Executive Summary

Q3 revenue declined 1.1% YoY to $997.0M (but grew 2.8% ex-political), while Adjusted EBITDA was essentially flat YoY at $204.8M; GAAP operating loss of $116.3M was driven by a $208.5M non‑cash impairment of FCC licenses .
Digital Audio Group outperformed: revenue +13.5% YoY to $341.7M, podcast revenue +22.5% to $139.7M, and segment Adjusted EBITDA +30.3% with margins expanding 490 bps to 38.1% .
Management guided Q4 revenue down low-single digits YoY (up mid-single digits ex-political) and Q4 Adjusted EBITDA of $200–$240M; they reaffirmed $150M net cost savings in 2025 and announced an additional $50M of annual savings beginning in 2026 .
Strategic catalysts: new programmatic audio integrations with Amazon DSP and StackAdapt, plus a TikTok partnership that launches a TikTok Podcast Network and a national “TikTok Radio” station—moves aimed at monetization and cross‑platform reach .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well
- Digital strength and profitability: Digital Audio Group revenue +13.5% YoY to $341.7M, podcast +22.5% to $139.7M, and segment Adjusted EBITDA +30.3% with 38.1% margin; CEO: “we are committed to exploring new ways to unlock the value of our unparalleled assets” .
- Programmatic/partnership momentum: “new relationship with Amazon Ads” to bring iHeart streaming (and later podcasts/broadcast) into Amazon DSP; plus a new TikTok partnership; Bob Pittman: “making our broadcast inventory transact like digital” .
- Cost actions on track: “on track to generate $150M net savings in 2025,” and “took new actions that will generate $50M of additional annual savings beginning in 2026” .
What Went Wrong
- Multiplatform Group softness: revenue down 4.6% YoY to $591.2M and segment Adjusted EBITDA down 8.3%; weakness attributed to lower political revenue and broadcast ad softness .
- Audio & Media Services pressure: revenue down 26.0% YoY to $66.6M and segment Adjusted EBITDA down 49.1%, reflecting the non‑election year and ad market uncertainty .
- Free cash flow negative: FCF was ($32.8)M vs $73.3M prior year on non‑cash trade timing, lower political prepayments vs PY, and working capital timing; cash from ops was ($9.5)M .

Financial Results

Consolidated trend (Q1–Q3 2025)

Metric	Q1 2025	Q2 2025	Q3 2025
Revenue ($M)	$807.1	$933.7	$997.0
Adjusted EBITDA ($M)	$104.6	$156.1	$204.8
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%)	13.0%	16.7%	20.5%
Cash from Operations ($M)	($60.9)	$6.8	($9.5)
Free Cash Flow ($M)	($80.7)	($13.2)	($32.8)

Q3 2025 vs prior year and prior quarter; and vs S&P Global consensus

Metric	Q3 2024	Q2 2025	Q3 2025 Actual	S&P Global Consensus (Q3 2025)
Revenue ($M)	$1,008.1	$933.7	$997.0	$980.1*
Adjusted EBITDA ($M)	$204.6	$156.1	$204.8	—
Diluted EPS (GAAP)	($0.27)	—	($0.43)	($0.01)*

Note: Consensus from S&P Global shown with asterisks; Values retrieved from S&P Global.

Segment performance (Q3 2025 vs Q3 2024)

Segment	Revenue ($M) Q3’24	Revenue ($M) Q3’25	YoY	Segment Adj. EBITDA ($M) Q3’24	Segment Adj. EBITDA ($M) Q3’25	Margin Q3’24	Margin Q3’25
Multiplatform Group	619.5	591.2	(4.6%)	129.9	119.2	21.0%	20.2%
Digital Audio Group	301.0	341.7	13.5%	100.0	130.3	33.2%	38.1%
Audio & Media Services	90.1	66.6	(26.0%)	44.4	22.6	49.3%	33.9%

Revenue stream KPIs (Q3 2025 vs Q3 2024)

