It may be a coincidence – or investor bargain-hunting – but Skydance shares have rebounded Thursday after David Ellison and other top execs rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.
Halfway through the trading day, the stock was at $9.42, up 6%. That nearly made up for Wednesday’s losses, which extended a two-day slump since Tuesday morning’s close of the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger ushered in the Skydance era. Wall Streeters thus far have largely been uneasy about the company’s $79 billion in debt and dependence on declining businesses like linear television.
On the floor of the NYSE, a milestone moment for Hollywood after a fraught merger process was commemorated with the pageantry of the bell-ringing. The ceremony spanned the familiar marble balcony as the market opened and proceeded to a floor-level bell struck with a mallet. Ellison was joined by his wife, Sandra Lynn Modic, along with Co-CEO Ynon Kreiz; board member/investor Gerry Cardinale; CFO Dennis Cinelli; President Andy Gordon; and Makan Delrahim, Chief Legal Officer & President, Global Corporate Affairs.
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After Ellison started the ringing of the large brass bell, he handed the mallet to Kreiz as everyone on the executive team got to take a whack. The musclebound former Mattel CEO generated an ear-piercing sound, grinning as he delivered a succession of staccato blows.
The event was essentially a photo call, with execs not directly interacting with the dozen-plus members of the media, most of whom were there to capture images and video. Ellison and Kreiz, who convened a press conference Tuesday in L.A., did sit down for a pre-bell interview prior with CNBC inside their glass-walled studio on the floor of the stock exchange. Ellison called Skydance a “solution” to the disruption of the media industry by Big Tech.
Executives will get a chance to make their case to Wall Street analysts in the coming weeks when they report third-quarter earnings results. Netflix is set to kick off earnings season for media companies and streamers on October 20. Skydance has yet to set a date for its quarterly numbers.