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Earnings documents stored for SBGI.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-09-01Q2 Earnings Outperformers: Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) And The Rest Of The Media & Entertainment Stocks
StockStory
Q2 Earnings Outperformers: Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) And The Rest Of The Media & Entertainment Stocks
As the Q2 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the media & entertainment industry, including Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) and its peers. Simply put, traditional media like linear TV is losing eyeballs and as a result, ad dollars as well. On the other hand, digital media such as streaming and social media are taking share of audience and ad spend. AI-driven content creation and digital advertising are continuing to evolve, which benefits companies in the sector that invest behind these themes. On the other hand, headwinds include growing regulatory scrutiny on AI-generated content, with many publishers balking at anything that gets no human oversight. Additional areas to navigate for companies in the space include the phasing out of third-party cookies, which could make traditional ways of tracking the online behavior of consumers (a secret sauce in digital marketing) much less effective. The 15 media & entertainment stocks we track reported a mixed Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 3.4% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.4% below. Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 7.5% on average since the latest earnings results. With over 2,400 hours of local news produced weekly and 640 broadcast channels reaching millions of American homes, Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) operates a network of 185 local television stations across 86 U.S. markets, producing news programming and distributing content from major networks. Sinclair reported revenues of $840 million, up 7.1% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, but overall, it was a softer quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates and full-year revenue guidance slightly missing analysts’ expectations. Sinclair scored the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 1.7% since reporting and currently trades at $14.15. Read our full report on Sinclair here, it’s free. Originally developed for World Expo '67 in Montreal as an innovative projection system, IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) provides proprietary large-format cinema technology and systems that deliver immersive movie experiences with enhanced image quality and sound. IMAX reported revenues of $102.8 million, up 12.2% year on year, outperforming analysts’…Read full documentShow less
As the Q2 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the media & entertainment industry, including Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) and its peers. Simply put, traditional media like linear TV is losing eyeballs and as a result, ad dollars as well. On the other hand, digital media such as streaming and social media are taking share of audience and ad spend. AI-driven content creation and digital advertising are continuing to evolve, which benefits companies in the sector that invest behind these themes. On the other hand, headwinds include growing regulatory scrutiny on AI-generated content, with many publishers balking at anything that gets no human oversight. Additional areas to navigate for companies in the space include the phasing out of third-party cookies, which could make traditional ways of tracking the online behavior of consumers (a secret sauce in digital marketing) much less effective. The 15 media & entertainment stocks we track reported a mixed Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 3.4% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.4% below. Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 7.5% on average since the latest earnings results. With over 2,400 hours of local news produced weekly and 640 broadcast channels reaching millions of American homes, Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) operates a network of 185 local television stations across 86 U.S. markets, producing news programming and distributing content from major networks. Sinclair reported revenues of $840 million, up 7.1% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, but overall, it was a softer quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates and full-year revenue guidance slightly missing analysts’ expectations. Sinclair scored the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 1.7% since reporting and currently trades at $14.15. Read our full report on Sinclair here, it’s free. Originally developed for World Expo '67 in Montreal as an innovative projection system, IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) provides proprietary large-format cinema technology and systems that deliver immersive movie experiences with enhanced image quality and sound. IMAX reported revenues of $102.8 million, up 12.2% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 8.8%. The business had an incredible quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 30.9% since reporting. It currently trades at $51.46. Is now the time to buy IMAX? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free. With a vast library of over 562 million visual assets documenting everything from breaking news to iconic historical moments, Getty Images (NYSE:GETY) is a global visual content marketplace that licenses photos, videos, illustrations, and music to businesses, media outlets, and creative professionals. Getty Images reported revenues of $229.1 million, down 2.5% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 2.5%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates. As expected, the stock is down 44.4% since the results and currently trades at $0.25. Read our full analysis of Getty Images’s results here. Powering nearly 10 million consumer referrals each month in the insurance marketplace, MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) operates a technology platform that connects insurance carriers with high-intent consumers shopping for property, casualty, health, and life insurance products. MediaAlpha reported revenues of $316.9 million, up 25.9% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 4.2%. Taking a step back, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also produced revenue guidance for next quarter beating analysts’ expectations but a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates. The stock is down 8.5% since reporting and currently trades at $12.63. Read our full, actionable report on MediaAlpha here, it’s free. Often appearing as those "You May Also Like" or "Recommended For You" boxes at the bottom of news articles, Taboola (NASDAQ:TBLA) operates a digital platform that recommends personalized content to users across publisher websites, helping both publishers monetize their sites and advertisers reach target audiences. Taboola reported revenues of $476.8 million, up 2.4% year on year. This number came in 4.5% below analysts’ expectations. It was a disappointing quarter as it also logged revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly. Taboola had the weakest performance against analyst estimates, weakest guidance update, and weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. The stock is down 28.6% since reporting and currently trades at $3.78. Read our full, actionable report on Taboola here, it’s free. Over the past year, investors have been forced to repeatedly answer the same question: what is the market’s biggest risk? The answer has changed several times, and each shift has reshaped market leadership. Late in 2025 and early 2026, artificial intelligence became the market’s primary uncertainty. Investors questioned whether AI would erode software pricing power and weaken competitive moats as AI made it easier to replicate once-differentiated products. By the spring, technology took a back seat to geopolitics. The U.S. conflict with Iran briefly became the market’s dominant narrative, raising concerns about oil prices, inflation, and global growth. But as energy markets remained orderly and fears of a prolonged supply disruption faded, investors quickly turned their focus back to fundamentals. Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Growth Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-06Sinclair Inc (SBGI) (Q2 2026) Earnings Call Highlights: Political Ad Surge Drives 45% EBITDA ...
