Shares of ViacomCBS fall sharply following weak Q4 results

ViacomCBS

Yesterday’s fourth-quarter earnings call from ViacomCBS turns out to not have been as rosy as Star Trek fans might have you believe.

A piece from CNBC minced no words when it proclaimed, yesterday afternoon, “ViacomCBS shares plunge 15% after earnings as CEO Bob Bakish attempts to convince skeptical investors of new streaming plans”. CNBC points to early trading on Thursday morning, which dropped dramatically as the earnings call ended. Shares recovered briefly around lunchtime but fell again, closing the day at $29.24 after opening at just over $32.

CNBC quotes media analyst Rich Greenfield, who said, “Honestly it’s a mess” and pointed to their unclear streaming strategy compared to other streaming powerhouses. CNBC also pointed out that the loss may be indicative of market feelings after the big merger last December, saying, “The dramatic loss in value after Thursday’s announcement is a complete rebuke of the two companies’ decision to merge last summer, at least in the near term.”

CNBC then went on to explain just how big that rebuke is: “ViacomCBS’ overall market capitalization is now $18.2 billion. When the companies announced they would merge in August, the combined companies had a total market value of about $30 billion, with Viacom valued at about $12 billion. In other words, ViacomCBS has lost the entire market value of Viacom just six months after the merger’s announcement.”

So far, ViacomCBS’s plans have generated some positive feedback from audiences (including Star Trek), but it seems as though Wall Street has some uncertainty as to whether they’ll actually be able to pull it off.