Paramount Global (PARA) will report third quarter earnings before the bell on Friday as the entertainment giant focuses on cleaning up its balance sheet and improving its streaming business ahead of its merger with Skydance Media, which is expected to close in the first half of 2025.

For the third quarter, Paramount is anticipated to report a direct-to-consumer (DTC) loss of $161.5 million, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates. That's narrower than the $238 million loss seen in the year-earlier period but would be a reversal from the $26 million surprise profit it reported in Q2.

The company previously said it expects to reach domestic Paramount+ profitability in 2025. Shares are down more than 20% since the start of the year.

Here's what Wall Street expects, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates:

• Revenue: $6.95 billion versus $7.13 billion a year ago

• Adj. earnings per share (EPS): $0.23 versus $0.30 a year ago

• Paramount+ subscribers: 2.4 million net additions versus 2.7 million net additions a year ago

The streamer currently boasts 68.4 million total subscribers after it lost 2.8 million users in the second quarter following the exit of a hard bundle agreement in South Korea. But gains are expected this time around, mostly due to the return of the NFL and college football.

On the flip side, linear advertising revenue is expected to once again decline but should improve on a sequential basis, according to analysts. Consensus estimates peg segment revenue falling 5% from the year-earlier period following an 11% drop in Q2.

Linear profits are also set to continue their plunge amid greater cord-cutting trends, which have slowed carriage-free growth and pressured distribution rates.

The company recently took a nearly $6 billion write-down on the value of its cable business as a result, in addition to announcing plans to lay off 15% of its US workforce. The layoffs are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Friday's results will arrive as Skydance's pending takeover of the company remains on the horizon.

Skydance, which will be valued at $4.75 billion following the all-stock deal's completion, said it would inject $6 billion in cash into Paramount, with $1.5 billion going directly into its debt-ridden balance sheet.

Skydance CEO David Ellison will become chairman and CEO of the combined company, while former NBCUniversal executive Jeff Shell, ousted last year over an "inappropriate relationship" with a female employee, will serve as president.

Over the summer, the new leadership team laid out its strategic vision for Paramount. This includes $2 billion in cost cuts with $500 million already underway.