Executive Summary

Q4 2019 net revenues rose 1% to $414.1M; Adjusted EBITDA increased 2% to $113.0M; Adjusted EPS rose 14% to $0.40. GAAP results were dominated by a $545M non‑cash impairment, driving a GAAP diluted EPS of -$3.64 .
Sequential momentum continued: revenues/Adjusted EBITDA climbed from Q2 ($380.7M/$87.6M) to Q3 ($386.1M/$98.0M) to Q4 ($414.1M/$113.0M), while Q4 also improved modestly year/year vs. $411.4M in Q4 2018 .
Balance sheet actions in December extended the revolver to August 2024, reduced Term Loan B margin by 25 bps, and raised $100M of second‑lien notes; as of 12/31/19, senior debt under facilities was $887M, second‑lien notes $425M, senior notes $400M, and cash $20M .
Management highlighted five straight quarters of growth and emphasized investments in podcasting, digital, and analytics as reshaping the company; the sale of WAAF-FM for $10.8M was announced in February 2020 with expected Q2 2020 close .
S&P Global consensus estimates for Q4 2019 were not available for AUDA, so beat/miss vs. Street cannot be assessed (consensus unavailable).

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

Revenue and profitability growth on an adjusted basis: Q4 net revenues +1% to $414.1M; Adjusted EBITDA +2% to $113.0M; Adjusted EPS +14% to $0.40 .
Station Operating Income improved to $129.7M in Q4 from $124.9M in Q4 2018, reflecting underlying operating strength despite non‑cash charges .
Strategic execution: management underscored progress from investments in podcasting, digital, data/analytics, sports, networks and events. CEO: “Our significant investments in podcasting, digital, and data and analytics… are beginning to reshape our Company and position us for sustained growth” .

What Went Wrong

A $545M non‑cash impairment drove a Q4 operating loss of -$455.5M and GAAP diluted EPS of -$3.64 (vs. -$2.80 in Q4 2018), overshadowing positive adjusted results .
Corporate expense pressure: corporate expenses rose to $21.6M (vs. $13.7M in Q4 2018) and corporate non‑cash comp to $5.0M (vs. $2.2M), contributing to GAAP operating loss (aside from impairment) .
Dividend per share was $0.02 in Q4 2019 vs. $0.09 in Q4 2018, signaling tighter capital return during the quarter .

Financial Results

Metric	Q4 2018	Q2 2019	Q3 2019	Q4 2019
Net Revenues ($USD Millions)	$411.4	$380.7	$386.1	$414.1
GAAP Diluted EPS ($)	-$2.80	$0.19	$0.28	-$3.64
Adjusted EPS ($)	$0.35	$0.26	$0.32	$0.40
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)	$111.1	$87.6	$98.0	$113.0
Operating Income (Loss) ($USD Millions)	-$377.6	$64.8	$79.5	-$455.5
Station Operating Income ($USD Millions)	$124.9	$102.7	$114.1	$129.7

Segment breakdown: Not disclosed in the Q4 2019 press release materials reviewed .

KPIs and Balance Sheet

KPI / Balance Sheet Metric	Dec 31, 2018	Sep 30, 2019	Dec 31, 2019
Cash and Cash Equivalents ($USD Millions)	$122.9	$45.3	$20.4
Senior Debt – Revolver ($USD Millions)	$180.0	$134.0	$117.0
Senior Debt – Term Loan ($USD Millions)	$1,291.7	$866.7	$770.0
Senior Secured Notes ($USD Millions)	—	$325.0	$425.0
Senior Notes ($USD Millions)	$400.0	$400.0	$400.0
Total Shareholders’ Equity ($USD Millions)	$1,334.3	$1,367.9	$881.4
Adjusted Free Cash Flow – Quarter ($USD Millions)	$68.8 (Q4’18)	$52.1 (Q3’19)	$59.5 (Q4’19)
Net Capital Expenditures – Quarter ($USD Millions)	$15.5 (Q4’18)	$20.7 (Q3’19)	$10.2 (Q4’19)
Dividends Declared & Paid per Share – Quarter ($)	$0.09 (Q4’18)	$0.02 (Q3’19)	$0.02 (Q4’19)

Notes: Q4 GAAP results reflect a $545M non‑cash impairment charge ($520M net of taxes) .

