The combined Skydance empire, born from the closure of the Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger in October 2026, released its first earnings report this week, covering the period before the deal took effect.
For the third quarter ended in September, the Paramount business posted revenue of roughly $7 billion, up 5% year over year but slightly below the $7.04 billion analysts projected, according to The Wrap. Net profit came in at $73 million, or 6 cents per share, against an expected 20 cents. Shares fell more than 2% in after-hours trading.
Streaming was the clearest bright spot. Paramount+ revenue grew 21% to $2.13 billion, adding 600,000 subscribers to reach 82.2 million. Combined with HBO and HBO Max, the company reaches 203 million subscribers globally, excluding Discovery+ and other WBD services. Pluto TV reported roughly 75 million monthly active users. Beginning in Q4, Skydance will stop disclosing quarterly subscriber totals, mirroring Netflix's approach.
Co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz outlined a $6 billion cost savings plan over three years, covering corporate consolidation, marketing, technology, and procurement. About 30% of those savings are targeted in year one. The company carries approximately $80 billion in net debt. "We'll apply the same playbook we did at Paramount," Ellison said, per The Wrap. "We've proven it works and we're confident it will work again."
The Q4 outlook is more complicated. Underperformance across the Warner Bros. film slate could cut fourth-quarter profit by up to $200 million. A streaming bundle combining Paramount+ and HBO Max is set for early 2027. The company's 2030 targets call for over $10 billion in annual free cash flow and more than $30 billion in annual content spending. Whether the numbers can close the gap between ambition and investor expectations is the first real test of the mega-studio era.