GuruFocus.com
Sinclair Inc (SBGI) (Q2 2026) Earnings Call Highlights: Political Ad Surge Drives 45% EBITDA ...
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Total Revenue: $840 million, up 7% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA: $149 million, up 45% year over year. Political Advertising Revenue: $59 million in Q2, up 9% from the second quarter of 2022. Distribution Revenue: Increased 2% year over year. Core Advertising Revenue: Declined 3% year over year. Local Media Segment Revenue: $731 million, up 8% year over year. Local Media Adjusted EBITDA: $149 million, up 51% year over year. Tennis Segment Revenue: $70 million, up from $68 million in the prior-year quarter. Tennis Segment Adjusted EBITDA: $8 million, down from $13 million in the prior-year quarter. Full-Year Political Advertising Revenue Guidance: Increased to at least $375 million from at least $333 million. Full-Year Core Advertising Revenue Guidance: Reset to between $1.22 billion and $1.28 billion for total company. Full-Year Adjusted EBITDA Guidance: Increased to between $730 million and $760 million. Debt Reduction: Repaid or retired approximately $320 million of debt in Q2. Total Debt: Approximately $4.1 billion at quarter end. Consolidated Cash and Cash Equivalents: $604 million at quarter end. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 6 Warning Signs with SBGI. Is SBGI fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: August 05, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Sinclair Inc (NASDAQ:SBGI) delivered a strong second quarter with total revenue up 7% year-over-year to $840 million and adjusted EBITDA up 45% to $149 million, driven by robust political advertising and distribution revenue growth. The company raised its full-year political advertising revenue guidance to at least $375 million, a 13% increase from the prior guidance of $333 million, reflecting strong early demand in the 2026 midterm cycle and a favorable competitive landscape across its footprint. Sinclair Inc (NASDAQ:SBGI) made significant progress on deleveraging, repaying or retiring approximately $320 million of debt in the quarter and an additional $25 million in July, improving its maturity profile and reducing interest expense. The expected FCC vote to remove the national ownership cap of 39% is a major positive catalyst, potentially facilitating large-scale M&A and leveling the playing field against big tech and streamers, with Sinclair well-positioned t…Read full documentShow less
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Total Revenue: $840 million, up 7% year over year. Adjusted EBITDA: $149 million, up 45% year over year. Political Advertising Revenue: $59 million in Q2, up 9% from the second quarter of 2022. Distribution Revenue: Increased 2% year over year. Core Advertising Revenue: Declined 3% year over year. Local Media Segment Revenue: $731 million, up 8% year over year. Local Media Adjusted EBITDA: $149 million, up 51% year over year. Tennis Segment Revenue: $70 million, up from $68 million in the prior-year quarter. Tennis Segment Adjusted EBITDA: $8 million, down from $13 million in the prior-year quarter. Full-Year Political Advertising Revenue Guidance: Increased to at least $375 million from at least $333 million. Full-Year Core Advertising Revenue Guidance: Reset to between $1.22 billion and $1.28 billion for total company. Full-Year Adjusted EBITDA Guidance: Increased to between $730 million and $760 million. Debt Reduction: Repaid or retired approximately $320 million of debt in Q2. Total Debt: Approximately $4.1 billion at quarter end. Consolidated Cash and Cash Equivalents: $604 million at quarter end. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 6 Warning Signs with SBGI. Is SBGI fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Release Date: August 05, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Sinclair Inc (NASDAQ:SBGI) delivered a strong second quarter with total revenue up 7% year-over-year to $840 million and adjusted EBITDA up 45% to $149 million, driven by robust political advertising and distribution revenue growth. The company raised its full-year political advertising revenue guidance to at least $375 million, a 13% increase from the prior guidance of $333 million, reflecting strong early demand in the 2026 midterm cycle and a favorable competitive landscape across its footprint. Sinclair Inc (NASDAQ:SBGI) made significant progress on deleveraging, repaying or retiring approximately $320 million of debt in the quarter and an additional $25 million in July, improving its maturity profile and reducing interest expense. The expected FCC vote to remove the national ownership cap of 39% is a major positive catalyst, potentially facilitating large-scale M&A and leveling the playing field against big tech and streamers, with Sinclair well-positioned to participate in value-creating consolidation. The FIFA World Cup on Fox delivered record audiences, with 128.4 million viewers and a 66.4 million-viewer final, showcasing the power of broadcast-led live sports and generating strong advertising demand across Sinclair's platforms. Distribution revenue continued to grow, up 2%, supported by partner station buy-ins and moderating subscriber churn, while the company maintained disciplined expense management, contributing to a 51% increase in Local Media adjusted EBITDA. Core advertising revenue declined 3% year-over-year, impacted