Shares in newly-minted Paramount Skydance are nearing meme darling status on the heels of closing a merger between the storied Hollywood studio and David Ellison’s Skydance, and then unveiling a deal with UFC and parent TKO to make Paramount+ the new streaming home to UFC events in the U.S.Paramount Skydance stock has displayed wild price swings this week typical of meme stocks, with shares edging down by 17 cents, or just over 1 percent, to $14.83 in pre-market trading on Thursday.But that followed an 8 percent rise in the share price on Tuesday, with the stock popping at one point by 60 percent on Wednesday to $17.53, before closing the day up $4.03, or 37 percent, to $15 on heavy trading volume.Ellison will run Paramount Skydance as CEO and former NBCUniversal boss Jeff Shell becomes president, running the company day-to-day, as the combined Hollywood giant now appears set to invest for growth and reduce operating costs, moves favored by Wall Street backers.Paramount brings the Paramount film and TV studios, Paramount+, CBS, and such cable channels as Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central to Skydance. The merger deal allowed Shari Redstone, who has controlled Paramount via the controlling stake held by her National Amusements since her father Sumner Redstone’s death in 2020, to cash out.Exiting Paramount co-CEOs Brian Robbins, George Cheeks and Chris McCarthy had been focusing on cost reductions and a healthy content pipeline in the run-up to the Skydance deal close. Wall Street analysts are looking for news on the company’s strategies for its streaming and linear TV businesses.
© 2025 The Hollywood Reporter.