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UO

URBAN ONE, INC. (UONE)·Q4 2024 Earnings Summary

Executive Summary

  • Q4 2024 net revenue was $117.1M (-2.7% YoY) and Adjusted EBITDA was $26.9M (-0.9% YoY); net loss widened to -$35.7M (-$0.78 EPS) largely on $24.2M of TV One-related impairments .
  • Radio outperformed on political advertising (Radio net revenue +14.5% YoY), while Cable TV remained pressured by audience delivery and churn; Digital Adjusted EBITDA rose 50.7% despite softer demand .
  • 2025 guidance was set materially lower: Adjusted EBITDA $75M and ~$25M free cash generation; Q1 revenue pacing down ~13% with Q2 improving to down ~1.6–1.7% .
  • Management emphasized continued deleveraging (notes repurchased ~$140M in 2024 plus $17M in Jan-25) and cost containment (Q4 staff reduction ~5% yielding ~$5M annual savings), with liquidity of $137.1M YE cash and ~$117M on 3/27/25 .
  • Stock-relevant catalysts: guidance reset, ongoing debt buybacks, cable delivery stabilization, and disclosure of a cybersecurity incident (no material operational impact to date) .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

  • Radio segment strength from political advertising: “Net revenue for the Radio Broadcast segment was $47.7M, an increase of 14.5% YoY…Political advertising drove the growth” .
  • Digital profitability: “Adjusted EBITDA was $5.3M, which was an increase of 50.7%” for Digital despite demand softness .
  • Deleveraging momentum and liquidity: Repurchased ~$140M of 2028 notes in 2024 and $17M in Jan-25; YE cash $137.1M; “Cost containment and continued de-levering remains the focus for 2025” .

What Went Wrong

  • Cable TV under-delivery and churn: Cable TV ad revenue down 21.4% YoY; affiliate fees down 9.9%; delivery declined 36% in total day P25–54 .
  • Impairments at TV One: $24.2M Q4 impairment ($4.0M trade name; $20.2M goodwill) driven by declines in projected market revenues and margins .
  • Core radio weakness into Q1 2025: “Pacings currently minus 13.6…seeing improvement in Q2 with pacings down 1.7” indicating near-term demand downdraft .

Financial Results

MetricQ4 2023Q3 2024Q4 2024
Net Revenue ($USD Millions)$120.344 $110.393 $117.127
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)$27.117 $25.414 $26.870
Operating Income ($USD Millions)$6.764 $(26.197) $(1.855)
Net Income Attributable to Common ($USD Millions)$(10.985) $(31.798) $(35.658)
EPS (Basic, $USD)$(0.23) $(0.68) $(0.78)
Cash & Cash Equivalents ($USD Millions)$233.570 $115.489 $137.574

Segment Breakdown (Net Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA):

SegmentQ4 2023 Net Rev ($M)Q4 2024 Net Rev ($M)Q4 2023 Adj. EBITDA ($M)Q4 2024 Adj. EBITDA ($M)
Radio Broadcasting$41.686 $47.736 $8.469 $14.837
Reach Media$10.763 $9.613 $3.417 $2.889
Cable Television$47.312 $39.787 $21.842 $12.511
Digital$21.159 $20.497 $3.518 $5.303
Corporate/Elims$(0.576) $(0.506) $(10.129) $(8.670)

Revenue Mix (Q4):

CategoryQ4 2023 ($M)Q4 2024 ($M)YoY Change (%)
Radio Advertising$47.814 $43.978 (8.0)%
Political Advertising$1.948 $13.479 591.9%
Digital Advertising$20.838 $18.082 (13.2)%
Cable TV Advertising$27.021 $21.226 (21.4)%
Cable TV Affiliate Fees$20.158 $18.161 (9.9)%
Events & Other$2.565 $2.201 (14.2)%
Total Net Revenue$120.344 $117.127 (2.7)%

KPIs and Other Financials (Q4 2024):

  • Interest expense: $11.520M; interest & investment income: $1.117M .
  • Capital expenditures: ~$1.3M .
  • Share repurchases: 1,386,544 Class A at ~$$2.1M (avg $1.50); 703,292 Class D at ~$$0.7M (avg $1.02) .
  • Net leverage ratio: 4.33x (net debt ~$447.5M / LTM Adj. EBITDA $103.5M) .

