u/Puginator

Paramount Skydance will seek to force the states holding up its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery to pay for the fees and costs associated with the delay, according to a new filing in the antitrust case Monday.

Paramount is requesting a $1.88 billion bond that would be paid by the states behind the lawsuit. In July, a dozen state attorneys general led by California’s Rob Bonta filed to challenge the proposed $110 billion merger between Paramount and WBD.

Paramount has received regulatory approvals from the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as all other global jurisdictions needed to move forward with the merger. But last month, Paramount agreed to delay the proposed acquisition to as late as June 2027 while the state AGs’ case heads to trial.

Paramount long planned to have the deal closed by the end of September. The delay could prove costly for Paramount.

Paramount agreed to a so-called ticking fee under the terms of the merger agreement, meaning that beginning Sept. 30 it would pay WBD shareholders an additional 25 cents per share, per quarter, until the deal closes. The amount could add up to roughly $650 million in cash value per quarter.

“By the time trial concludes and the parties submit their final briefs, Paramount will have paid Warner Bros. shareholders an unrecoverable $1.3 billion in ticking fees alone,” Paramount said in the filing. “Delay also threatens to nullify the regulatory approvals that Defendants have already spent months securing.”

“Absent security, even a complete victory on the merits would not restore a dollar of those extraordinary losses. That is precisely why federal law requires plaintiffs to provide security as a condition for receiving preliminary relief such as the court-approved order,” the filing says.

If the deal were to fall apart due to regulatory concerns Paramount would owe WBD a $7 billion breakup fee.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/17/paramount-bond-merger-delay-costs.html

Uber issued a forecast for bookings and earnings that trailed analysts’ estimates, while second-quarter profit was in line with expectations. Shares sank about 3.5% on Wednesday following the print.

Here’s how the company did versus analysts’ estimates compiled by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 81 cents vs. 81 cents expected
• Revenue: $14.19 billion vs. $14.24 billion expected

Revenue increased 12% from $12.65 billion a year earlier. Net income climbed to $2.39 billion, or $1.17 a share, from $1.35 billion, or 63 cents a share, a year ago.

Uber’s core mobility service accounted for $7.36 billion of second-quarter sales, while delivery revenue reached $5.25 billion. Mobility gross bookings rose 22% from a year to $28.99 billion, and delivery bookings jumped 26% $27.46 billion. Total bookings of $58 billion topped the $57.23 billion average analyst estimate, according to StreetAccount.

For the third quarter, Uber sees bookings of $59.25 billion at the middle of its range. That trails the average StreetAccount estimate of $59.33 billion. And the company’s EPS forecast of 84 cents to 88 cents fell below the 89-cent average analyst estimate, according to LSEG.

Uber shares are down 12% this year as of Tuesday’s close, while the Nasdaq is up 14% over that stretch.

Uber is pushing further into deliveries, and last month announced a $14.8 billion agreement to acquire Germany’s Delivery Hero. That deal will increase the number of markets where Uber can deliver food and groceries.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in prepared remarks ahead of the earnings call that the World Cup was a boon for the ride-hail business in the quarter. More than 8 million tourists took rides across host cities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico

Uber is also continuing to make big bets on autonomous vehicles.

The company said it expects to commit more than $10 billion in coming years to “bring AVs to market at scale.” Uber, which has been inking partnerships with robotaxi providers, doesn’t break out the share of rides or deliveries that have drivers and those that don’t.

“As the industry shifts from proving the technology to commercializing it at scale,” Uber is building “one of the most valuable positions in the AV ecosystem,” Khosrowshahi said.

However, early robotaxi partner Waymo appears to be pulling away. The companies recently said they would be ending an exclusive agreement in Atlanta and Austin, Texas, by early 2028.

Uber also announced on Wednesday that it has cleared another hurdle in offering autonomous rides in London with UK robotaxi company Wayve.

Transport for London has granted Private Hire Vehicle licences to Wayve robotaxis, confirming that the vehicles meet safety standards. Uber said more than 100,000 people have signed up to be the first riders.

“This licence is a key milestone in bringing autonomous rides to London on Uber,” said Global Head of Autonomous Mobility Operations Annie Duvnjak in a statement announcing the news.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/05/uber-stock-q2-2026-earnings.html

Disney posted mixed quarterly results on Wednesday, far surpassing Wall Street expectations for earnings while slightly missing estimates for revenue. 

The company’s quarterly results were once again lifted by its parks and streaming divisions. 

Revenue for Disney’s experiences segment, which includes global theme parks and cruises, was up 10% year over year to $9.97 billion. That growth came even as macroeconomic uncertainty continues to mount for consumers and appears to weigh on Disney’s parks peers.

“Domestically we’re doing extremely well right now,” CFO Hugh Johnston told CNBC, noting that park attendance in the U.S. was up 3% and per capita spending increased 4%. 

Johnston also called out the “very strong attendance” at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. 

