Multinational media and entertainment corporation Paramount (NASDAQ:PSKY) reported Q2 CY2026 results beating Wall Street’s revenue expectations, but sales were flat year on year at $6.91 billion. The company expects next quarter’s revenue to be around $7.05 billion, close to analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.18 per share was in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Paramount (PSKY) Q2 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $6.91 billion vs analyst estimates of $6.87 billion (flat year on year, 0.7% beat)
- Adjusted EPS: $0.18 vs analyst estimates of $0.17 (in line)
- Adjusted EBITDA: $1.10 billion vs analyst estimates of $913.9 million (15.9% margin, 20.3% beat)
- The company reconfirmed its revenue guidance for the full year of $30 billion at the midpoint
- Operating Margin: 6.9%, up from 5.8% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 3.7%, up from 1.7% in the same quarter last year
- Market Capitalization: $9.2 billion
Company Overview
Owner of Spongebob Squarepants and formerly known as ViacomCBS, Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PSKY) is a major media conglomerate offering television, film production, and digital content across various global platforms.
Revenue Growth
A company’s long-term performance is an indicator of its overall quality. Any business can have short-term success, but a top-tier one grows for years. Unfortunately, Paramount’s 1.8% annualized revenue growth over the last five years was weak. This was below our standards and is a tough starting point for our analysis.
Long-term growth is the most important, but within consumer discretionary, product cycles are short and revenue can be hit-driven due to rapidly changing trends and consumer preferences. Paramount’s recent performance shows its demand has slowed as its revenue was flat over the last two years. 
We can dig further into the company’s revenue dynamics by analyzing its three most important segments: TV Media, Direct-to-Consumer, and Filmed Entertainment, which are 45.2%, 35.8%, and 19% of revenue. Over the last two years, Paramount’s TV Media revenue (broadcasting) averaged 16.3% year-on-year declines, but its Direct-to-Consumer (streaming) and Filmed Entertainment (movies) revenues averaged 12.8% and 44.8% growth. 
This quarter, Paramount’s $6.91 billion of revenue was flat year on year but beat Wall Street’s estimates by 0.7%. Company management is currently guiding for a 5.2% year-on-year increase in sales next quarter.
Looking further ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 3.6% over the next 12 months. While this projection indicates its newer products and services will fuel better top-line performance, it is still below average for the sector.
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Operating Margin
Paramount’s operating margin has been trending down over the last 12 months and averaged 4.6% over the last two years. The company’s profitability was mediocre for a consumer discretionary business and shows it couldn’t pass its higher operating expenses onto its customers.
In Q2, Paramount generated an operating margin profit margin of 6.9%, up 1 percentage points year on year. This increase was a welcome development and shows it was more efficient.
Earnings Per Share
We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.
Sadly for Paramount, its EPS declined by 47.9% annually over the last five years while its revenue grew by 1.8%. This tells us the company became less profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded.
In Q2, Paramount reported adjusted EPS of $0.18, down from $0.46 in the same quarter last year. Despite falling year on year, this print beat analysts’ estimates by 3.1%. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Paramount’s full-year EPS to grow 407% from $0.17 to $0.86.
Key Takeaways from Paramount’s Q2 Results
We enjoyed seeing Paramount beat analysts’ EBITDA expectations this quarter. We were also glad its full-year revenue guidance slightly exceeded Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this print had some key positives. The stock remained flat at $8.37 immediately after reporting.
Is Paramount an attractive investment opportunity right now? We think that the latest quarter is only one piece of the longer-term business quality puzzle. Quality, when combined with valuation, can help determine if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).