by political crowd-out in competitive markets and caution in cost-pressured advertiser categories, leading to a reduction in full-year core advertising guidance by $40 million at the midpoint. The company reset its core advertising revenue guidance to $1.22 billion to $1.28 billion for total company, reflecting expected crowd-out from elevated political spending in the second half and no improvement assumed through year-end. Tennis segment adjusted EBITDA declined to $8 million from $13 million in the prior-year quarter, due to higher programming and production costs as the company invests in strengthening its rights portfolio and direct-to-consumer platform. The transition of the St. Louis ABC affiliation at the end of August is expected to impact results, and the company's updated guidance accounts for this, potentially affecting revenue and EBITDA in the latter part of the year. Net cash tax guidance was increased to approximately $50 million, a function of higher expected pretax income in a record midterm political year, which could reduce free cash flow. Despite strong political momentum, the company faces ongoing challenges from macro uncertainties, including fuel and tariff volatility, which have made advertisers more cautious and could continue to pressure core advertising demand. Q: How does the expected FCC vote to remove the national ownership cap change the M&A conversation for Sinclair, and what is the company's strategy regarding large-scale consolidation?A: Chris Ripley, President and CEO, stated that the removal of the outdated 39% national ownership cap is a significant step that "derisks" large-scale M&A opportunities. He noted that counterparties will be more likely to transact with this regulatory certainty, and Sinclair is "redoubling efforts" on large-scale consolidation while also pursuing a "very full pipeline" of smaller, accretive market-by-market optimization deals like swaps. Q: What is driving the increase in full-year political advertising guidance to at least $375 million, and how does this compare to prior cycles?A: Rob Weisbord, COO and President of Local Media, explained that the guidance was raised from $333 million due to strong early demand. Chris Ripley added that the primary driver is the record amount of money being raised by candidates, which is approaching presidential-year levels. He noted that "politicians don't return money to the donors," so money raised equals money spent, making this a key indicator for the robust cycle. Q: Can you unpack the components of the updated adjusted EBITDA guidance, which was raised despite a reduction in core advertising guidance?A: Narinder Sahai, CFO, detailed that the $25 million increase at the midpoint is a combination of factors. The $42 million increase in high-margin political revenue is partially offset by the reset in core advertising guidance and the impact of the St. Louis affiliation transition. The remaining delta is attributed to "outperformance and expense management" achieved year-to-date, which the company expects to continue. Q: How does the recent Supreme Court ruling on lowest unit pricing for political party spending impact Sinclair's business?A: Rob Weisbord stated that the current outlook already accounts for the ruling, which affects the 60-day window before the election. He noted that in 2024, party spending was in the mid-single digits. If spending increases, the company's yield team will adjust rates on the fly based on demand and capacity, ensuring they can handle the volume of dollars. Q: What are the opportunities to monetize low-band spectrum, and does it have to be done through an auction?A: Chris Ripley highlighted that the spectrum is vastly undervalued, citing the 2017 auction's average price of ~$1 per megahertz pop due to a lack of competition. He believes a floor valuation for a future transaction would be over $2.50 per megahertz pop, implying ~$4.1 billion for Sinclair's portfolio. He outlined three monetization paths: a conventional FCC auction, a negotiated sale, or a lease arrangement with entities like LEO constellation operators (e.g., Starlink). He stressed the importance of the FCC approving the ATSC 3.0 transition and sunsetting 1.0 to unlock these opportunities. Q: What is the practical timing for the industry to act on the national ownership cap change, and what are the risks of legal challenges?A: Chris Ripley explained that after the vote, it takes roughly 30 days for the rule to be officially entered into the federal registry, after which it becomes law. While challenges are expected, he believes the FCC is on "solid legal ground" given its mandate to deregulate as conditions change, allowing transactions to proceed shortly after the rule is enacted. Q: Can you highlight the trends in top advertising categories and identify which ones are currently soft?A: Rob Weisbord reported that automotive is flat year-over-year, which is a positive sign given the macro environment. Sports betting and legal were categories that helped drive the quarter, while services and medical were the top categories trending downward. Q: How should we think about the potential for 2028 political revenue relative to the strong 2026 cycle?A: Chris Ripley noted that the platform is largely unchanged from four years prior, and the increase is driven by record fundraising. Rob Weisbord added that by 2028, investments in digital and cross-platform capabilities will be more mature, allowing Sinclair to capture political dollars on both linear and digital platforms, making the opportunity "even more significant." For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-06Sinclair Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
