Paramount reported year-over-year growth in both revenue and EBITDA, as CEO David Ellison and his team seek to reshape the company they acquired late last summer. At the same time, the company also says it is “making significant progress” in its deal to acquire Warner Bros. Television. Discovery, with a late third-quarter goal shutout, remains on track.
Paramount reported first-quarter earnings Monday, with revenue of $7.35 billion, up 2 percent year over year, operating income of $616 million, operating margin of 8.4 percent, and adjusted EBITDA of $1.16 billion, up 59 percent year over year.
Paramount+ was the biggest driver, posting 17 percent year-over-year growth and increasing subscribers by 700,000 even after accounting for 1 million due to a hard pack loss. DTC revenue totaled $2.4 billion.
Paramount, of course, is reporting earnings at a moment of transition.
Although Ellison and his team only acquired Paramount less than a year ago, they have a deal in place to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery and are telling the Street they expect to close the company this year, effectively turning them into an entertainment giant.
Of course, customary rules mean that Paramount executives are limited in dealing with WBD about future plans, so Paramount needs to continue with its strategy, even as it separately plans for a combined future with WBD.
More to come.
