“We are pleased with our Q1 results given the uncertain environment in which we are operating now, and we think these results demonstrate the resilience and relevance of our products and the tremendous growth opportunity we have with our podcast business in particular.”
That’s what iHeartMedia Chairman/CEO Bob Pittman had to say about his company’s fiscal report card, released following Monday’s Closing Bell for U.S. financial markets.
Revenue for the nation’s No. 1 owner of broadcast radio stations, by facility count, grew by 1% to $807.7 million, from $799.04 million. This beat the $787.36 million in revenue that was a consensus estimate of 5 analysts polled by Yahoo! Finance.
Yet, adjusted EBITDA was flat in Q1 for iHeartMedia, at $104.59 million, as some $2.86 million in non-cash impairment charges were taken by the company, growing from $1.51 million a year earlier.
The good news? An operating loss was lowered to $25.43 million, from $34.71 million, illustrating progress in a challenging time for audio content creation and distribution companies.
The bad news? Income tax expenses fueled a widening of the net loss attributable to iHeartMedia to $281.22 million, from $18.51 million. On a earnings per share basis, that is -$1.84. The consensus estimate of 3 analysts polled by Zacks came in at -$0.63.
With total assets of $5.27 billion against long-term debt of $5.05 billion, how adjusted EBITDA can move forward and the net loss can be erased is likely a focal point for iHeart’s institutional investors and individual shareholders. Allianz Asset Management presently holds 39.5% interest in iHeartMedia, with Blackrock Inc. holding 13.3% interest.
“Stable ad spend” as everyone tries to read the tea leaves is how Pittman opened his remarks on the company’s Q1 2025 earnings call, which began at RBR+TVBR’s deadline on May 12.
Free Cash Flow, a key financial figure for many in Radio, was flat, moving to -$80.67 million from -$80.86 million.
The decision for iHeartMedia to release its financial reports as most marketers are entwined in the Upfront presentations offered by some of the nation’s biggest visual media companies could be calculated, so as to deflect attention from some of the deeper challenges facing the company.
As shown below, while iHeart’s consolidated revenue was up 1.8% ex-political, the dollars were fueled by the Digital segment — something that greatly aided industry peers Entravision and Townsquare Media.
The Multiplatform Group was off 3.4%, ex-political, while the Audio & Media Group Services unit, the lowest by total dollars for iHeartMedia, slumped by 11.8%, ex-political.
Breaking that down further, Broadcast Radio revenue moved to $340.74 million, down from $359.34 million.
On the call, Pittman answered an analyst’s question about the long-term health of terrestrial radio by noting that the audience for Radio is bigger today than in the past. The failure to translate this to ad sales is a perception problem, he says, and as the industry consolidates there are positive future trends for the company.
Investors may not be pleased, as “IHRT” was down 5.4% in immediate after-hours trading on Tuesday, to $1.22. That said, iHeartMedia has avoided a potential minimum listing violation with the Nasdaq and since April 21 has remained above the all-important $1 level.
