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Paramount Global PARA is set to report second-quarter 2024 earnings on Aug 8.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for second-quarter earnings has remained steady at 14 cents per share in the past 30 days. The figure indicates a rise of 40% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $7.21 billion, indicating a 5.34% decline from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.
The company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 409.34%.
Let’s see how things have shaped up for this announcement.
Paramount Global Price and EPS Surprise
Paramount Global price-eps-surprise | Paramount Global Quote
Factors to Consider
Paramount Global’s second-quarter results are likely to reflect a mixed performance driven by the company’s expanding content catalog and growing streaming services balanced against potential headwinds in the advertising market and dullness in Content-licensing revenues.
The media giant’s viewership and ad revenues are expected to have benefited from its diverse portfolio of streaming services, including CBS All Access, Showtime OTT, Pluto TV, Noggin and BET+. The company’s strong lineup of live sporting events and popular networks like Showtime, BET, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon are likely to have contributed positively to the top line.
Paramount Global’s streaming segment has shown robust growth in recent quarters. In the first quarter, Paramount+ subscribers reached approximately 71 million, with 3.7 million additions. The company also witnessed a 26% increase in total viewing hours across Paramount+ and Pluto TV. It remains to be seen if this upward trajectory continued in the second quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate suggests a slight sequential drop to 70.37 million global Paramount subscribers.
The launch of Paramount+ with the SHOWTIME plan has been a strategic move to boost advertising revenue growth. This integration makes Paramount+ the new streaming home for SHOWTIME content, potentially attracting more subscribers and advertisers. Meanwhile, Pluto TV’s popularity continues to grow, boasting more than 250 live events, linear channels and thousands of hours of on-demand content, supported by partnerships with over 175 content providers.
However, the advertising landscape presents some challenges. Many advertisers are grappling with supply-chain disruptions, labor shortages and rising costs amid record inflation, leading to reduced ad spending. This industry-wide trend might have impacted Paramount Global’s ad revenue growth in the to-be-reported quarter.
Another area of concern is the company’s Content-licensing revenues, which accounted for 14% of total revenues in the first quarter but experienced a significant 17.5% year-over-year decline. It remains to be seen if this segment showed signs of recovery in the second quarter.
What Our Model Says
Per the Zacks model, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here.
Paramount Global has an Earnings ESP of -4.42% and carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Stocks to Consider
Here are some stocks worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this season.
Shopify SHOP has an Earnings ESP of +7.78% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Shopify’s shares have plunged 30.1% year to date. SHOP is set to report its second-quarter 2024 results on Aug 7.
DigitalOcean DOCN has an Earnings ESP of +2.19% and flaunts a Zacks Rank of 1 at present.
DigitalOcean’s shares have lost 21.8% year to date. DOCN is set to report its second-quarter 2024 results on Aug 8.
MKSI MKSI has an Earnings ESP of +7.28% and sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present.
MKSI’s shares have gained 3.6% year to date. MKSI is set to report second-quarter 2024 results on Aug 7.
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