Fans, political figures and fellow late-night hosts seemed stunned Thursday night when comedian Stephen Colbert announced that CBS would be ending The Late Show in May 2026, with many questioning what pushed the network and its parent company, Paramount Global, to make the decision.

There’s a very simple reason why “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” was canceled by CBS: the program was losing huge amounts of money, Puck reported. Colbert had to walk the plank because “The Late Show” was losing $40 million a year.