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ENTRAVISION COMMUNICATIONS CORP (EVC)·Q3 2024 Earnings Summary
Executive Summary
- Net revenue grew 25% year over year to $97.2M, driven by political advertising in Media and continued growth in Smadex/Adwake; consolidated EBITDA was $15.1M, up vs Q3’23 .
- Despite higher revenue and operating income, the company reported a net loss attributable to common shareholders of $11.98M ($0.13 per share) due largely to an income tax loss in Q3’24; EPS from continuing operations was $(0.12) vs $0.04 in Q2’24 .
- Corporate expenses declined 48% year over year as management realigned operations, while Media segment operating margin held at ~20% and AdTech segment margins improved (5% operating margin; 13% on net revenues minus cost of revenue) .
- The Board declared a $0.05 quarterly dividend payable Dec 31, 2024, and management guided to ~$7M full-year CapEx; Q4 pacing as of early November was +28% for Media and +30% for AdTech vs Q4’23, though not expected to hold at that pace through quarter-end .
What Went Well and What Went Wrong
What Went Well
- Political advertising and Smadex drove double-digit revenue growth; Media revenue +23% YoY and AdTech & Services revenue +30% YoY in Q3’24 .
- Corporate expense reduction of ~$6.5M (48%) YoY due to personnel and professional services cuts and organizational reassignment, improving operating leverage .
- Management achieved strategic aims: expanded news production to morning/midday/evening/weekend slots across markets; the expanded news operation was profitable in Q2 and improved through Q3 (“We doubled the amount of news … the expanded news operation was profitable in its first full quarter, 2Q, and … improved through … 3Q.”) .
What Went Wrong
- Net loss and negative EPS in Q3’24 despite revenue growth, primarily due to income tax expense timing effects following the Q2 sale of EGP (“This sale had an impact on the timing of our quarterly tax expense … particularly in Q2 and Q3”) .
- Free cash flow declined YoY in Q3 to $9.3M (vs $17.0M in Q3’23), reflecting the absence of prior-year cash flow contributions from the EGP business sold in Q2’24 .
- Media segment headwinds included decreases in spectrum usage rights revenue and retransmission consent revenue, partially offsetting political strength .
Financial Results
Quarterly Trend (oldest → newest)
Note: Q1’24 revenue and results include the EGP business before its sale; EGP is reported as discontinued operations beginning Q2’24, reducing comparability vs Q2/Q3 continuing operations .
Year-over-Year Comparison (Q3 2023 → Q3 2024)
Segment Breakdown – Q3 2024
KPIs and Balance Sheet
Guidance Changes
No formal revenue/EPS margin/tax rate guidance provided in filings or call; pacing comments are preliminary and not a firm outlook .
Earnings Call Themes & Trends
Management Commentary
- “We doubled the amount of news we provide to our audience … the expanded news operation was profitable in its first full quarter, 2Q, and the profitability improved through the year through 3Q.” — CEO Michael Christenson .
- On political strategy: “TV spend for Spanish language media … was actually higher on a percentage basis than the percentage of registered voters that are Latino … we are very pleased with this result.” — CEO Michael Christenson .
- Segment realignment: “We have realigned our operating segments into two segments – media and advertising technology & services … Smadex, our programmatic ad purchasing platform, and Adwake, our mobile growth solutions business.” — Company release .
- On Q4 pacing: “Revenue from our Media segment is currently pacing plus 28% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 … we don’t expect to end the quarter at that pace.” — CFO Mark Boelke .
- “The improvement in Advertising Technology and Services segment operating margins was attributed to better performance and margins in both Smadex and Adwake.” — CFO Mark Boelke .
Q&A Highlights
- The published transcript consists of prepared remarks and did not include a live Q&A section. Management directed investors to the IR page for follow-ups .
Estimates Context
- Wall Street consensus estimates via S&P Global (revenue, EPS, EBITDA, target price) were unavailable at the time of retrieval due to system request limits, so we cannot assess formal beats/misses versus consensus. As a result, estimate comparisons are not included in the tables above [GetEstimates error].
- Observationally, sequential revenue improved (Q3: $97.2M vs Q2: $82.7M), while EPS from continuing ops declined due to tax expense timing; analysts may reassess modeling for segment margins and corporate expense run-rate given structural changes and tax normalization commentary .
Key Takeaways for Investors
- Revenue momentum is intact, with Q3 +25% YoY and preliminary Q4 pacing strong in both segments; monitor conversion of pacing into reported revenue given management’s caution on sustaining early-November run rates .
- Margin trajectory is improving in AdTech (5% operating; 13% net rev minus cost of rev), and Media maintained ~20% operating margin; continued corporate expense discipline supports operating leverage into 2025 .
- Tax expense timing drove Q3 EPS pressure; management expects normalization for full year—track tax rate in Q4 results to gauge EPS recovery .
- Structural simplification (Media + AdTech & Services) and the exit of EGP should enhance transparency and focus; note reduced FCF YoY in Q3 without EGP’s prior contributions .
- Political advertising delivered strategic wins (Spanish-language allocation gains), but total spend in targeted races fell short of ambitious expectations; election-cycle variability remains a fundamental swing factor for Media .
- Balance sheet is solid (cash + marketable securities ~$93M; total debt
$188M; leverage 2.0x net of cash), supporting continued investment and a $0.05 quarterly dividend—monitor sustainability of payouts alongside CapEx ($7M FY) and FCF . - Near-term trading: stock likely reacts to sequential revenue strength and segment margin improvement offset by tax-driven EPS noise; medium-term thesis centers on execution in news, political cycles, and scaling Smadex/Adwake with improved unit economics .