iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.12 EPS

iHeartMedia (NASDAQ:IHRT) released its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported ($0.61) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by ($0.12), FiscalAI reports. iHeartMedia had a negative net margin of 12.24% and a negative return on equity of 1.63%. The business had revenue of $884.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $871.50 million.

Here are the key takeaways from iHeartMedia’s conference call:

• Consolidated revenue was $884 million, up 9.6% year‑over‑year, but Adjusted EBITDA was $93 million, slightly below guidance due to timing of non‑cash marketing expenses and March advertising softness related to macro/geo events.
• Management announced an additional $50 million of annualized cost savings beginning in H2 (on top of a prior $100M) and expects cash taxes to be effectively eliminated for 2026–2028, preserving roughly $150M–$200M of cash.
• The Digital Audio Group delivered strong growth with revenue up 18% to $327 million and podcast revenue of $147 million (up 26.9%), with podcasting margins accretive and the company positioning itself as the #1 podcast publisher and sales network.
• Multiplatform Group revenue rose 4.3% to $493 million but Adjusted EBITDA declined to $47 million from $70 million; management is focusing on programmatic, integrated sales, and bundling to return MPG to EBITDA growth and targets about $200 million of programmatic revenue in 2026.
• Q1 free cash flow was negative $114 million and net debt was approximately $4.7 billion (net leverage ~6.9x), yet the company reaffirmed full‑year guidance of $800M Adjusted EBITDA and $200M free cash flow and expects net leverage in the mid‑5s by year‑end.

iHeartMedia Price Performance

IHRT opened at $5.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $827.01 million, a P/E ratio of -1.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 54.46 and a beta of 2.33. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.78. iHeartMedia has a one year low of $1.11 and a one year high of $6.56.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of iHeartMedia in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, iHeartMedia has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $4.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Robert W. Pittman acquired 32,468 shares of iHeartMedia stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $3.25 per share, with a total value of $105,521.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 6,214,937 shares in the company, valued at $20,198,545.25. This represents a 0.53% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 10.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iHeartMedia

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 42.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 18,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 5,591 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of iHeartMedia in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of iHeartMedia by 67.7% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 3,378 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in iHeartMedia by 341.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 24,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 18,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in iHeartMedia by 757.0% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 14,065 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.89% of the company’s stock.

About iHeartMedia

iHeartMedia, Inc (NASDAQ: IHRT) is a leading media and entertainment company specializing in radio broadcasting, digital streaming and live events. The company operates more than 860 full-power AM and FM radio stations across the United States, delivering music, news, sports and talk programming to local markets. Through its flagship digital platform, iHeartRadio, the company provides listeners with free and subscription-based access to thousands of live radio stations, curated music playlists and on-demand podcasts.

Originally founded in 1972 as Clear Channel Communications, the business rebranded to iHeartMedia in 2014 to reflect the growing importance of its digital and event-driven offerings.