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What investors are saying about Paramount Skydance (PSKY)
Summary
In the past 30 days, 5 people on 4 investor and market shows discussed Paramount Skydance (PSKY) in 8 views. Going by each speaker's latest call, 5 are bearish. Chorus has followed Paramount Skydance since October 7, 2026.
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Newest first. Every quote is checked against the episode's transcript.
Ben Carlson · Ritholtz Wealth ManagementBearish
Paramount's plan to copy Netflix will fail, even if it succeeds at copying it.
Ben says Netflix won the streaming decade, which is why he is wary of the Paramount deal. If Paramount's goal is to be Netflix, it will fail, because it is copying a winner that already holds that position. He argues that even reaching that model would not produce success.
“Netflix won. That's why I'm so hesitant about the Paramount thing because if Paramount's goal is to be like Netflix, if that's what your goal is, you're going to... Even if you get there, you're gonna fail.”at 55:40
Ben Carlson · Ritholtz Wealth ManagementBearish
Paramount's $52B debt load for the media deal will not pay off; there is no way this works.
Ben notes Paramount took on $52B of debt for the deal, which was oversubscribed. A Wall Street Journal piece says doing it four months earlier would have saved about $400M in annual interest. He argues there has never been a media deal that took on this much debt and paid off, even if Paramount aims to become the next Netflix. He concludes the deal will not work out.
“There is just... There's no way that this works out. There's never been a media deal where they've taken on this level of debt that's actually paid off.”at 1:01:04
Animal Spirits: Are Higher Rates Worse Than ZIRP? (EP. 486) ·
Michael Batnick · Ritholtz Wealth ManagementBearish
The Paramount Warner Bros deal won't look good in ten years; equity holders are unlikely to be rewarded.
Asked whether the debt question means bondholders get paid or equity holders get rewarded, Michael says equity holders get rewarded in the sense that they would benefit from the deal. He says he cannot imagine looking back in ten years and calling the Paramount Warner Bros deal awesome, and believes it will not work. He adds that betting against it is a plus 1,100 bet.
“There's no way that in ten years I look back and go, man, that Paramount Warner Brothers deal was awesome. There's no way that this works. No way.”at 1:01:13
Animal Spirits: Are Higher Rates Worse Than ZIRP? (EP. 486) ·
Jim Cramer · CNBCBearish
Paramount Skydance's heavily indebted bonds are hostage to the economy and were badly sold off.
Paramount Skydance is heavily indebted and buying Warner Brothers. Cramer says it is totally hostage to the economy, since movies and TV are discretionary spending and cord cutting is hurting TV advertising. It issued bonds of a size similar to SpaceX's, at about 8%, but buyers were immediately clubbed, with horrific losses. Even though the bonds are double B, only a little worse than SpaceX's triple B, no one touched them.
“Compare that with the bonds just issued by Paramount, now Skydance... Skydance is totally hostage to the economy. The company issued a similar amount of bonds to what SpaceX is looking for.”at 4:48
Mad Money with Jim Cramer: Mad Money w/ Jim Cramer 10/7/26 ·
Laura Martin · Needham & CompanyBearish
Skydance's 7x leverage requires asset sales; public equity is most at risk if the deal fails.
Martin says Skydance starts at seven times leverage against investment grade at 2.5 times, and has committed to 3.8 times in two years. She can't see how it gets there without selling assets, despite $6 billion of synergies that take years to realize. The public float is only about $5 billion of a roughly $50 billion equity base and a $110 billion enterprise value, so the equity behaves like a levered call option. If it works, value flows to equity holders, but a black swan or rising rates would hurt public shareholders most. She suggests selling or leasing excess real estate and duplicative corporate offices.
“They must sell assets, in my opinion, because every... Everything they're talking about, like 6,000,000,000 of synergies, synergies take years, plural. And they start at closing today, they have seven times leverage. Investment grade is 2.5 times.”at 23:19
CNBC Power Lunch: Tech’s Record Rally, Assessing Amazon’s Valuation, Global Energy Uncertainty 10/7/26 ·
Matt Belloni · PuckBearish
Paramount's ~$79B post-merger debt may force asset sales and squeeze the promised content budget.
Belloni says the combined company carries about $79 billion in net debt. Interest-rate increases will make those obligations harder to service, which he expects will force the company to sell assets and squeeze the content budget that management says is needed to drive growth. He is sceptical of management's plan: the previous Warner Bros. Discovery leadership also had everything mapped out, and its forecasts fell apart when the television business declined faster than expected. The sceptical case is that the linear TV decline still threatens the plan, and the debt load limits the room for error.
“Many people believe that the debt burden, currently is about $79,000,000,000 in net debt, that those obligations, including the interest rate rise... will cause them to eventually have to sell things and will put a squeeze on the content budget”at 35:52
Squawk Pod (CNBC Squawk Box): DOGE ‘Blockers,’ Media’s Mega Merger, & Bigger Billionaires 10/7/26 ·
Matt Belloni · PuckUncertain
Paramount's bet that streaming can outgrow linear TV declines is uncertain, given its non-growing cable networks.
The core question for media is whether streaming can grow fast enough to offset linear TV declines. Skydance is betting it can. HBO Max is growing as both a profit center and a product, but Paramount still has dozens of cable networks that are not growing. Paramount chose to keep the cash those networks generate to fund the combined business rather than spin them off, as Comcast did with Versant. That makes the streaming bet the central swing factor, and Belloni frames it as an open question rather than a settled one.
“the whole question in media right now is can the streaming business grow fast enough to offset the declines in linear television? And the Skydance people are betting that they can.”at 36:33
Squawk Pod (CNBC Squawk Box): DOGE ‘Blockers,’ Media’s Mega Merger, & Bigger Billionaires 10/7/26 ·
Matt Belloni · PuckUncertain
Observers expect Paramount to need an outside capital injection or equity investor, based on its projections.
Paramount says it does not plan a separate capital injection beyond potential asset sales. Belloni disagrees: most observers look at the company's projections and expect something to happen, such as a capital injection or an equity investor. He ties that expectation to the financial pressure on the combined business, which is carrying heavy debt and relying on cash from declining cable networks. He does not name who would invest, and he says he doesn't know whether Elon Musk would be involved.
“most observers of this company look at the projections and expect something to happen, whether it's an injection of capital, whether it's some kind of equity investor or something that comes into this company.”at 38:08
Squawk Pod (CNBC Squawk Box): DOGE ‘Blockers,’ Media’s Mega Merger, & Bigger Billionaires 10/7/26 ·
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