“Those numbers are somewhat different than what you would have seen from our competitor down there, as well as some of the reported traffic coming through Orlando [International] Airport,” he added. 

Last month, Comcast’s NBCUniversal reported that its Orlando theme parks saw lower attendance during its fiscal quarter, with executives pointing to “weakness in consumer sentiment and higher travel costs affecting demand.” 

The effects of the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran and related jump in oil prices have weighed on consumers. 

Meanwhile Disney’s entertainment streaming business – primarily made up of Disney+ and Hulu – once again posted gains. Revenue for the segment increased 11% to $5.53 billion during the quarter. The growth was particularly propelled by an increase in streaming customers and price hikes as well as an increase in advertising revenue. 

The overall entertainment segment, which also includes traditional TV and theatrical releases in addition to streaming, saw revenue rise 6% to $11.35 billion. The success of “Toy Story 5” in theaters provided a boost, with Disney noting the animated film has surpassed $1 billion at the global box office. 

Disney has recently stopped reporting some metrics for the segment, such as a breakdown of revenue and operating income for its linear TV networks. It also no longer reports quarterly streaming subscriber numbers.

Here’s how Disney performed for its fiscal third quarter, ended June 27, compared to Wall Street’s estimates, according to LSEG:

• Earnings per share: $2.06 vs. $1.86 expected
• Revenue: $25.25 billion vs. $25.4 billion expected

Overall, Disney’s revenue rose 7% year over year to $25.25 billion during the quarter. 

Net income for Disney’s fiscal third quarter was $2.64 billion, or $1.51 per share, compared with $5.26 billion, or $2.92 per share during the same period last year. Disney’s fiscal third quarter of 2025 included one-time items primarily related to tax benefits associated with Disney’s purchase of Comcast’s Hulu stake. 

Adjusting for one-time items, including costs associated with restructuring, Disney reported earnings of $2.06 per share for its fiscal third quarter, up from adjusted EPS of $1.61 in the same quarter last year. 

Shares of Disney gained roughly 4% in premarket trading.

Revenue in Disney’s sports segment, which is made up primarily of ESPN, jumped 4% to $4.5 billion, largely driven by subscription and affiliate fees as well as advertising. ESPN launched its own direct-to-consumer streaming service nearly a year ago. 

While sports rights fees have become a hefty cost for media companies like Disney, the company noted soaring TV ratings from the NBA and NHL postseasons on both its broadcast network ABC as well as pay TV channel ESPN. 

“The NBA and NHL Finals were super strong, over 100% growth in terms of viewership,” Johnston told CNBC. “The last time I think we saw these types of numbers was about 25 or 30 years ago.” 

Wednesday’s report marks the second quarterly release with CEO Josh D’Amaro at the helm after he took over for Bob Iger. Last quarter D’Amaro outlined his strategy for growth and opportunities at Disney, with a focus on investing in intellectual property to propel its theme parks and entertainment. 

In the release, Disney said it received a roughly $100 million tariff refund related to the Trump administration’s levies on trade partners and subsequent reversal.

Disney also said it was now targeting at least $9 billion in share repurchases in fiscal 2026, an increase from $8 billion previously and fueled by the sale of Disney’s 50% stake in A+E Global Media to Hearst. That deal amounts to roughly $1.2 billion in cash for Disney, it said.

On Wednesday, Disney also said it planned to shift much of its consumer products business from the experiences segment to the entertainment unit beginning in its fiscal first quarter of 2027. The company said it sees “strategic and operational benefits” of putting the consumer products with its entertainment business, as it combines the studios that create the IP with the merchandise that monetizes it. 

Disney separately announced on Wednesday a global deal with TikTok that it said would bring “an expansive collection of thoughtfully curated Disney-centric fan-created content from TikTok to Disney.” The move comes as media companies increasingly vie for more viewers for streaming services – particularly among younger generations of consumers who spend time on YouTube and TikTok.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/05/disney-dis-earnings-q3-2026.html

Here’s how the company did compared with analysts’ estimates, according to LSEG

• Revenue: $7.81 billion vs. $6.93 billion expected
• Loss per share: Loss of 9 cents. That’s not comparable to the average analyst estimate of a loss of 26 cents.

SpaceX lost $4.9 billion last year, largely due to hefty investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company merged with Musk’s xAI in February, saying at the time that the vision was to build data centers in space. But even the launch business, which counts on large contracts from NASA, is losing money.

Most of SpaceX’s revenue for the year, and its only source of profit, came from its connectivity segment, which consists of its Starlink satellite internet service. Starlink is sold directly to consumers, as well as to government and military agencies.

Here’s how SpaceX performed in its three segments:

• Space: $962 million vs. $835 million expected, according to StreetAccount
• Connectivity: $4.29 billion vs. $3.83 billion expected, according to StreetAccount
• AI: $2.56 billion vs. $2.18 billion expected, according to StreetAccount

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/04/spacex-spcx-earnings-live-updates-q2-2026.html

Apple reported stronger-than-expected earnings and revenue for the fiscal third quarter, driven by a 22% increase in iPhone sales. 