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodPrevious GuidanceCurrent GuidanceChange
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)FY 2025n/a$75.0 Lower vs FY 2024 actual $103.5
Free Cash Flow ($USD Millions)FY 2025n/a~$25.0 New
Revenue Pacing (%)Q1 2025n/a~-13.0% Update (softer)
Revenue Pacing (%)Q2 2025n/a~-1.6% Update (improving)
Cash Balance ($USD Millions)As of 3/27/25n/a~$117.0 Update
Reporting Change (CTV)Effective 1/1/25CTV in Digital CTV moved to TV One/Cable Reclassification
Capex ($USD Millions)FY 2025n/a~$10 (incl. ~$5 Indianapolis project) Higher vs typical
Cost Saves ($USD Millions)FY 2025~$5 from Q4 actions Additional TBD (not in guidance) More to come

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicQ2 2024 (Prior)Q3 2024 (Prior)Q4 2024 (Current)Trend
Radio core/pacingQ3 core radio pacing down; national improved, local weaker Q4 core radio pacing down 3.0%; total up 23.9% on political Q1 pacing -13.6%; Q2 improving to -1.7% (local up) Near-term softness, improving into Q2
Political advertisingUptick expected to benefit radio & digital Strong uptick from Sept; supportive of Q4 Largest ad category in Q4 radio; drove national market growth Positive tailwind (non-recurring post-election)
Cable TV delivery & churnSubscriber churn; ratings shortfall Advertising & affiliate both down double-digit Delivery -36% P25–54; ad -21.4%; affiliate -9.9%; stabilization in Q1 noted Under pressure, signs of stabilization
Digital demand/trafficWeaker demand; positioning for H2 (political, CTV) Digital ad down 4.1% YoY Traffic headwinds (AI/search/social); streaming deal renegotiated; Digital looks weaker near term Structural headwinds; mix shift (CTV to TV)
DeleveragingRepurchased $35.5M notes; cash $132.4M Continued repurchases; cash ~$115.5M ~$140M repurchased in 2024 + $17M in Jan-25; selective buybacks Ongoing; opportunistic
Capital allocationFocus on debt; small stock buybacks Continued deleveraging Prioritize debt; ~5–6% of capital to stock buybacks; consider M&A only if deleveraging Debt-first discipline
Regulatory/deregulationn/an/aPotential consolidation; cautious on capital inflows; local-market scale aids digital Industry consolidation possible
Cybersecurityn/an/aIncident disclosed; no material operational impact to date Monitoring; contained
Reporting change (CTV)n/an/aMove CTV revenue from Digital to TV segment from 1/1/25 Improves TV optics; pressures Digital reported revenues

Management Commentary

  • Alfred Liggins (CEO): “Adjusted EBITDA of $103.5M came in at the mid-point of guidance, helped by strong political advertising in radio… declines in both advertising and affiliate revenues at the cable TV segment… seeing some stabilization in the first quarter cable TV delivery… first quarter core radio revenue demand weakened… second quarter is showing signs of improvement… Digital posted solid fourth quarter results, with Adjusted EBITDA up 50.7%… focus on cost containment and continued de-levering… cash and cash equivalents at year-end $137.1M” .
  • Peter Thompson (CFO): Radio local up vs markets; national up 35.4%; ex-political radio down 5.1% YoY; Cable TV delivery down 36% (P25–54); affiliate revenue -9.9% due to churn; Digital Adjusted EBITDA +50.7% .
  • CFO detail on impairments: $4.0M TV One brand name and $20.2M goodwill charges; driven by declines in projected market revenue and margins .
  • CFO on 2025 guide mechanics: ~$10.5M noncash pickup in FY24 Adjusted EBITDA from CEO’s TV One award (not expected in FY25), implying ~“baseline” $93M vs reported $103.5M .

