Warren Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A)(NYSE: BRK.B) owned 94 million shares of media conglomerate Paramount Global (NASDAQ: PARA) as of last report -- worth $1.4 billion as of this writing. It's a small amount for Buffett, but not insignificant, especially given that Paramount stock is down nearly 50% in the last year after an ugly first quarter 2023 earnings update. The company slashed its quarterly dividend by 80% (from $0.24 a share down to just $0.05) as it tries to shore up its profitability amid a nasty TV streaming battle.

Buffett of course said a dividend cut is always a bad thing. But there's far more to the story that should have investors concerned about Paramount Global's health as a viable investment.

Buffett did say that "it's not good news when any company...cuts its dividend dramatically." Of course, he wasn't going to give the reasons why it's bad for Paramount away for free, because Buffett and company "are not in the business of giving stock advice to people." So, in the business of stock opinions, I guess that's why I'm here.

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Source Fool.com