In the first quarter, Warren Buffett’s investment firm Berkshire Hathaway purchased a major position in media giant Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA). The investor announced the magnitude of his interest last week. The announcement sent the PARA stock up 15% on Tuesday, May 17th. PARA closed the day at $31.55 on May 18.
Berkshire Hathaway stated that it purchased almost 69 million shares of Paramount Global in the first quarter. These shares were valued at about $2.6 billion at the end of March. At present prices, the shares of Paramount Global (PARA) are worth around 15 times their projected earnings in 2023. However, this is a useful signal when compared to competition values. This is most likely why Berkshire Hathaway purchased assets from Paramount Global.
It should be noted that ViacomCBS has been renamed Paramount Global (PARA) to focus on the creation of the Paramount+ streaming service. In addition, CBS, Showtime, Nickelodeon, MTV, CMT, Comedy Central, and BET are among the major TV networks in the company’s portfolio.
To support its streaming development ambitions, Paramount Global (PARA) is now restructuring and selling off non-core businesses. Its Paramount+ streaming service is fast expanding, with 6.8 million users added in the first quarter alone.
At the end of March, the company’s total global subscriber base surpassed 62 million individuals. According to Paramount Global (PARA), that total will climb to 100 million by the end of 2024, including subscribers to its Showtime streaming service.
The danger for Paramount Global is increased competition in streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon.com, and Apple.
On the 18th of May, the company’s shares were trading -2.38 percent down at $31.55. Prices ranged between $31.485 and $33.39 over the last trading session. The stock is -16.13 percent below the target price of $36.64. The company’s current market capitalization is $19.69 billion.
