NEW YORK (CNN) - AOL Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons said Tuesday that it will probably be a "couple of quarters" before the media powerhouse sees measurable results that can get its struggling stock moving again.

Parsons also said the company is sticking with its America Online unit for now, and he said executives discussing a possible merger between CNN and ABC News have "sort of hit the pause button on that."

The CEO, who gave a presentation earlier in the day at a business conference on media companies, said AOL Time Warner (AOL: up $0.67 to $13.75, Research, Estimates), parent of CNN/Money, must stick to its new business plan to get desired results and rebuild morale within the company.

AOL Time Warner CEO sees 'couple of quarters' before stock turnaround; possible ABC News-CNN merger 'hit the pause button.' Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

"As I said to the investors today, 'Don't judge us by what we said, judge us by what we do,'" Parsons told CNN financial correspondent Greg Clarkin. "It's going to take us a little while to do some things. But if quarter by quarter we show movement and progress against this plan, I think the investors will then sort of say, 'Well, you know, they've got something there.'"

Asked how long it might take to get the stock moving again, Parsons said, "We're looking out a couple of quarters, to be honest with you."

He added, "I believe we will show them through our actions and through our performances that we've got our arms around this thing."

The company's stock has been down more than 60 percent on the year.

Parsons took over the CEO job earlier this year and has adopted the motto of "underestimate and overperform" -- a phrase coined by CNN founder Ted Turner.

Last week, AOL Time Warner presented a plan to channel more of its proprietary content -- including magazines, movies, television and music -- to AOL customers.

In the interview Tuesday, Parsons emphasized that AOL's 35 million subscribers are using the service about 70 minutes a day, up six or seven minutes from last year.

"These are people who validated the service. These are people who with their dollars are saying, 'You're giving me something of value,'" he said.

Are there any plans to spin off or sell the AOL unit if it doesn't show desired results?

"There may be, but we're not there right now," Parsons said. "We're not heading in that direction. We believe in AOL, we believe in its fit with our other assets, and we're trying to make it work as we laid out for investors a week ago."

With reports swirling that AOL plans to cut hundreds of jobs and about $100 million in operating expenses, Parsons would not say if across-the-board layoffs are in the works.

"If there were, this wouldn't be the venue or the place that I would choose to make that announcement," he said.

As for the possibility of an ABC News-CNN merger, Parsons did his best imitation of James Earl Jones' recording of the network's signature line, saying, "This is CNN."

He added, "We sort of hit the pause button on that. There's nothing to report at this time."