted EBITDA is projected at $875 million to $975 million (13.1% margin at midpoint), with approximately $200 million in transformation costs expected during the quarter. Studios and TV Media profitability are expected to improve year over year, while DTC margins are expected to moderate on higher content amortization tied to the second-half programming slate.For 2026, PSKY reaffirmed its $30 billion revenue target (4% growth) and raised its adjusted EBITDA outlook to $3.8-$3.9 billion from a prior guidance of $3.8 billion. Free cash flow conversion is now expected at a minimum of 10%, up from a prior guidance of 5%, before roughly $800 million in transformation costs. Management reiterated confidence that the proposed Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition will be completed. PSKY currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector are American Public Education APEI, Newsmax NMAX and  Target Hospitality TH. Each stock carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.American Public Education is set to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 10. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for American Public Education’s second-quarter EPS is pegged at 36 cents, unchanged over the past 30 days and indicating an improvement of 1900% year over year.Newsmax is slated to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 13. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Newsmax’s second-quarter loss is pegged at 2 cents per share, unchanged over the past 30 days and indicating an improvement of 96.61% year over year.Target Hospitality is slated to report second-quarter 2026 results on Aug. 10. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Target Hospitality’s second-quarter loss is pegged at 10 cents per share, unchanged over the past 30 days and indicating an improvement of 33.33% year over year. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Paramount Skydance Corporation (PSKY) : Free Stock Analysis Report American Public Education, Inc. (APEI) : Free Stock Analysis Report Target Hospitality Corp. (TH) : Free Stock Analysis Report Newsmax Inc. (NMAX) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

Track your investments for FREE with Simply Wall St, the portfolio command center trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide. Paramount Skydance (PSKY) just reported its second quarter results, with sales of US$6.91b and net income of US$41m. Sales for the first half reached US$14.26b, with net income of US$209m. See our latest analysis for Paramount Skydance. Despite the Q2 earnings beat and progress toward the Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition, Paramount Skydance’s recent 7 day share price return of 5.41% sits against a weaker backdrop. The year to date share price return is down 36.42% and the 5 year total shareholder return is down 76.88%. If Paramount Skydance’s mixed momentum has you reassessing your watchlist, this could be a good moment to look at other media and content players through 19 top founder-led companies Paramount Skydance has a broad media footprint and fresh momentum from its Warner Bros. Discovery plans, yet the share price is still down sharply over longer periods. This combination raises the question of whether the current level represents a compelling valuation today. At the last close of $8.38, the most followed narrative for Paramount Skydance points to a fair value of $11.79, which frames the potential gap that analysts are focused on. Read the complete narrative. Read the complete narrative. Analysts are outlining a higher earnings base for Paramount Skydance supported by assumptions about steady revenue growth, rising margins and a future profit multiple that is set below many peers. Curious which projections and discount rate assumptions would need to be used for that $11.79 fair value to be consistent with today’s price? Result: Fair Value of $11.79 (UNDERVALUED) Have a read of the narrative in full and understand what's behind the forecasts. However, the Paramount Skydance narrative still carries clear risks, including potential setbacks to the Warner Bros. Discovery deal and higher debt costs that could pressure future earnings quality. Find out about the key risks to this Paramount Skydance narrative. With sentiment on Paramount Skydance pulled between concerns and optimism, this is a good time to review the full picture and decide where you stand. To weigh those potential risks and rewards side by side, start with the 3 key rewards and 3 important warning signs. If Paramount Skydance has sharpened your focus on valuation and quality, now is the moment to broaden your opportunity set with fresh, data driven stock ideas. Spot potential value candidates early by scanning 52 high quality undervalued stocks that combine quality fundamentals with prices that may not fully reflect their financial footing. Build a sturdier core to your portfolio by focusing on companies in the solid balance sheet and fundamentals stocks screener (49 results) that emphasise financial resilience and funding flexibility. Hunt for off the radar opportunities by checking the screener containing 18 high quality undiscovered gems where strong fundamentals are not yet widely appreciated by the market. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include PSKY. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]