Shares of Viacom Inc. Class B non-voting stock, which is available to invest in for the general public, dropped 1.5% in early trade on Wednesday, with its Class A controlling stock sliding 1% after the beleaguered company issued a profit warning, forecasting adjusted earnings per share for the fourth quarter will be in the range of 65 cents to 70 cents. The FactSet consensus on earnings is 91 cents. Viacom also said it would cut its quarterly dividend in half to 20 cents per share while tapping debt markets as well, in hopes of improving financial flexibility. The media and entertainment company confirmed it’s ended the process of seeking a minority investor for its Paramount Pictures film business and said it will consider all options available. Interim Chief Executive Tom Dooley, who took the reins from the ousted Philippe Dauman, will step down Nov 15 as the board looks to conduct a proper succession process. Shares of Viacom’s non-voting stock are down 13% in the year to date, underperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up more than 5%.
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