Key Financial Data
- Q1 Total revenue: $7.35 billion (+2% year-over)
- TV media revenue: $3.67 billion (-6%)
- Studios revenue: $1.28 billion (+11%)
- Streaming revenue: $2.4 billion (+11%)
- Operating income: $616 million (+12%)
- Net earnings: $168 million (+11%)
- Paramount Plus global revenue: $1.97 billion (+17%)
- Paramount Plus global subscribers: 79.6 million (+2%)
- Read more Q1 2026 media earnings coverage
Paramount saw modest revenue growth and stronger profitability for the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, with gains in streaming and studios helping offset continued pressure in its traditional television business, the company disclosed on Monday.
During the first three months of the year, total revenue at Paramount grew to $7.35 billion, up 2 percent compared to the prior year, while net earnings increased to $168 million, up 11 percent. Operating income climbed to $616 million and adjusted EBITDA rose 59 percent to $1.16 billion, giving the company an adjusted EBITDA margin of 15.8 percent.
Streaming remained one of Paramount’s strongest businesses during the quarter. Direct-to-consumer revenue increased 11 percent to $2.4 billion, driven by a 17 percent increase in Paramount Plus revenue to $1.97 billion. Paramount Plus ended the quarter with 79.6 million subscribers, up 2 percent compared with the year-earlier period.
Paramount Plus added 700,000 subscribers during the quarter, though that figure includes the planned exit of more than 1 million international hard-bundle subscribers connected to a pay TV agreement. When factoring out those cancellations, Paramount said the streaming service added 2 million customers during Q1.
The direct-to-consumer business also showed a significant improvement in profitability. Segment adjusted EBITDA reached $251 million, representing a 10 percent margin, compared with a $4 million loss in the same period last year. Paramount attributed the improvement to growth in subscription and advertising revenue, content expense benefits tied to the Skydance transaction and continued spending discipline.
Content remained central to Paramount’s streaming strategy. Its oil-themed drama “Landman” is now the most-watched series in Paramount Plus history, while “The Madison” delivered Paramount’s strongest streaming debut to date with 12.5 million global viewers in its first month. “Marshals,” which premiered on CBS before moving to Paramount Plus the next day, has reached more than 18.5 million global viewers.
All three series were created by actor-writer-director Taylor Sheridan, who is winding down his partnership with Paramount over the next few years. Sheridan is expected to develop programming and films for Comcast’s NBC Universal after his contract with Paramount ends in 2029.
Paramount’s film studio division also posted gains, with revenue rising 11 percent to $1.3 billion. Executives cited the performance of “Scream 7” and the consolidation of Skydance licensing revenue into Paramount Television Studios. Studio adjusted EBITDA doubled to $164 million.
TV Media remained under pressure from cord-cutting and weaker linear advertising. Revenue fell 6 percent to $3.7 billion, with advertising and affiliate revenue each down 6 percent. Despite the revenue decline, segment adjusted EBITDA rose to $1.1 billion, with a 29 percent margin, as cost discipline helped offset lower sales.
Paramount ended the quarter with $1.9 billion in cash and cash equivalents and $15.5 billion in gross debt. The company’s stock price rose more than 4 percent in after-hours trading Monday after Paramount executives reaffirmed their outlook for the year based on better-than-expected performance during Q1.
Stock Price
In a letter to shareholders, Chairman and CEO David Ellison described the quarter as “a busy and productive start to the year,” pointing to momentum across the company’s direct-to-consumer, studios and TV media segments.
Ellison said price adjustments on its two Paramount Plus plans in the U.S., Canada and other markets generated revenue that was “in-line with our expectations,” with the income allowing Paramount to “continue reinvesting in the business.”
“To further accelerate our DTC business, we are modernizing our consumer-facing technology to create more-dynamic, personalized, and connected experiences,” Ellison said. “The convergence of our streaming tech stack…will enable continuous optimization across discovery, personalization, and monetization.”
That unification is expected to see Paramount Plus, Pluto TV and other Paramount-owned streaming service use the same underlying platform technology for their streaming apps. It wasn’t clear if Paramount intends to consolidate its streaming apps into a single service, or continue to operate them as separate, standalone products, but Ellison said Pluto TV will relaunch on the Paramount Plus tech platform by this summer.
Ellison said Paramount was continuing to invest in storytelling and technology while improving efficiency and managing what he described as an “industry-shifting transaction,” a reference to the company’s pending acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD). Shareholders of WBD approved the deal last month.