Revenue Stream	Q3 2024 ($M)	Q3 2025 ($M)	YoY
Broadcast Radio	448.8	427.0	(4.9%)
Networks	115.3	114.3	(0.9%)
Sponsorship & Events	50.3	45.5	(9.6%)
Digital ex. Podcast	187.0	202.0	8.0%
Podcast	114.0	139.7	22.5%

Liquidity and leverage (quarter-end)

Cash: $192.2M; Total debt: $5,120.3M; Net Debt: $4,673.8M; Total available liquidity: $509.8M .
Management indicated net debt/Adjusted EBITDA of 6.6x and intent to repay $100M ABL by year-end .

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Consolidated Revenue (YoY)	Q4 2025	—	Down low-single digits; ex-political up mid-single digits	New
Adjusted EBITDA ($M)	Q4 2025	—	$200–$240	New
October Revenue Pacing	Oct 2025	—	Down mid-teens YoY; approx. flat ex-political vs Q4’24 base	New datapoint
Cost Savings (Net)	FY 2025	$150M (prior)	$150M reiterated	Maintained
Incremental Cost Savings	FY 2026 run-rate	—	+$50M annual beginning 2026	Added

Management notes they cannot reconcile Adjusted EBITDA guidance to GAAP without unreasonable efforts .

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Q1 2025 (Q‑2)	Q2 2025 (Q‑1)	Q3 2025 (Current)	Trend
Programmatic/AdTech	Building ad tech; DV360/Yahoo for broadcast; goal to make radio transact like digital	Hiring CBO Lisa Coffey; progress on platform	Amazon DSP expansion; StackAdapt integration; broadcast/podcast on DSPs in 2026; targeting podcast-like trajectory	Accelerating execution
Podcast momentum	+28% revenue; most profitable podcasting; local sales expansion	+28.5% revenue; margin expansion	+22.5% revenue; mid-teens guide for Q4; strong advertiser demand and stickiness	Sustained growth, expanding reach
Multi-Platform monetization	Premier Networks returned to growth; share gains; structural monetization issue	Down mid-high single digit guide; top advertisers/holdcos trending up	Down 4.6% YoY; focus on moving inventory into DSPs; aim to return to growth	Stabilization work continues
Cost actions & AI	$150M 2025 savings; AI to drive efficiency	$150M on track; $40M/quarter cadence	$150M on track; +$50M in 2026; AI-enabled efficiency reiterated	Maintained/expanded
Political cycle impact	—	Q3 guide noted political comp headwind	YoY comps pressured ex‑2024 presidential cycle; 2026 expected strong	Cyclical normalization

Management Commentary

Bob Pittman (CEO): “We’re pleased with our third quarter performance… and up 2.8% excluding political revenue… our new relationship with Amazon Ads… and our new TikTok partnership… We are committed to… maximizing the unique position we occupy… and creating innovative cross-platform opportunities” .
Rich Bressler (President/COO/CFO): “Digital Audio Group’s revenue… up 13.5% year over year and above our guidance; Adjusted EBITDA… up 30.3%… We remain on track to generate… $150 million net savings in 2025, and… $50 million of additional annual savings beginning in 2026” .
On programmatic: “make our broadcast inventory transact like digital, unlocking a significant monetization opportunity” .
On Q4 outlook: “We expect Q4 Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $200–$240 million… Q4 2024 included $83 million of political revenue” .
On podcasting: “approximately 50% of our podcasting revenue was generated by our local sales force… demonstrating the unique advantage of having… the largest local sales force in media” .