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
—	—	—	—	The company did not provide formal quantitative guidance in the Q4 2019 press release materials reviewed .

Additional corporate actions: In December, the company extended the revolver maturity (to Aug 2024), lowered Term Loan B margin by 25 bps, and issued $100M additional second‑lien notes (proceeds used to repay $97M of Term Loan B and pay fees/interest) .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q‑2 and Q‑1)	Current Period (Q4 2019)	Trend
Podcasting & Digital Strategy	Q2: Announced acquisition of Pineapple Street Media and agreement in principle to acquire the rest of Cadence13, highlighting strategic push into podcasting and RADIO.COM Sports Digital Network . Q3: Completed Cadence13 acquisition; launched DVR‑like functionality for live radio on RADIO.COM .	Management emphasized continued investments in podcasting, digital, and data/analytics reshaping the company and positioning for sustained growth .	Strengthening focus and integration of digital/audio assets .
Revenue Drivers	Q2/Q3 revenue growth driven by national, network, and digital (with political and events headwinds in Q2) .	Q4 delivered fifth consecutive quarter of growth; no specific mix disclosed in release .	Continued momentum with digital/network as structural supports .
Capital Structure & Refinancing	Q2: Issued $325M 6.5% senior secured second‑lien notes; executed interest rate collar; reduced floating rate exposure .	December actions: extended revolver, lowered TLB margin, issued $100M second‑lien notes, repaid $97M TLB .	Proactive refinancing, improving maturity profile/cost of debt .
Portfolio Optimization	—	Announced sale of WAAF‑FM for $10.8M (EMF began programming Feb 22; expected close Q2 2020) .	Active portfolio management .

Management Commentary

CEO David J. Field on trajectory and strategy: “Entercom achieved its fifth consecutive quarter of growth… Our significant investments in podcasting, digital, and data and analytics… are beginning to reshape our Company and position us for sustained growth as we enhance our integrated, multi‑platform offerings…” .
Q2 strategic roadmap (context): “Second quarter revenues and EBITDA were up 2.3% and 7%… we announced the acquisition of Pineapple Street Media, and an agreement in principle to acquire Cadence13… [and] the launch of the RADIO.COM Sports Digital Network…” .

Q&A Highlights

We searched for the Q4 2019 earnings call transcript in our document corpus and did not find it [SearchDocuments returned no AUDA transcripts]. Public transcripts exist (e.g., Seeking Alpha, GuruFocus), but we did not ingest the full text via our tools and therefore cannot reliably excerpt Q&A themes here .

Estimates Context

S&P Global consensus for AUDA Q4 2019 revenue and EPS was unavailable due to missing mapping in the S&P Global CIQ dataset for this ticker, so we cannot assess beats/misses versus Street for this quarter (consensus unavailable).

Key Takeaways for Investors

Adjusted operations remained solid with sequential and year/year growth in revenues, Adjusted EBITDA, and Adjusted EPS; however, the quarter’s narrative was dominated by a large non‑cash impairment that depressed GAAP results and equity .
The digital/podcasting build‑out (Pineapple Street, Cadence13) and product enhancements (RADIO.COM features) are now embedded, and management views these as core to medium‑term growth; monitor monetization and share gains in digital audio .
Balance sheet actions should lower interest burden at the margin and extend liquidity runway (revolver to 2024); track leverage trajectory and any further refinancings in 2020 amid evolving macro conditions .
Portfolio pruning (WAAF sale) signals continued asset optimization; watch for redeployment of proceeds and incremental divestiture/acquisition activity .
The dividend was reduced on a per‑share basis vs. prior year quarter; capital returns may remain conservative as the company prioritizes deleveraging/strategic investment .
With consensus data unavailable, near‑term trading may hinge more on qualitative narrative (impairment optics vs. adjusted growth, refinancing) and sector sentiment; absence of formal guidance increases sensitivity to intra‑quarter updates .

References: Q4 2019 8‑K earnings release and financial tables ; Q3 2019 8‑K press release and financial tables ; Q2 2019 8‑K press release and financial tables . External transcript links noted for completeness: Q4 2019 call (not ingested) .

AUDACY, INC. (AUDA)·Q4 2019 Earnings Summary