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Comcast (CMCSA) is scheduled to announce quarterly results on January 30, while Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is expected to report earnings on February 27. Paramount (PARA) is also expected to announce financial results soon. What to watch for:

RELATIVE STABILITY: MoffettNathanson upgraded Warner Bros. Discovery to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $13, up from $9. The firm says Warner's financial performance and elevated debt levels have kept it on the sidelines. However, in 2025, the company has "relative stability" following its recent round of significant affiliate fee renewals, as well as continued growth at Max and reduced Studio headwinds, MoffettNathanson tells investors in a research note. It expects this to lead to continued de-levering into the medium term.

TOP PICK: Loop Capital named Comcast the firm's 2025 Top Media Pick but lowered the price target on the stock to $53 from $54 while also keeping a Buy rating on the shares. The company has significantly underperformed the S&P over the past five years, including 2024, as broadband subscriber growth shifted from annual gains exceeding one million to declines, while cord cutting accelerated declines in media EBITDA, but 25 brings key positives - the absence of a regulatory event such as the ACP loss, increased sports and media streaming, and rising broadband consumption, the firm tells investors in a research note. Loop adds, however, that its reduced price target on Comcast reflects lower estimated 2025 broadband subs.

Meanwhile, Bernstein lowered the firm's price target on Comcast to $47 from $48 and kept a Market Perform rating on the shares. The firm cited updated guidance from the company's management for the quarter, with greater than anticipated subscriber losses in Q4 2024 and implications for 2025.

Earlier this month, Wells Fargo also lowered the firm's price target on Equal Weight-rated Comcast to $45 from $46. The firm believes Comcast has many 2025 catalysts. Net/net cable is challenging and NBCU is improving. Wells thinks the stock has more upside than downside, but is also range-bound.

TAKEOVER OFFER: Paramount Global has rebuffed an unsolicited $13.5B takeover offer from a consortium of investors called Project Rise Partners and has reaffirmed its commitment to the previously $8B announced merger with Skydance Media and RedBird Capital Partners, Luke Bouma of Cord Cutters News reports. In a statement to Cord Cutters News, a spokesperson for Paramount's Special Committee emphasized that PRP did not submit a proposal during the 45-day "go-shop" period, nor during the preceding seven-month sale process. The spokesperson stated that Paramount is bound by its agreement with Skydance Media and will not engage with PRP in any way that violates that agreement. Despite the higher offer, Paramount's Special Committee expressed skepticism about PRP's intentions, stating that "it is unclear what PRP's objectives are."

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