Paramount shares close lower on Tuesday, quarterly revenue falls short of estimates, but company reports subscriber growth

Paramount Global’s (PARA) quarterly revenue, reported on Tuesday, fell short of Wall Street estimates, but still, the media company said it had attracted streaming subscribers during the period.

Paramount’s total revenue shrank 1% year-on-year to $7.33 billion during the first quarter, compared with market consensus of $7.38 billion.

Revenue at Paramount’s TV media division dropped 6% compared to the year-ago quarter when CBS’ broadcast of Super Bowl LV attracted more viewers and ad revenue.

Paramount+ added 6.8 million subscribers during the first quarter due to titles such as “Scream” and “The Lost City”. In comparison, major competitor Netflix Inc lost 200,000 subscribers during the same period.

Revenue in Paramount Global’s direct-to-consumer business, which includes Paramount+, surged 82% in the quarter, driven by a 59% increase in ad sales and a 95% rise in subscription revenues.

The company has said it expects the military conflict in Ukraine to reduce direct-to-consumer subscriber growth by 3 million users in Q2.

Meanwhile, revenue at Paramount Global’s filmed entertainment division shrank nearly 27% year-on-year during the quarter, dragged down by lower licensing revenue.

Net income attributable to shareholders was reported at $433 million in the quarter ended on March 31st, down from $911 million in the year-ago period.

Paramount’s earnings per share, which exclude special items, were reported at $0.60 during the first quarter, while exceeding a consensus of analyst estimates of $0.51 per share.

The shares of Paramount Global closed lower for the sixth time in the past ten trading sessions on NASDAQ on Tuesday. The stock went down 1.29% ($0.39) to $29.88, after touching an intraday low at $27.61. The latter has been a price level not seen since February 24th ($27.25).