Paramount Global (PARA) Q2 Earnings Beat, Revenues Fall Y/Y

Paramount Global PARA delivered adjusted earnings of 54 cents per share for the second quarter of 2024, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 285.71% and increased significantly from 10 cents reported in the year-ago quarter.

Revenues of $3.81 billion missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.49%. The figure declined 10.5% year over year, owing to softness in TV Media and Filmed Entertainment revenues.

Adjusted OIBDA jumped 43% from the year-ago quarter’s level to $867 million.

Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased 11.4% year over year to $1.57 billion.

Paramount Global Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Paramount Global Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Paramount Global price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Paramount Global Quote

Revenues by Type

Advertising revenues (33% of total revenues) of $2.25 billion declined 6% year over year. Affiliate revenues (48.1% of total revenues) of $3.27 billion rose 1.2% year over year. Theatrical revenues (2% of total revenues) totaled $138 million in the reported quarter, which declined 40.3% year over year. Content-licensing revenues (16.9% of total revenues) of $1.14 billion plunged 34.5% year over year.

Segment Details

DTC Details

DTC revenues jumped 13% year over year to $1.88 billion, driven by subscriber growth and improvements in engagement and monetization. DTC subscription revenues climbed 12% year over year to $1.36 billion, driven by subscriber growth and increased pricing for Paramount+.

Paramount+ revenues rallied 46%, driven by subscriber growth and ARPU expansion. Paramount+ subscribers decreased 2.8 million in the quarter to 68 million, principally reflecting the planned exit from a hard bundle agreement in South Korea. Paramount+ global ARPU expanded 26% year over year.

Year to date, Paramount+ leads the industry in domestic sign-ups for the fourth year in a row, driven by hit content like Knuckles from Sonic the Hedgehog franchise — which broke the global record for the most-streamed original series on Paramount+ in its premiere week — and the latest season of The Chi, the most-streamed in the series.

DTC advertising revenues increased 16% year over year to $513 million, reflecting growth from Paramount+ and Pluto TV.

Adjusted OIBDA increased $450 million year over year to $26 million, reflecting revenue growth and lower costs for marketing and content.

TV Media Details

TV Media revenues decreased 17% year over year to $4.27 billion. Advertising revenues decreased 11% year over year to $1.73 billion, reflecting declines in the linear advertising market.

Affiliate and subscription revenues of $1.9 billion fell 5% year over year, primarily due to subscriber declines and a 1-percentage point decrease from the absence of pay-per-view boxing events, partially offset by pricing increases.

Licensing and other revenues plunged 48% year over year to $630 million, reflecting fewer availabilities, including the final season of Jack Ryan in 2023, and a lower volume of licensing in the secondary market.

TV Media’s adjusted OIBDA decreased 15% year over year to $1.01 billion.

CBS finished the 2023-2024 season #1 in primetime for the 16th year in a row, including eight of the top 10 broadcast series. Additionally, on May 23, 2024, Paramount Global and Charter Communications CHTR announced a new multiyear agreement for the distribution of PARA’s linear networks, CBS owned-and-operated stations and direct-to-consumer streaming services.

Filmed Entertainment Details

Filmed Entertainment revenues decreased 18% year over year to $679 million, as Theatrical revenues plunged 40% year over year to $138 million, reflecting the comparison to the release of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts in the prior year.

Licensing revenues were $534 million, down 9% year over year. Advertising revenues plunged 36.4% year over year to $7 million.

Adjusted OIBDA decreased $59 million year over year, reflecting lower revenues, partially offset by lower content and marketing costs.

Filmed Entertainment continued to deliver strong results at the box office, with IF debuting at #1 domestically and A Quiet Place: Day One recording a franchise- best performance, grossing more than $250 million at the global box office to date.

Balance Sheet

As of Jun 30, 2024, Paramount Global had cash and cash equivalents of $2.31 billion compared with $2.38 billion as of Mar 31, 2024. Total debt, as of Jun 30, 2024, was $14.6 billion, which remained unchanged sequentially.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Paramount Global currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the Consumer Discretionary sector are GameSquare Holdings, Inc. GAME and H&R Block HRB, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

GameSquare Holdings is scheduled to report second-quarter 2024 results on Aug 14. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GAME’s loss per share has narrowed by 2 cents to 9 cents over the past 30 days. 

H&R Block is set to report second-quarter 2024 results on Aug 15. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HRB’s earnings is pegged at $1.71 per share, which has remained unchanged over the past 30 days.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

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