By Angela Palumbo

Paramount Global earnings are on deck for Thursday afternoon after the media and entertainment company has spent several weeks in the political spotlight.

Paramount is scheduled to report second-quarter financial results after the stock market closes. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect the company to post adjusted earnings of 36 cents a share on revenue of $6.87 billion.

In the same period last year, Paramount reported earnings of 54 cents a share on revenue of $6.81 billion.

Wall Street predicts Paramount's steaming service, Paramount+, had 77.5 million global subscribers in the second quarter, which would be a drop from last quarter's 79 million. Direct-to-consumer revenue is expected to be $2.1 billion, compared to last year's $1.88 billion. TV media revenue is expected to drop to $4.01 billion from $4.27 billion last year, as the traditional TV advertising market remains under pressure.

Even if Paramount reports knockout second-quarter financials, investors are most likely much more interested in commentary the company has to share regarding recent headlines involving Paramount, President Donald Trump, Stephen Colbert, Skydance, and South Park.

Trump sued CBS -- one of Paramount's TV channels -- in 2024, alleging the network deceitfully edited a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Paramount and Trump settled the lawsuit in early July, with Paramount agreeing to pay Trump $16 million. Critics of the controversial settlement -- which Trump said on Truth Social was a " big and important win," while Paramount did not apologize -- pointed out that the deal happened while Paramount was waiting for the Federal Communications Commission to approve its highly-anticipated merger with Skydance.

The FCC ultimately approved the merger between Paramount and Skydance last week. Paramount, which expects the deal to close on Aug. 7, will be known as Paramount Skydance Corporation, and the company will use the new stock ticker PSKY.

Investors, however, may be taking stock of the many events that happened between the settlement and the merger's approval.

Less than a week before the FCC signed off on the merger, CBS announced that it was canceling The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. The move generated national attention, as critics pointed out that the cancelation came days after Colbert called the $16 million settlement a " big fat bribe." CBS has said canceling The Late Show was purely a financial decision.

Three days after the talk show was canceled, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D.-Mass.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Or.) sent a letter to Skydance CEO David Ellison that said "it is illegal to corruptly give anything of value to federal officials to influence an official act -- and if Paramount settles the lawsuit in a quid-pro-quo arrangement to influence the Administration's assessment of the Paramount-Skydance deal, company officials could be breaking the law."

Barron's has reached out to Paramount and Skydance for comment.

One day before the FCC signed off on the merger, Comedy Central -- a channel owned by Paramount -- and the creators of South Park, one of the most popular shows on the channel -- agreed to a five-year deal that was reportedly worth $1.5 billion. The South Park contract was announced the same day the show's 27 season premiere episode aired, which included commentary about the Colbert cancellation and crude jokes regarding Trump.

Seaport analyst David Joyce downgraded shares of Paramount to Sell from Neutral on Monday, with an $11 price target.

"There are questions surrounding the go-forward strategy with the company eliminating one popular show ( The Late Show with Stephen Colbert), [and] paying a robust level for another ( South Park) where negotiations had been contentious," Joyce wrote.

Shares of Paramount were down 6.7% to $12.41 in afternoon trading on Thursday. The stock has risen 19% this year.

Write to Angela Palumbo at angela.palumbo@dowjones.com

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July 31, 2025 14:15 ET (18:15 GMT)

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