Musk Puts About $1 Billion Into Skydance as It Seeks to Cut Costs
Key Facts
Elon Musk invested about $1 billion in Skydance, Semafor reported, citing people familiar with the matter, in a cash injection that comes as the group seeks to cut costs and support its share price. The company and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment, the report said. Semafor said the investment was made around the same time as equity contributions from other Skydance investors, including board member Laurene Powell Jobs. The report did not disclose the final deal value or Musk’s stake in the company. The funding follows a major expansion that reshaped the group, leaving management with the task of integrating a broad portfolio of media assets and reducing the company’s cost burden.
The prior corporate link dates to the merger of Skydance Media and Paramount Global, which closed in August 2025. The latest transformation came on October 6, 2026, when Skydance completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and the combined entity was renamed Skydance. Class B shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SKYD on the day the acquisition closed. The group includes two film studios and two global streaming services, along with television assets including CBS, HBO and CNN. Its assets also include live sports and a program library, giving it operations across film, streaming and television.
The company is targeting at least $6 billion in annual operating savings over the following three years, according to its disclosure. It said most of the savings would come from technology, integration, procurement, marketing and real estate. The target puts cost cutting at the heart of the group’s post-acquisition plan, alongside efforts to bolster its share price, Semafor reported, citing the reasons for the cash injection. On October 26, Reuters reported that the company was offering some employees a one-time voluntary buyout as part of its cost-cutting efforts. The program reflects the application of cuts to the workforce, while the report did not specify how many employees were eligible or the expected savings.
The measures come as the group faces a substantial financial burden following the deal; Reuters estimated its debt at about $80 billion. The news agency said that level increases pressure on management to support its streaming businesses, preserve cable cash flows and improve film performance. It also reported that the company’s stock had fallen by about a third from the start of the year through October 26, 2026. EL7 data showed the close declined from $7.79 on October 22 to $7.77 on October 28. This comes as the aim of the cash injection, according to Semafor, was to provide financial support as the company seeks to cut costs and strengthen its share price.
The relationship between Musk and the Ellison family has also involved financing in the opposite direction; Semafor reported that Larry Ellison invested $1 billion in Musk’s 2022 deal to acquire Twitter. Skydance’s current targets include reducing net leverage to 3.0 times by the end of 2029. The company also expects to generate more than $10 billion in free cash flow by 2030. It is due to report third-quarter results on November 9, according to Reuters. The results will be the next near-term financial milestone for investors after the acquisition, with attention focused on the path for costs, debt and cash flow.