Skydance earnings: results of 9 November 2026

Skydance's third quarter of 2026, July to September: the quarter before it completed its purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery on 6 October, so these figures are the old Paramount Skydance business on its own. ¹

Against what analysts expected

The average forecast of analysts, as published on Nasdaq's earnings calendar, was $0.18 a share. The company reported $.06 a share, about two-thirds below that, hit largely by a one-off tax charge; its own adjusted figure, which leaves out such items, was $.45. Because the forecast sits much closer to the reported figure, the reported $.06 is the one set against it. ¹²

The strong points

• Sales rose 5% from a year earlier to $7.0 billion, driven by licensing films and shows to others and by streaming. ¹
• The film studio's sales jumped 23% to $1.5 billion, and the Paramount+ streaming service grew its sales by 21%. ¹

The weak points

• TV sales, still the largest and most profitable part of the company, fell 7% to $3.0 billion as advertising dropped. ¹
• Only $31 million of cash was left in the quarter after running the business and investing in it, tiny next to $7.0 billion of sales. ¹
• The Warner Bros. Discovery deal takes the company's debt to about $87 billion, up from roughly $15 billion before. ¹

What the company expects

• Skydance kept its 2026 profit forecast for the old business, before interest, tax, depreciation and one-off items, of $3.8 to $3.9 billion, and now says it is on track for the top end, $3.9 billion. ¹
• The company expects weak Warner Bros. films to cost it up to $200 million of profit in the fourth quarter compared with what it expected earlier, and slower studio sales growth. ¹

Our verdict on the quarter

A mixed report. Sales grew, studios and streaming are thriving and the yearly profit forecast was kept and pointed to its top end, but earnings per share came in well below what analysts expected, cash generation was thin and weak Warner Bros. films will dent the next quarter.

The results as published

• The results release itself
• The filing it came with (SEC)
• The previous results, for what it forecast then

Notes

1. Skydance's results release, 9 November 2026: sec.gov. ↩
2. Nasdaq's earnings calendar, 9 November 2026. ↩