Q&A Highlights

Free cash flow and balance sheet: Negative Q3 FCF due to political prepayments in PY, non‑cash trade timing, and working capital; expect “meaningful” FCF in Q4 and intent to repay ABL; opportunistic on capital structure .
Programmatic roadmap: Agreements across major DSPs; Amazon DSP adding broadcast inventory in 2026; management frames programmatic as building a “new incremental revenue source” with a potential trajectory akin to early podcasting growth .
Podcast growth sustainability: Management emphasizes strong advertiser demand, high completion rates (~75–80%), and continued market share gains; Q4 dollars expected to increase sequentially even if percentages moderate due to larger base .
Multi-Platform flow-through: Negative decrementals improving; path to margin uplift is a combination of revenue growth (high operating leverage) plus cost reductions and AI productivity .

Estimates Context

Revenue: Reported $997.0M vs S&P Global consensus $980.1M (beat) .
EPS: Reported diluted GAAP EPS ($0.43) vs S&P Global “Primary EPS” consensus ($0.01) loss—note basis differences between GAAP diluted EPS and “Primary EPS” used by S&P (miss) .
Commentary: Consensus “EBITDA” figures may not align with the company’s Adjusted EBITDA reporting; management reported Adjusted EBITDA of $204.8M .
Note: S&P Global consensus values are marked with asterisks in tables. Values retrieved from S&P Global.

Guidance Changes – Details and Rationale

Q4 revenue guide reflects tough political comp ($83M in Q4’24) and underlying ex‑political growth in mid‑single digits; Adjusted EBITDA range $200–$240M incorporates mix/market uncertainty .
Cost savings: $150M 2025 savings reiterated, plus $50M 2026 incremental savings actions largely benefiting the Multi-Platform Group .
October pacing: down mid-teens YoY but approximately flat ex‑political vs Q4’24 baseline, indicating underlying stabilization .

Key Takeaways for Investors

Digital outperformance is carrying the portfolio while management executes to stabilize and re‑accelerate Multiplatform Group—programmatic enablement (Amazon DSP, StackAdapt) and TikTok partnership are credible monetization catalysts .
Q3 revenue ex‑political growth (+2.8%) and flat Adjusted EBITDA YoY despite ad softness suggest improving quality of earnings from digital mix and cost discipline .
Negative Q3 FCF looks transitory (timing/political/non‑cash trade); management expects “meaningful” Q4 FCF and ABL paydown, but leverage remains elevated near mid‑6x net debt/EBITDA—monitor execution and cash conversion .
2026 should benefit from both the U.S. political cycle and the $50M new cost program, offering a clearer path for margin and FCF expansion if ad trends hold .
Risk factors: cyclicality in political/spots, broadcast ad monetization gap, and interest expense headwinds; Q3’s $208.5M FCC license impairment underscores sensitivity of GAAP results to non‑cash items .
Near‑term trading: Street may reward evidence of programmatic/broadcast traction and Q4 FCF delivery; any signs of MPG revenue inflection or incremental partnerships could be catalysts .
Medium‑term: The thesis hinges on scaling digital (especially podcasts), monetizing broadcast via DSPs, and sustaining cost/AI efficiency—all highlighted by management and supported by current results and partnerships .

Appendix: Additional Reference Tables

Revenue excluding political (Q3 2025 vs Q3 2024)

Metric	Q3 2024 ($M)	Q3 2025 ($M)	YoY
Consolidated Revenue ex‑Political	964.1	991.5	2.8%
Multiplatform Group ex‑Political	603.1	588.0	(2.5%)
Digital Audio Group ex‑Political	295.7	340.5	15.2%
Audio & Media Services ex‑Political	67.8	65.5	(3.4%)

Liquidity snapshot (Q3 2025)

Metric	Value
Cash and Equivalents	$192.2M
Total Debt	$5,120.3M
Net Debt	$4,673.8M
Total Available Liquidity	$509.8M

Quotes and partnership disclosures

Amazon DSP programmatic audio expansion: iHeart streaming available now; podcasts and broadcast inventory to follow in 2026 .
StackAdapt integration: real‑time access to AM/FM broadcast alongside digital audio/podcasts via StackAdapt platform .
TikTok partnership: launch of TikTok Podcast Network (up to 25 shows), national “TikTok Radio,” and event integrations .

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