Paramount CEO David Ellison confident about closing Warner Bros. deal despite lawsuit
Paramount Skydance reported blended second-quarter outcomes on Tuesday, with increased streaming and studio income offsetting declines in tv, as the company works to close its planned $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
The leisure big’s income rose 1% to $6.91 billion, exceeding estimates of $6.88 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Second-quarter revenue got here in at $41 million, or 4 cents a share, in contrast with analyst estimates of $109 million or 9 cents a share.
David Ellison, chairman and chief government officer of Paramount Skydance Corp., is seen during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Priority Summit convention in Miami, Florida, on Friday, March 27, 2026. The summit is designed as engines of actionable change with this 12 months’s theme of “Capital in Motion.” (Bloomberg) Bloomberg by way of Getty Images
Paramount CEO David Ellison said he expects to close the merger with Warner Bros. even as a federal choose on Tuesday set a March trial date for an antitrust swimsuit introduced by a dozen states searching for to dam the deal. In an earnings call, Ellison said the company is “absolutely open to finding a solution out of court, but we also really believe that we’ll win at trial.”
For the second quarter, Paramount’s streaming business reached practically $2.5 billion in income, up 9% from the same quarter a 12 months in the past. The company said the “Yellowstone” sequel, “Dutton Ranch,” and sporting occasions like the UFC Freedom 250 cage match and the FIFA World Cup helped its marquee Paramount+ service add 2 million new subscribers, bringing the complete to 81.6 million.
Chief Operating Officer Andy Gordon told Reuters the company has merged its streaming companies onto a single technology platform, permitting it to more successfully promote content.
For the second quarter, Paramount’s studio business reported income of $1.3 billion, reflecting strong sales to 3rd events like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and better content licensing, offset by a weaker summer time theatrical slate whose highlight was “Jackass: Best and Last,” in contrast with last 12 months’s “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning.”
A federal choose on Tuesday set a March trial date for an antitrust swimsuit introduced by a dozen states searching for to dam the deal. Getty Images
Gordon said Paramount has made headway in client merchandise licensing, putting a multi-year deal with Mattel for its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles leisure model.
Sales for the tv unit, which incorporates broadcaster CBS and cable networks such as Comedy Central, declined 9% to $3.1 billion.
The company expects income in the current quarter ending in September to vary between $6.95 billion and $7.15 billion, based on increased anticipated positive factors in streaming and studios, with revenue before sure objects anticipated to achieve between $875 million and $975 million.
Lawsuit
The company said the lawsuit filed by California and 11 other states, searching for to dam its deliberate $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros “does not reflect the realities of today’s highly competitive entertainment marketplace,” in its earnings assertion. Ellison reiterated that he totally expects “the transaction to close.”
A federal choose in California ruled on Tuesday that the lawsuit will go to trial in March next 12 months.
For the second quarter, Paramount’s studio business reported income of $1.3 billion, reflecting strong sales to 3rd events like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and better content licensing Getty Images
Ellison printed an essay in the New York Times on Tuesday, arguing that the concern over the pending merger stemmed less from market focus than “whether I can be trusted as a steward of Warner’s CNN.” Ellison promised it will stay impartial, a assertion that affirmed his curiosity in retaining the news network as half of the deal.
Paramount agreed to pause the transaction until June 2027 at the latest, because it awaits a ruling in the antitrust case.
The company might owe as a lot as $1.7 billion in ticking fees to Warner Bros. shareholders if the deal is delayed until then. The payment prices $7 million a day if the merger doesn’t close by Sept. 30.
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