If a guy can become a "household," name/brand, then it is definitely profitable! (Think Manuel Ferrera, Johnny Sins, Jules Jordan, J Mac, Ricky Johnson, etc.)
Basically, porn "stars," these days get mainly paid by many things, (Studios, OF, sextpanther etc., and views from websites like pornhub).
Male pornstars, in the 90s were paid VERY less than the women (Still true to this day).
So the only males that make it are the ones who break in with a hot girl (Like Max Fills via Hailey Rose
(Tryst Agency), Jak Knife via Elly Clutch for example.)
Or, they've had $$ to begin with to shoot content with these women. And if it's a good scene/good partnership, these indy creators can branch out to other "bigger," named women, but only if they've worked with established talent and have a good reputation on set.
Just think of it like this, once we build a good reputation with a provider, it opens a WHOLE lot of other possibilities with girls that may or may not be available.
But to answer your question, it only remains profitable if your brand is good, you have other streams of income, AND you treat it like a business not a hobby, etc.
