David Ellison is ready to take his pitch for Paramount public.
The entertainment company reported its third quarter earnings Monday, its first earnings report under the leadership of CEO David Ellison, and the ownership of his Skydance.
Ellison penned a shareholder letter, writing that scaling its direct-to-consumer business “is our top priority” alongside “supercharging” its creative. Ellison also said that the company is launching a “comprehensive strategic review” so that it can determine whether to divest other non-core assets, beginning with Telefe in Argentina.
The company is targeting $30 billion in revenue in 2026, with cost savings of $3 billion expected, up from the previously announced $2 billion.
The company reported $6.7 billion in Q3 revenue, with operating income of $324 million, and a net loss of $257 million, though losses began to wane after Skydance’s takeover closed.
The company says that it will change how it reports earnings beginning in Q1 to reflect the new structure around direct-to-consumer, TV media, and studios. DTC was a strong point in Q3, with revenue surging 17% to $2.1 billion, though the TV division saw declines of 12 percent owing to advertising and subscription headwinds.
Paramount+ now has 79.1 million subscribers, up from 77.7 million last quarter. Ellison said that the company plans to raise prices on the service in early 2026.
“We see a multi-year path ahead during which time we will make the necessary strategic changes and investments to reach our goals,” Ellison wrote in the memo. “Over the mid-term we see a clear opportunity to deliver sustainable topline growth and meaningfully close the gap between our profit margin and free cash flow conversion versus those of other leading media companies.”
The company is going to ramp up spending on content, with incremental programming investments that top $1.5 billion next year, including UFC, scripted content, and other feature films.
Asked about his approach to M&A amid reports that Paramount had made a bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, Ellison said the company has the ability to build much of what it wants itself and will approach acquisitions carefully.
“I think it’s important to know that there’s no must-haves for us. We really look at this as buy versus build, and we absolutely have the ability to build to get to where we want to go. We believe we can achieve our goals as creative content engines. We believe we can achieve our streaming goals and that we can drive enterprise efficiency and create value and long-term free cash flow generation all through the building standpoint,” Ellison said.
“We’re fortunate that we have the balance sheet to be able to be opportunistic when we think that M&A will accelerate our goal, but we’re also long term, disciplined owner operators,” he added.
Ellison and Skydance assumed control of Paramount in early August, with goals of turning the beleaguered entertainment company into a “next-generation media and technology leader, positioned to win in today’s rapidly transforming media landscape.”
While Ellison has spoken about his desire to infuse technology into the company, the specifics of his and his leadership team’s go-to-market strategy have remained somewhat obtuse for now, with executives including president Jeff Shell telling reporters after the deal closes that the earnings call tied to Monday’s quarterly report will allow them to pull back the curtain.
“Our goal is to accelerate innovation by making technology the core competency of our company,” Ellison said on the call. “Competitors from Silicon Valley have quickly expanded into media and other forms of entertainment, and if we want to remain competitive long term, we must strengthen our technology and do what it takes to position ourselves as an industry’s most technologically capable. Again, I want to stress that technology Paramount is not and never will be a replacement for human creativity. Rather, it serves as a powerful multiplier, enhancing performance, elevating the consumer experience, and equipping our creative teams with the tools that will enable them to tell even better stories, more efficiently and effectively.”
The company began a major round of layoffs last month, as Paramount seeks to realign its employee base around key priorities. There is expected to be one more round, with about 2,000 roles eliminated. As part of its startegic review, the company expects to lose another 1,600 employees. Paramount also said that about 600 employees took a buyout in connection with its return-to-office mandates.
“We want to be as open and direct as possible about the reasons behind these changes,” Ellison told staff. “In some areas, we are addressing redundancies that have emerged across the organization. In others, we are phasing out roles that are no longer aligned with our evolving priorities and the new structure designed to strengthen our focus on growth. Ultimately, these steps are necessary to position Paramount for long-term success.”
The executive has been on a deal spree since taking over Paramount, poaching Stranger Things creators the Duffer brothers from Netflix, inking a deal for a Call of Duty movie (with Taylor Sheridan involved!), and acquiring Bari Weiss’ The Free Press, installing the editor and columnist as editor-in-chief of CBS News.
That said, Sheridan, the prolific Yellowstone creator, has since inked a deal with NBCUniversal, and will eventually move his films and series development to the new studio.
Shari Redstone, the former owner of Paramount, opened the company’s last earnings call in July by touting her family’s stewardship of the company, and wishing Ellison well: “I am confident that with that they can build on Paramount’s legacy and position it for long-term success.”
