Paramount Global fell wanting Wall Street estimates for quarterly revenue on Wednesday, weighed by intense competition from streaming rivals and a weak promoting market.
Shares of the corporate fell nearly 2% in trading after the bell.
The media industry has been grappling with a changing landscape of streaming gaining dominance over traditional television and the impact from the Hollywood strikes last yr.
A soft promoting market and economic uncertainties have added to the pressure.
The media conglomerate reported overall fourth-quarter revenue of $7.64 billion, missing analysts’ estimate of $7.85 billion, in response to LSEG data.
“We now expect to succeed in domestic Paramount+ profitability in 2025,” CEO Bob Bakish said.
Paramount+, the corporate’s flagship streaming platform, added 4.1 million subscribers through the quarter, compared with 2.7 million within the previous quarter. The figure was barely above the estimate of 4.03 million recent subscribers, in response to data from Visible Alpha.
The corporate has been pumping money into its fast-growing but unprofitable streaming unit Paramount+, saying in November the investments had peaked a yr ahead of the goal.
The outcomes come when the US entertainment industry is abuzz with fresh consolidation moves. Reuters reported in January, citing a source, that Skydance Media CEO David Ellison was exploring an all-cash bid to amass entertainment company Paramount Global’s parent, National Amusements.
On Tuesday, CNBC reported that Warner Bros Discovery was now not pursuing a merger with Paramount Global, halting talks after several months of kicking the tires on merging the media corporations.
Paramount reported a surprise profit of 4 cents per share, while analysts were expecting a lack of 1 cent.
Revenue in the corporate’s direct-to-consumer unit, which incorporates streaming platforms Paramount+ and PlutoTV, grew 34% within the quarter. Revenue from its filmed entertainment business fell 31%.
The studio is home to film franchises such as “Top Gun” and “Mission: Not possible,” as well as the hit television show “Yellowstone.”
Sales for its TV media segment declined by 12% from a yr earlier and promoting revenue fell by 15%, impacted by lower political promoting and the dual Hollywood strikes.