“As we have grown, the reach of Big Tech and legacy media conglomerates has expanded exponentially,” Nexstar Media Group founder and Chairman/CEO Perry Sook shared in prepared comments that accompanied the company’s first quarter 2026 earnings results. “Today, we still do not match their ubiquitous reach, and we operate with only a fraction of their resources, which directly impacts our ability to compete.”
That’s why Sook steadfastly believes Nexstar’s acquisition of TEGNA, being challenged in two federal appeals court cases, “is a critical step in solidifying our future and ensuring we can continue providing these essential services to the public.”
With a conviction “that local journalism is vital to democracy remains unchanged” even as it took a legally binding settlement with the Ohio Attorney General to preserve the independent newsrooms of two TEGNA-owned TV stations in Cleveland and Columbus until 2031, Sook shared that Nexstar’s mission since its 1996 founding is to provide the communities where it owns stations “premier programming, fact-based news reporting, and innovative digital solutions for our viewers and advertisers.”
Today that includes its majority control of The CW Network, the NewsNation brand and its cable TV channel, WGN Radio, and a collection of broadcast TV stations already greater in number prior to the TEGNA acquisition than any of its peers. All contributed to a strong Q1 2026 for Nexstar, with Sook noting the company “delivered record net revenue, surpassing consensus expectations” in the three-month period.
In Q1, net revenue grew to $1.4 billion from $1.23 billion, as net income increased to $164 million ($5.09 per diluted share), rising from $108 million ($3.37 per share). Adjusted EBITDA improved to $470 million, from $381 million, as adjusted Free Cash Flow moved ahead to $420 million, from $348 million.
The improvements came even as total operating expenses increased to $1.13 billion, from $1.01 billion. And, the net revenue easily surpassed the consensus estimate of $1.26 billion based on the forecasts of 5 analysts polled by Yahoo! Finance. One analyst pegged Nexstar’s EPS at $4.39, and that was also beat with ease.
Ahead of the company’s earnings call with investors and analysts, Nexstar told its ratings tale, pointing to continued growth at NewsNation, a Mountain West Conference agreement with The CW Network, and how its news reporting at its broadcast stations and at NewsNation has been independently validated as “unbiased and reliable.”
Breaking down the revenue portrait, Q1 distribution revenue grew to $837 million, from $762 million. This, says Nexstar, primarily reflects $54 million “of incremental revenue” from the acquisition of TEGNA and higher revenue from our legacy business units due to increased rates, growth in vMVPD subscribers, and the addition of CW affiliations on some of Nexstar’s own stations. This, however, was partially offset by MVPD subscriber attrition.
Similarly, Q1 advertising revenue of $548 million, up from $460 million, largely reflects some $51 million of incremental revenue from the acquisition of TEGNA and a $35 million increase in political advertising at its legacy business units, to $41 million. Non-political advertising at Nexstar’s legacy business units increased 0.4% as growth in digital advertising offset declines in non-political television advertising.
This growth will help Nexstar address its outstanding debt of $12.2 billion (when including variable interest partner Mission Broadcasting) and total net leverage ratio of 3.84x. That increased with the securitization of funds allowing it to complete the TEGNA merger.
As of 11am Eastern, Nexstar shares were up by 2.9% to $200.07