Here’s how the company did versus LSEG consensus estimates: 

• EPS: $2.02, which isn’t comparable to analyst estimates of $1.89.  
• Revenue: $109.42 billion, versus $108.65 billion estimated.

 

Here’s how Apple did in other key areas: 

• iPhone revenue: $54.25 billion vs. $53.86 billion estimated. 
• Mac revenue: $10.35 billion vs. $8.74 billion estimated. 
• iPad revenue: $6.19 billion vs. $6.92 billion estimated. 
• Wearables revenue: $7.88 billion vs. $7.82 billion estimated. 
• Services revenue: $30.74 billion vs. $31.22 billion estimated. 
• Gross margin: 50.1%. That’s not comparable to analyst estimates of 47.9% due to tariff rebates. 
• Cash: $146.52 billion

 

Apple didn’t provide official guidance, which normally comes on the earnings call. CEO Tim Cook, in his last earnings report at the helm before turning the job over to John Ternus, will also address how Apple sees components shortages shaking out.   

Net income climbed to $29.79 billion, or $2.02 per share, from $24.43 billion, or $1.57 per share, a year ago. Apple said earnings included 11 cents per share from tariff rebates.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/30/apple-earnings-live-updates.html

Reddit reported second-quarter earnings on Thursday that beat on the top and the bottom lines, and the company issued guidance that sailed past expectations.

Here’s how the company did compared with LSEG estimates:

• Earnings per share: $1.25 vs. 95 cents expected
• Revenue: $805 million vs. $730 million expected

Sales for the second quarter rose 61% year-over-year from $500 million a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Net income climbed to $253 million, or $1.25 a share, from $89 million, or 45 cents per share, the previous year.

Third-quarter revenue should come in between $860 million to $870 million, the company said, while  analysts were expecting $828 million. Reddit said adjusted earnings this quarter will be between $385 million and $395 million, topping Wall Street projections of $368 million.

Reddit’s revenue rose more than 60% for an eighth straight quarter as the company’s ad business continues to benefit from overseas expansion, a rush of new users and continued improvements to its online ad engine.

The results come a day after digital ad giant Meta reported a 28% increase in year-over-year revenue. That topped estimates, but the stock sank due to a weaker-than-expected forecast and dwindling cash flow tied to artificial intelligence investments.

Meta’s cash is going the other direction, as the companies investments stay in check. Free cash flow more than doubled to $261 million from $111 million a year ago.

The company’s global daily active unique users, or DAUq, jumped 18% year-over-year to 130.3 million for the quarter, ahead of analyst estimates of 129.9 million. Its U.S.-specific DAUq rose 6% to 53.2 million.

Average revenue per user, or ARPU, came in at $6.18 while U.S. ARPU was $11.85.

Reddit’s “Other revenue” category, which includes its data licensing business, grew 24% year-over-year to $43 million. The company’s two biggest data licensing partners are OpenAI and Google.

While Reddit’s user base has been expanding, investors have expressed concern about the company’s ability to monetize traffic, as Google search referrals come down.

CEO Steve Huffman wrote in an investor letter on Thursday that, “Search referrals were choppy in the quarter, and traffic was more volatile later in the quarter.”

“But the bigger picture is unchanged,” he wrote. “The commercial business is strong, our revenue growth is differentiated, and we have much to be encouraged by on the product side.”

Earlier this month, Reddit shares tumbled after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company was considering cutting off Google’s access to its data. Reddit and publishers like USA Today and Politico are concerned that they’re receiving less referral traffic as the search giant increasingly pushes its Gemini-powered AI chat service, the report said.

A Reddit spokesperson told CNBC at the time that it is approaching negotiations “just like any business should, by focusing on doing what’s best for Reddit.”

Huffman said the company is considering its options.

“In AI overviews, we have still yet to find that win-win, but we’re still you know collaborative and looking for that,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any simple binary decision here.”

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/30/reddit-rddt-q2-2026-earnings-report.html

Chipotle Mexican Grill on Wednesday raised its same-store sales growth forecast for the year after topping analysts’ quarterly earnings and revenue expectations.

The restaurant company is now projecting that its same-store sales will increase by a low single digit percentage in 2026, higher than its previous outlook of flat same-store sales for the full year.

Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 33 cents adjusted vs. 32 cents expected
• Revenue: $3.35 billion vs. $3.33 billion expected

Chipotle reported second-quarter net income of $403.5 million, or 32 cents per share, down from $436.1 million, or 32 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding impairment and restructuring costs and other items, the company earned 33 cents per share.

Revenue climbed 9.3% to $3.35 billion.

Same-store sales rose 2.2%, lifted by a 1% increase in traffic to restaurants. Total check size inched up 1.2% compared with the year-ago period.

During the quarter, Chipotle opened 100 new locations and one international restaurant operated by a partner.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/29/chipotle-mexican-grill-cmg-q2-2026-earnings.html