Heard on the Street: Paramount's Latest Drama Doesn't Sell -- WSJ

By Dan Gallagher

One of the worlds most storied media companies got camera shy in its latest earnings report. And that wasnt even the most unusual thing about it.

Paramount Globals first-quarter report late Tuesday was most notable for things that had nothing to do with the numbers.

The company confirmed prior reports that CEO Bob Bakish has departed and was replaced by a trio of high-ranking executives, forming the Office of the CEO.

Not a word was said about seeking a permanent replacement, which this Heard on the Street column says all but confirms the company is in the final stages of making a dealmost likely with Skydance Media.

Wall Street still had a lot of questions. But analysts were unable to ask them, since Paramount also took the unusual step of not taking any questions on its quarterly conference call.

Some still had a bit of fun. This title is longer than the earnings call, read the headline of Bernstein analyst Laurent Yoons report on the quarter. Robert Fishman of MoffettNathanson noted the Passover tradition of asking four questions related to the Jewish exodus from Egypt. Ironically, as Passover concludes, we did not get a chance to ask any questions on Paramounts truncated 1Q24 earnings call.

Paramounts nine-minute call didnt turn out to be enough to talk up what turned out to be decent first quarter resultsor to sell already-restve investors on the latest changes.

The stock slid nearly 4% Tuesday , giving back the days previous gains sparked by reports of Skydance sweetening its merger offer.

We've never heard anyone argue that a committee of 3 is better at creating value for shareholders or employees than a single leader with Board accountability, wrote Needham analyst Laura Martin, who downgraded the stock to a hold rating. None of this leadership drama, so close to selling the company, increases value for shareholders, in our view.

This analysis comes from the Journal's Heard on the Street team. Subscribe to their free daily afternoon newsletter here_._

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 30, 2024 12:15 ET (16:15 GMT)

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