Paramount Skydance Stock Pops As CEO Unveils $3B Savings Drive, Bigger Film Slate: Retail Lauds ‘Best Earnings Call’ In 2 Years

• Paramount Skydance announced a series of growth initiatives, including further workforce reductions, a higher cost-saving target, and increased investment in the streaming business.
• Stock rose over 6% in the after-market session, following the results.
• Stocktwits for PSKY flipped to ‘bullish’ from ‘extremely bearish.’ 

Paramount Skydance Corp.’s shares rose 6.4% in the after-market session on Monday, after the company announced ambitious growth plans in its first report after the $8.4-billion merger of Paramount and Skydance, which was completed in August.

Growth Plans

Paramount said it plans to reduce its workforce by an additional 1,600 people and aims to achieve at least $3 billion in cost savings. The new savings goal is $1 billion higher than Paramount’s previous target, the company said. The workforce reductions, which would follow voluntary and involuntary cuts in the senior management, would mostly come from the divestiture of TV businesses in Argentina and Chile.

The restructuring effort is expected to be completed by the end of 2027 and will cost the company up to $1.3 billion.

Meanwhile, the management vowed to invest a significant portion of the savings in the business, stating that it has earmarked $1.5 billion in additional 2026 spending for Paramount+, UFC, third-party licensing, and a strengthened film slate. 

CEO David Ellison said on the analyst call that the company plans to release at least 15 movies per year starting in 2026.

Retail’s View Improves

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment for PSKY flipped to ‘bullish’ as of late Monday, from ‘extremely bearish’ the previous day, with message volume shifting to ‘high’ from ‘low.’

“$PSKY the best earnings call we've had in 2 years. Ellison said nothing is a must-have purchase and it has to make financial sense to continue to have positive growth and earnings,” said a user, amid several comments praising the analyst call. Another said: “David sounded very knowledgeable on the company and the plan moving forward seems very clear to him.”

Notably, the management declined to comment on the company’s pursuit to Warner Bros Discovery, Inc., which reportedly rejected Paramount’s $60 billion bid last month.

“Remember, PSKY took over mid-way in Q3. So we knew they had a lot to clean up. It is all about forward guidance,” said another user. 

Financial Performance And Forecast

For the third quarter, Paramount reported revenue of $6.7 billion, below analysts’ forecast of $6.87 billion, according to Bloomberg. Adjusted operating income before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization totaled $952 million.

Streaming revenue increased 17%, with Paramount+ adding 1.4 million new subscribers in the quarter, bringing the total to 79.1 million. The film group's revenue rose 30%, primarily due to the Skydance consolidation.

The owner of CBS and the Paramount film and television studios forecast about $30 billion in revenue for the next year, slightly higher than expectations of $29.8 billion. 

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

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