ViacomCBS Edges Q2 Estimates As Advertising Recovers And Streaming Rises

ViacomCBS edged Wall Street estimates in the second quarter, with revenue rising 8% to $6.56 billion and earnings per share coming in at 97 cents on an adjusted basis.

Analysts had expected earnings of 96 cents and revenue of $6.48 billion.

Streaming revenue soared 92%, with advertising revenue more than doubling to $502 million. The company added 6.5 million subscribers in the quarter, reaching 42 million globally, and also announced a deal with Comcast’s Sky to roll out Paramount+ in Europe. The revamp and expansion of CBS All Access hit the U.S. in March and has gone to more than two dozen other global territories.

Along with streaming, advertising was a major theme in the quarter. Ad revenue rose 24% in the quarter in the TV Networks and Cable Networks divisions. Key to the upswing were CBS sports broadcasts, which didn’t exist in the same quarter a year ago due to Covid-19. On the cable side, the company credited “an improved advertising market.”

Licensing revenue fell 36% to $1.24 billion, with the company attributing the drop to comparisons with 2020, when South Park was licensed to HBO Max and more theatrical titles were coming through.

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Paramount Pictures revenue inched up 3% to $667 million, largely due to the release of A Quiet Place Part II during the quarter.

In streaming, the company said the top drivers of sign-ups to Paramount+ included the new iCarly series, Infinite, UEFA Champions League soccer, The Challenge: All Stars and Why Women Kill. Engagement reached an all-time high in the quarter, the company said, though it did not offer any specifics.

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