Q&A Highlights

  • Core radio pacing and mix: Weakness broad-based across local, national, network in Q1; Q2 improving with local pacing up; national less negative .
  • Capital allocation: Emphasis on debt buybacks versus stock; ~$160M total notes repurchased since 2024; selective timing to avoid pushing prices up; stock repurchases modest .
  • Liability management: No near-term restructuring; maturity Feb-2028; dialogue with large holders ongoing; may consider options closer to maturity .
  • Segment reporting changes: Connected TV revenue moving to TV segment from 1/1/25; streaming output deal renegotiated, likely ~50% revenue reduction; rebuild via multiple partners .
  • Free cash flow and capex: ~$25M FCF expected off $75M Adj. EBITDA; capex ~$10M, including ~$5M Indianapolis consolidation .
  • Cost savings: Q4 staff reduction ~5% (~64 roles) yielding ~$5M annual savings; further cost opportunities under review; not in guidance .
  • Cybersecurity: Incident identified 3/16/25; no material operational/financial impact to date .

Estimates Context

  • Wall Street consensus (S&P Global) for Q4 2024 EPS and revenue was unavailable; therefore, an estimates-based beat/miss analysis cannot be provided at this time. Values retrieved from S&P Global.*
  • Actuals for reference: Revenue $117.1M; EPS (basic) -$0.78; Adjusted EBITDA $26.9M .
MetricQ4 2024 ConsensusQ4 2024 Actual
Revenue ($USD Millions)Unavailable*$117.127
EPS (Basic, $USD)Unavailable*$(0.78)
Adjusted EBITDA ($USD Millions)Unavailable*$26.870

Key Takeaways for Investors

  • 2025 reset: Guidance cut to $75M Adj. EBITDA with ~-$13% Q1 revenue pacing; plan for near-term softness before Q2 improvement .
  • Mix shift critical: Political provided a one-off boost; underlying radio ex-political down 5.1% YoY in Q4; monitor trajectory as election tailwinds fade .
  • Cable stabilization is a swing factor: Delivery has been the main drag; signs of stabilization could mitigate affiliate/advertising declines .
  • Digital headwinds and reporting change: Traffic challenges (AI/search/social) and streaming renegotiation pressure Digital; CTV reclassification will improve TV optics but weigh on Digital reported growth .
  • Deleveraging remains priority: Expect continued opportunistic repurchases of 2028 notes; leverage targeted to mid-3x over time .
  • Liquidity intact: YE cash $137.1M; ~$117M as of 3/27/25; $50M undrawn revolver provides flexibility for buybacks/M&A .
  • Non-GAAP context: FY24 Adjusted EBITDA included ~$10.5M noncash benefit from CEO award revaluation; FY25 does not include such benefit, affecting YoY comparability .

Cross-References & Discrepancies

  • Q4 Adjusted EBITDA margin optics: FY24 Adj. EBITDA benefited from a noncash award revaluation (~$10.5M) that will not recur in FY25, impacting perceived run-rate .
  • Connected TV reporting: Management will not restate prior periods; expect TV vs Digital comparability issues in 2025 disclosures .
  • Effective tax rate anomaly in Q4 (352.0%) driven by valuation allowance changes, state taxes, and permanent differences (non-deductible officer compensation) .

Additional Relevant Press Releases (Q4 period)

  • Q4 results announcement and call details .
  • Community engagement: $1.6M raised for St. Jude via radiothon .
  • Strategic audio portfolio evolution: Expansion into Spanish-language programming via La Mega LMA (Nov-24) .
  • Leadership transition: Radio Division CEO retirement; co-presidents appointed (Oct-24) .