Of the public traded broadcast media companies in the U.S., Saga Communications has historically been one of the strongest performers on Wall Street. As a pure play, however, recent quarters have seen Saga and its peers combat strong headwinds and macroeconomic challenges.
Yet, Saga maintains “the most pristine balance sheet” in the business, CEO Chris Forgy said to open the company’s Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings call, one in which a wider net loss was seen.
For the quarter ending December 31, 2025, two key factors led to the net loss of $6.92 million (-$1.07 per share), shifting from net income of $1.27 million ($0.20) during the final three months of 2024.
A non-cash impairment charge and a $2.2 million retroactive rate settlement with two music licensing organizations impacted the fourth quarter, CFO Sam Bush said on the call.
Net income would have been $8.2 million without the $19.23 million goodwill impairment charge, Bush noted. A $1.17 million impairment charge on intangible assets is also on the balance sheet for the fourth quarter.
The Q4 earnings per share marked a big miss of $1.11, as an analyst who offered an estimate to Yahoo! Finance believed Saga’s Q4 2025 EPS would come in at $0.04.
Investors appeared unfazed heading into the earnings call at 11am Eastern, with Nasdaq-traded “SGA” at $11.20, up 20 cents from Wednesday’s closing value. Saga’s lead investor remains Daniel Tisch-led Towerview LLC, with 18.03% interest; activist investor Gate City Capital Management as of the end of 2025 was the No. 2 institutional investor, with 13.41% interest in Saga.
For the full-year 2025, a $7.9 million net loss was seen, shifting from net income of $3.46 million in FY 2024. An absence of millions of dollars in political revenue played a key factor in the swing.
SAGA COMMUNICATIONS Q4 AT A GLANCE
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Net operating revenue fell to $26.51 million, from $29.22 million
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Station operating expense declined to $22.92 million, from $23.36 million
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Non-GAAP Station Operating Income fell to $3.59 million, from $5.85 million
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Long-term debt remains at $5 million for FY 2025, the same as it was in FY 2024
What can investors anticipate in the 2026 from Saga?
Digital revenue growth, and infrastructure build-out, is on the horizon.
While interactive pacing is up 24% in Q1 2026, that’s not enough to offset an another decline in core, or traditional, broadcast revenue, putting pacing down in the mid-single-digit range. For the second quarter, a copy-and-paste pacing prediction is in place, with Q3 and Q4 2026 eyed on as recovery periods fueled by mid-term election advertising.
While Q4 digital revenue increased by nearly 26% to $4.3 million, from $3.5 million, that’s still a fraction of the core ad revenue Saga sees. Still, Bush believes that investing in the build-out of a digital revenue structure is essential to Saga, and the need to process interactive orders is a priority. Once this is complete, Saga advertising executives will be armed with the tools they need to offer “blended campaigns” to marketers and media buyers.
That will come at an expense, with $1.5 million allocated to the build-out in 2026. While this will initially bring more costs than revenue, Bush reiterated that its long-term benefits outweigh the short-term fiscal hit.
Meanwhile, a Q2 2025 finalization of a sale of Saga’s last broadcast tower is on track, with the finalization of landlord consent to the transfer of control. Once that is complete, approximately $400,000 will be released from escrow. The transaction is tied to the sale of 24 telecommunications towers, which closed on October 17. 2025, brining in $9.8 million in net cash proceeds after expenses.
Lastly, Forgy took a moment to reference The Three Amigos, a 1986 film incorrectly referred to as a Saturday Night Live-inspired 1990s work. Why? Saga’s founders considered themselves similarly, and the August 2022 death of company founder Ed Christian was referenced by Forgy. At Christian wake, one of the “Amigos” noted that whatever one decides to do next, they should move fast and do it with purpose.
For Forgy and Saga, that resulted in the admittedly late build-out of digital media solutions. The result? Diversified e-commerce revenue rose 16% in 2025, compared to 2024. Saga’s 17 hyperlocal news and entertainment websites saw revenue rise by 18% last year, bringing in $2.5 million on a 31% margin.
Moves like this will continue to fuel Saga, Forgy and Bush believe. How advertising trends and consumer connectivity unfolds will likely dictate the ultimate success of Saga’s blended digital and linear initiatives.
Saga Communications shareholders will receive a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share on March 20, with the stock going ex-dividend on February 26.
