Paramount Skydance Corporation stock (NASDAQ: PSKY) is back in the spotlight on December 23, 2025, after the company sharpened the financing behind its high-profile attempt to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD)—and as major shareholders and analysts weigh whether the sweetened terms are enough to change the outcome of one of Hollywood’s most consequential deal fights.
The short version: PSKY hasn’t raised its headline $30-per-share cash offer for WBD, but it strengthened the credibility of its funding with an “irrevocable personal guarantee” of $40.4 billion from Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, increased its regulatory reverse termination fee, and extended the tender offer timeline—moves aimed squarely at addressing objections WBD’s board has previously raised. [1]
That’s the news catalyst. The investor question is the bigger beast: does this turn PSKY into a near-term M&A winner—or simply raise the stakes (and risks) around a deal that still faces board resistance, shareholder skepticism, and intense regulatory scrutiny?
What is Paramount Skydance Corporation—and why PSKY stock trades like a deal headline
Paramount Skydance Corporation is the company created when Skydance Media and Paramount Global completed their merger on Aug. 7, 2025, with Class B shares beginning to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker “PSKY.” [2]
Operationally, Paramount describes itself as a next-generation media and entertainment company with three core segments—Studios, Direct-to-Consumer, and TV Media—spanning legacy brands (including Paramount Pictures and CBS) and streaming (including Paramount+). [3]
But on Dec. 23, 2025, PSKY stock is being priced less like a steady media cash-flow story and more like a probability-weighted referendum on a mega-acquisition.
Today’s top PSKY stock news: Paramount’s revised WBD bid and Ellison’s $40.4B guarantee
The revised offer: same price, stronger backstop
On Dec. 22, Paramount Skydance announced it had amended its all-cash offer to buy WBD, keeping the $30.00 per share price intact while revising deal terms to address what it called WBD’s concerns about financing credibility. [4]
The centerpiece is the financing upgrade:
- Irrevocable personal guarantee: Larry Ellison agreed to personally guarantee $40.4 billion of the equity financing and certain damages claims. [5]
- Trust stability commitment: Ellison also agreed not to revoke the family trust or shift assets in a way that could undermine the bid during the deal period. [6]
- Regulatory reverse termination fee raised: Paramount increased the reverse termination fee to $5.8 billion, matching the competing transaction’s fee structure. [7]
- Tender offer extended: The tender offer now expires Jan. 21, 2026 (extended from Jan. 8). [8]
Paramount also disclosed tender progress: as of Dec. 19, about 397,252 shares had been tendered and not withdrawn—an early datapoint that suggests shareholders are still in “wait and see” mode. [9]
What Paramount claims about financing (and why investors should read it as advocacy)
In its SEC-filed shareholder materials promoting the bid, Paramount argues the tender offer is not subject to a financing condition and outlines a funding mix that includes new committed equity (backstopped by Ellison’s trust and RedBird) and debt commitments from major financial institutions. [10]
That language matters because it’s designed to blunt the exact “deal certainty” critique that WBD’s board—and some investors—have used to justify sticking with Netflix.
Still, it’s worth remembering what this document is: soliciting material aimed at winning shareholder support. It’s not a neutral third-party fairness opinion.
The other side of the chessboard: WBD’s response and the Netflix factor
WBD confirms receipt—and tells shareholders to wait
WBD confirmed it received Paramount’s amended unsolicited tender offer and said its board, “consistent with its fiduciary duties,” will review it under the terms of the company’s agreement with Netflix. Importantly, WBD emphasized it is not changing its recommendation in favor of the Netflix deal at this time and advised shareholders not to take action while it evaluates the amended offer. [11]
How Netflix’s deal is described in today’s reporting
Reuters’ Dec. 23 reporting frames Netflix’s competing deal as offering WBD shareholders a package including $23.25 per share in cash, $4.50 in Netflix stock, and additional value tied to what WBD shareholders receive from a planned spinoff transaction (often referred to in coverage as “Discovery Global”). [12]
From Paramount’s angle, the pitch is simple: our offer is higher per share and all-cash. From WBD’s angle, the rebuttal is also simple: closing certainty and conditions matter, not just the headline price.
What investors and analysts are saying on Dec. 23, 2025
A key WBD shareholder: “necessary, but not sufficient”
One of the most market-moving lines today comes from Harris Oakmark, identified by Reuters as WBD’s fifth-largest shareholder (about 96 million shares, ~4% as of end-September). The firm’s portfolio manager told Reuters the amended Paramount offer still doesn’t provide enough incentive to switch paths—especially given the costs and uncertainty of changing deals midstream. [13]
Translation: even with Ellison’s guarantee, some big holders want either more money, more certainty, or both.
Why the guarantee might not flip the vote by itself
Reuters also quoted an S&P Global analyst expressing skepticism that the changes addressed the real reasons fence-sitters might vote “no” on Paramount’s bid—suggesting financing optics may not be the decisive factor for many shareholders. [14]
And while some investor commentary today argues Paramount could have a better chance with regulators than Netflix, that’s still a projection—not a verdict. [15]
PSKY stock price action: what we know (and what it implies)
PSKY shares have been moving on deal headlines this week, with multiple outlets reporting the stock rose several percentage points following the amended-bid and guarantee news. [16]
From an investor-behavior standpoint, this pattern is typical when a company announces a bold acquisition attempt:
- PSKY can pop on perceived “deal momentum” and confidence signals (like a personal guarantee).
