Skydance (NYSE: SKYD) shares gave up an early rally on Thursday, Oct. 22, after Semafor reported Elon Musk had put roughly $1 billion into the company, and at one point traded down 2.4%. Neither Musk nor the company has confirmed the investment, and the price, form and timing are unclear, as is whether the money is new or part of the earlier $47 billion sale of Class B shares at $12 apiece. Skydance, created on Oct. 6 after a roughly $110 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, carries estimated gross debt of $89.3 billion and net leverage of about six times. Management targets more than $6 billion in annualized cost savings within three years and net leverage of 3.0 times by the end of 2029, while the article notes $1 billion equals roughly 2% of the equity raised. The next signals to watch are a company confirmation or filing, the first quarterly report as a combined company, and evidence of cost savings reaching free cash flow.
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