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-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.
Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.
Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpCharter Communications, Inc. (CHTR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
H&R Block, Inc. (HRB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
GameSquare Holdings, Inc. (GAME) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Paramount Global (PARA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
