The numbers

$30 billion—Paramount’s expected total revenue for 2026, led by an acceleration in DTC revenue with global profitability.

$3 billion—Cost savings from merger with Skydance, up from an estimated $2 billion.

-12%—Ad revenue declined to $1.465 billion.

600—Number of employees who took a voluntary severance package after being “unable or unwilling to return to the office full time,” which will begin in January 2026.

The watercooler talk

Paramount Skydance executives were tight-lipped about potential Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition rumors at the company’s first post-merger earnings call on Monday. However, the company’s CEO, David Ellison, noted that there are “no must-haves” when it comes to mergers and acquisitions. He added, “First and foremost, we’re focused on what we’re building at Paramount and transforming the company.”

Ellison also pointed to the company’s North Star priorities, which it identified in an earnings letter. Those include investing in growth businesses anchored by creative engines and storytelling; scaling direct-to-consumer business globally; and driving efficiency enterprise-wide with a focus on long-term free cash flow generation.

“As it relates to M&A, everything for us is going to tie back to does it accelerate those three core principles,” Ellison said.

The CEO’s company has already made several unsuccessful bids for Warner Bros. Discovery. Recently, WBD announced it had interest from “multiple parties,” and Comcast and Netflix secured banks to explore potential bids.

The key quote

“We’re fortunate that we have the balance sheet to be able to be opportunistic when we think that M&A will accelerate our goals, but we’re also long-term, disciplined owner-operators. So from that standpoint, we’ll always approach things through the lens of, ‘How do we maximize value for shareholders?’”—David Ellison, CEO, Paramount Skydance