Paramount Q1 Beats Estimates with $168M Profit; Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Clears Vote
Paramount’s Q1 net income rose to $168 million from $152 million last year, with revenue of $7.35 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.23, topping estimates. Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approved the merger in April, and the deal targets a Q3 close after securing $10 billion long-term, $49 billion bridge financing.
1. Q1 Financial Results
Paramount delivered first-quarter net income of $168 million, up from $152 million a year earlier, and posted $7.35 billion in revenue, exceeding analyst forecasts of $7.28 billion. Adjusted EPS reached $0.23 versus the $0.15 estimate, driven by an 11% rise in streaming revenue to $2.4 billion and a swing to $251 million in streaming EBITDA. Theatrical revenue also grew 11% to $1.28 billion, led by strong box office performance from Scream 7, while traditional TV revenue fell 6% to $3.67 billion but saw EBITDA margins improve to 29%.
2. Merger Progress and Financing
Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery approved the pending merger with Paramount in April, keeping a third-quarter closing target intact. Paramount has secured $10 billion in long-term debt financing and syndicated $49 billion in bridge financing across 18 institutions, and has drawn $2.15 billion on its revolving credit facility to cover the $2.8 billion termination fee owed to Netflix under the merger agreement.