Morningstar flagged heavy debt, falling TV revenue, and execution risks for Skydance.
- Morningstar cut Skydance’s fair value estimate to $12 from $15 after shareholder warrants began trading separately.
- Skydance’s Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition expands its streaming, studio and sports businesses.
- Morningstar flagged Skydance’s heavy debt and doubted it can deliver $6 billion in annual savings.
Skydance Corp. (SKYD) stock slipped in premarket trading on Thursday as Morningstar lowered its fair value estimate to $12 from $15 following the separate trading of shareholder warrants. The analyst cited heavy debt, declining traditional TV revenue and execution risks, while noting that streaming growth and cost savings could offer upside potential.
Skydance stock edged 0.4% lower in Thursday’s premarket. The stock is down 22% this week and is on track for its worst weekly performance in three years.
Why Skydance’s Valuation Changed
Skydance’s estimated fair value has fallen after investors began trading separately issued warrants tied to its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Morningstar analyst Matthew Dolgin slashed his valuation to $12 per share from $15.
Class B shareholders who owned shares on Oct. 13 received one warrant for each full share. Starting Oct. 14, investors could trade these warrants separately from Skydance stock. Morningstar’s revised valuation excludes the value of those rights, which previously accompanied the shares.
Each warrant lets investors buy a Skydance Class B share for $12 until Oct. 13, 2036. But if the stock stays above $30 for a set period, the company can push the deadline forward, forcing investors to act sooner.
Skydance Streaming Offers Growth Potential
Paramount closed its Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition last week, creating a newly combined media giant, Skydance, with blockbuster entertainment brands, major streaming platforms and a sweeping portfolio of sports and news assets.
Morningstar expects investment in Paramount+ and a potential bundle or eventual integration with HBO Max to improve subscriber growth and pricing opportunities.
However, traditional television remains a challenge. Morningstar expects continued fall in pay-TV subscriptions and advertising revenue to weigh on the business.
Debt And Integration Create Risks
The Warner Bros. Discovery transaction also leaves Skydance with huge financial obligations. Skydance CEO David Ellison and his family reportedly invested about $17 billion to help fund the $110 billion deal. They bought an estimated 1.4 billion shares at $12 each, adding to their earlier investment in Paramount.
The deal also relies on billions in debt and funding from outside investors, including Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds, RedBird Capital Partners and South Korea’s Shinsegae Group. According to Morningstar, Skydance’s net debt exceeds six times adjusted EBITDA, making the company vulnerable if revenue falls faster than expected or planned cost cuts fail to materialize.
The analyst expects Skydance to pursue major savings by combining operations, but he remains skeptical that the company can hit its $6 billion annual cost-reduction target.
SKYD Stock: Retail View
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment on the stock flipped to ‘bearish’ from ‘neutral’ the previous day.
SKYD stock has declined 47% year-to-date.
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