Skydance Posts a $7B Quarter and Maps More Than $6B in Cost Cuts
Summary
Its first report since closing the Warner Bros. deal also warned that the Warner film slate will miss fourth-quarter expectations by up to $200 million.
"Skydance reported third-quarter revenue of $7.0 billion on Monday, up 5% from a year earlier, with adjusted EBITDA of $1.0 billion and net income of $73 million. The results cover Paramount Skydance only, because the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closed on Oct. 6, after the quarter ended. The studio segment grew revenue 23% to $1.5 billion, driven by licensing and third-party content, and the shareholder letter credited PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie (more than $160 million worldwide) and Heart of the Beast (more than $180 million globally).
The company said Warner Bros. films have underperformed, with a profit hit of up to $200 million against earlier fourth-quarter expectations. It repeated a target of at least $6 billion in run-rate savings within three years, and the Los Angeles Times reported that executives laid out multibillion-dollar opportunities in overhead and real estate (at least $2.2 billion), marketing (about $1 billion), technology (about $1.4 billion) and procurement (at least $1.4 billion). Job cuts are expected, but the company gave no size or timing.
Skydance also reaffirmed its theatrical pledge: more than 30 films in 2027 and at least 30 a year after that. Paramount+ ended the quarter with 82.2 million subscribers, and the company said it will stop reporting quarterly subscriber numbers starting with fourth-quarter results. David Ellison told analysts, ""In a world of AI slop, we think there will always be a premium for truly handcrafted storytelling,"" the Times reported."