- PSKY can also sell off if investors fear the bid increases leverage, risk, and distraction—or if it appears unlikely to succeed.
In other words, the market isn’t just asking “Is WBD a great asset?” It’s asking “Is PSKY taking on more than it can chew?”
Forecasts and analyst targets for Paramount Skydance stock: cautious to bearish
If you zoom out from the daily headlines and look at analyst aggregates published as of this week, sentiment is notably mixed—and often cautious.
MarketBeat: “Strong Sell,” limited implied upside
MarketBeat’s compiled analyst view shows a “Strong Sell” consensus rating (15 analysts), with an average price target around $14.00—only modestly above where shares have recently traded. [17]
MarketScreener: “Hold,” but with a higher average target
MarketScreener’s consensus snapshot shows a mean rating of “Hold” across 19 analysts and an average target price around $14.86, implying more upside than some other aggregations—though still not a “to the moon” outlook. [18]
TipRanks: “Moderate Sell,” small upside implied
TipRanks’ Dec. 23 coverage characterizes PSKY as “Moderate Sell” with an average price target around the low-to-mid $14 range and notes that PSKY stock has risen meaningfully year-to-date. [19]
Technical / quant-style signals: bearish in the near term
Investing.com’s technical summary flags a “Strong Sell” posture on its daily technical indicators, even as some sub-indicators (like RSI and MACD in that snapshot) can point in different directions. [20]
Separately, Zacks’ research snapshot around this period also tags PSKY as a Strong Sell in its ranking framework. [21]
What to take from all this: the Street isn’t united. But the center of gravity leans cautious, with price targets that—on average—suggest limited upside unless Paramount can either (a) execute cleanly on fundamentals, or (b) meaningfully improve the risk-adjusted payoff of its strategic moves (including this WBD pursuit).
The calendar that matters: what could move PSKY next
If you’re following Paramount Skydance stock right now, these are the upcoming catalysts that can swing sentiment quickly:
- WBD board recommendation update after reviewing the amended tender offer. [22]
- Tender offer progress and any further amendments before the current expiration date of Jan. 21, 2026. [23]
- Netflix response (raising terms, tightening financing, or pressing its existing agreement advantages). [24]
- Regulatory signaling in the U.S. and Europe—because both the Paramount-WBD and Netflix-WBD structures carry obvious antitrust narratives. [25]
Any one of those can turn PSKY’s tape from “fundamentals” to “deal odds” in a heartbeat.
The big risks PSKY investors are pricing in
Even supporters of Paramount’s strategy usually acknowledge the risks are real and not cosmetic:
- Regulatory risk: Reuters notes both deal paths could face significant antitrust scrutiny, and the political climate around media consolidation can add unpredictability. [26]
- Financing and leverage: Even with a guarantee, markets care about the total capital structure—especially in media, where legacy TV declines can pressure cash flows. [27]
- Execution risk: Integrating major media assets, aligning streaming strategies, and rationalizing costs without harming content engines is notoriously hard. (This is less a “Paramount problem” than a “media is a knife-fight” problem.) [28]
- Deal distraction: Pursuing a blockbuster acquisition can pull focus from Paramount’s ongoing operational turnaround and streaming economics. [29]
Bottom line: Paramount Skydance stock is trading on deal probability—not just fundamentals
On Dec. 23, 2025, Paramount Skydance Corporation stock (PSKY) is being driven by a single dominant narrative: can David Ellison’s Paramount pry WBD away from Netflix by improving “deal certainty” without raising price?
So far, the company has answered that challenge with a dramatic credibility signal—Larry Ellison’s $40.4B personal guarantee—and with revised terms designed to neutralize objections about the trust structure and termination fees. [30]
But today’s reporting also makes clear that at least some influential shareholders still want more incentive, and WBD’s board hasn’t budged from its current posture. [31]
For PSKY investors, that means volatility is not a bug—it’s the feature. Until this contest resolves, PSKY stock will behave like a living forecast of the deal’s odds, recalibrated headline by headline.
References
1. www.sec.gov, 2. www.paramount.com, 3. www.paramount.com, 4. www.sec.gov, 5. www.sec.gov, 6. www.sec.gov, 7. www.sec.gov, 8. www.sec.gov, 9. www.sec.gov, 10. www.sec.gov, 11. www.sec.gov, 12. www.reuters.com, 13. www.reuters.com, 14. www.reuters.com, 15. www.reuters.com, 16. www.reuters.com, 17. www.marketbeat.com, 18. www.marketscreener.com, 19. www.tipranks.com, 20. www.investing.com, 21. advisortools.zacks.com, 22. www.sec.gov, 23. www.sec.gov, 24. www.sec.gov, 25. www.reuters.com, 26. www.reuters.com, 27. www.sec.gov, 28. www.paramount.com, 29. www.paramount.com, 30. www.sec.gov, 31. www.reuters.com
