Key Points
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iHeartMedia missed Q3 guidance: Revenue rose 3.3% to $1.03 billion, while adjusted EBITDA was $170 million, below its $180 million–$220 million forecast. Management cited weak radio advertising, delayed spending, programmatic shifts and a challenging economy.
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Podcasting and digital audio grew, but radio fell: Podcast revenue climbed 24.6% and Digital Audio Group revenue rose 13.8%, while Multiplatform revenue declined 4.9% and its adjusted EBITDA dropped to $68 million.
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The company forecast full-year adjusted EBITDA of $550 million–$600 million and about $50 million in free cash flow. Net debt was approximately $4.7 billion; management expects programmatic revenue to reach about $400 million in 2027, including $100 million of incremental broadcast-radio revenue.
iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) reported third-quarter revenue and adjusted <a href="https://bitcomme.com/what-mesa-laboratories-mlab-said-on-its-q2-earnings-call/” title=”What Mesa Laboratories (MLAB) Said on Its Q2 Earnings Call”>earnings below its guidance as weakness in its broadcast radio business outweighed growth in podcasting and digital audio.
Revenue rose 3.3% from a year earlier to $1.03 billion, below the company’s forecast for mid-single-digit growth. Adjusted EBITDA was $170 million, short of the projected range of $180 million to $220 million. Excluding political advertising, consolidated revenue increased 0.9%.
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Chairman and CEO Bob Pittman attributed the shortfall to lower-than-expected political advertising on radio, some large advertisers delaying spending until after the election, a faster-than-expected shift toward programmatic ad buying and a difficult macroeconomic environment.
The company reported GAAP operating income of $73 million, compared with an operating loss of $116 million a year earlier. Free cash flow was negative $10 million, compared with negative $33 million in the prior-year quarter.
Radio Weakness Overshadows Podcast Growth
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Revenue in the Multiplatform Group, which includes broadcast radio, networks and events, fell 4.9% to $562 million, below guidance for approximately flat revenue. Excluding political advertising, revenue declined 6.6%. Adjusted EBITDA fell to $68 million from $119 million.
Pittman said political advertising accounted for about a third of the segment’s revenue underperformance. The company had expected a robust political year, but he said local television broadcasters created more inventory and retained spending that might otherwise have gone to radio.
