[ad_1]
Paramount Global beat Wall Street analysts’ estimates in the third quarter, thanks in large part to streaming flagship Paramount+, which added 2.7 million subscribers to hit 63 million globally.
Total revenue came in at $7.13 billion, up 3% from the year-ago period, while adjusted earnings per share 21% to 36 cents. Analysts’ consensus called for earnings of 11 cents and revenue of $7.12 billion.
Streaming was the standout in the results, with revenue in the division surging 38% compared with the year-earlier period. Subscription revenue shot up 46% to $1.3 billion, driven by subscriber growth and P+ price hikes, plus revenue from pay-per-view events.
Paramount said it now forecasts full-year DTC losses in 2023 will be lower than in 2022, with direct-to-consumer losses in the fourth quarter lining up with those in last year’s fourth quarter.
Investors hailed the bullish streaming report, despite aspects of the quarterly report that reflected a transitional company still working to make the turn toward a profitable digital future. Shares in Paramount, which gained more than 10% in Thursday’s regular session, leaped another 10% in after-hours trading.
Advertising revenue in the streaming unit climbed 18%, while viewing hours across Paramount+ and Pluto TV grew 46%.
Revenue in the TV Media division, meanwhile, fell 8%, due to weakness in advertising, which tumbled 14%.
Affiliate and subscription revenue was “substantially flat,” the company said. Lower affiliate revenue was offset by revenue from pay-per-view events. In the earnings release, Paramount said advertising revenue suffered from a lack of political ads (as has been the case with other media companies in this off-year in the cycle) but also from what it more ominously called “continued softness.”
Filmed Entertainment posted a 14% gain in revenue to $891 million.
MORE to come …
[ad_2]
Source link
