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Investing.com - Guggenheim maintained its Buy rating and $14.00 price target on Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA), currently trading at $12.22, on Wednesday, while adjusting estimates due to underperformance of the latest Mission: Impossible film. According to InvestingPro data, analyst price targets for PARA range from $8.50 to $20.00, reflecting mixed sentiment on the stock’s outlook.
The research firm lowered its second-quarter Filmed Entertainment revenue forecast, citing weaker-than-expected performance of "Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning" at the box office. Despite this adjustment, Guggenheim’s overall second-quarter operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) estimate remains unchanged at $757 million. InvestingPro data shows the company generated $2.62 billion in EBITDA over the last twelve months, maintaining a healthy current ratio of 1.29.
Guggenheim noted that the lower film revenue is largely offset by better-than-anticipated profitability in Paramount’s TV Media and Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) segments. These improvements reflect a more measured advertising decline than initially expected following the company’s May 8 earnings report, along with ongoing cost management initiatives.
The firm raised its full-year 2025 total company OIBDA forecast to $2.79 billion from its previous estimate of $2.75 billion, citing continued improvement in the DTC segment and cost efficiencies, including recent layoffs. However, Guggenheim slightly reduced its 2026 OIBDA outlook to $2.88 billion from $2.91 billion.
Guggenheim attributed the longer-term forecast reduction to "sustained challenges in the linear marketplace," reflecting ongoing structural changes in traditional television viewing habits that continue to impact Paramount’s legacy business segments. InvestingPro analysis indicates the stock is currently undervalued, with additional insights available in the comprehensive Pro Research Report, which provides deep-dive analysis of PARA and 1,400+ other US stocks.
In other recent news, Paramount Global reported first-quarter 2025 earnings that exceeded expectations, with earnings per share of $0.29, surpassing the forecast of $0.27. The company also outperformed revenue projections, generating $7.19 billion compared to the anticipated $7.12 billion. Paramount+ showed significant growth, increasing its subscriber base to 79 million, marking an 11% year-over-year rise. Additionally, Paramount Global’s direct-to-consumer revenue grew by 9%, reaching $2 billion. The company has announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share for its Class A and Class B Common Stock, set to be paid on July 1, 2025. Paramount Global also anticipates achieving domestic profitability for Paramount+ by the end of 2025. The company continues to focus on strategic content investments and cost efficiencies, with plans to finalize a pending Skydance transaction in the first half of 2025. These developments underscore Paramount Global’s ongoing efforts to enhance shareholder value and strengthen its market position.
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