MarketBeat
Sinclair Q2 Earnings Call Highlights
Interested in Sinclair, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Second-quarter results improved: Revenue rose 7% to $840 million and adjusted EBITDA increased 45% to $149 million, driven by political advertising, distribution revenue growth and expense discipline despite a 3% decline in core advertising. Political outlook strengthened while core advertising guidance fell: Sinclair raised its 2025 political advertising forecast to at least $375 million but lowered core advertising expectations by $40 million at the midpoint due to crowd-out, advertiser caution and inflationary pressures. Profit guidance and deleveraging advanced: Full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance increased to $730 million–$760 million, while Sinclair repaid or retired roughly $320 million of debt during the quarter and continued prioritizing balance-sheet improvement. 3 Small-Cap Stocks on the Rise With Over 4% Dividend Yields Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) reported higher second-quarter revenue and adjusted EBITDA as early political advertising demand, distribution revenue growth and expense discipline offset softer core advertising. Total revenue for the second quarter was $840 million, up 7% from a year earlier, while adjusted EBITDA rose 45% to $149 million, President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Ripley said. Political advertising revenue reached $59 million, which was 9% above the comparable quarter in the 2022 midterm cycle. → SpaceX’s First Earnings Report Could Decide Whether Shorts or Bulls Have Control Disney Denies Rumors of TV Sale, After Stock Jumps on News Ripley said the company’s station footprint in competitive political markets, along with its broadcast, connected-TV, digital and podcast offerings, positioned Sinclair to benefit as election spending builds through the year. The company also repaid or retired about $320 million of debt during the quarter, with deleveraging remaining its top priority. Sinclair raised its full-year political advertising revenue forecast to at least $375 million, from its previous outlook of at least $333 million. Chief Operating Officer and President of Local Media Rob Weisbord said Sinclair operates in all 10 states projected to receive the highest levels of political advertising spending, including states with competitive Senate, gubernatorial and House races. → 3 Drone Stocks That Should Soar After the Summer Slump “Political spending is al…Read full documentShow less
Interested in Sinclair, Inc.? Here are five stocks we like better. Second-quarter results improved: Revenue rose 7% to $840 million and adjusted EBITDA increased 45% to $149 million, driven by political advertising, distribution revenue growth and expense discipline despite a 3% decline in core advertising. Political outlook strengthened while core advertising guidance fell: Sinclair raised its 2025 political advertising forecast to at least $375 million but lowered core advertising expectations by $40 million at the midpoint due to crowd-out, advertiser caution and inflationary pressures. Profit guidance and deleveraging advanced: Full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance increased to $730 million–$760 million, while Sinclair repaid or retired roughly $320 million of debt during the quarter and continued prioritizing balance-sheet improvement. 3 Small-Cap Stocks on the Rise With Over 4% Dividend Yields Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) reported higher second-quarter revenue and adjusted EBITDA as early political advertising demand, distribution revenue growth and expense discipline offset softer core advertising. Total revenue for the second quarter was $840 million, up 7% from a year earlier, while adjusted EBITDA rose 45% to $149 million, President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Ripley said. Political advertising revenue reached $59 million, which was 9% above the comparable quarter in the 2022 midterm cycle. → SpaceX’s First Earnings Report Could Decide Whether Shorts or Bulls Have Control Disney Denies Rumors of TV Sale, After Stock Jumps on News Ripley said the company’s station footprint in competitive political markets, along with its broadcast, connected-TV, digital and podcast offerings, positioned Sinclair to benefit as election spending builds through the year. The company also repaid or retired about $320 million of debt during the quarter, with deleveraging remaining its top priority. Sinclair raised its full-year political advertising revenue forecast to at least $375 million, from its previous outlook of at least $333 million. Chief Operating Officer and President of Local Media Rob Weisbord said Sinclair operates in all 10 states projected to receive the highest levels of political advertising spending, including states with competitive Senate, gubernatorial and House races. → 3 Drone Stocks That Should Soar After the Summer Slump “Political spending is always back-end loaded towards the weeks immediately preceding election day,” Weisbord said, adding that candidates, parties and issue advertisers have begun reserving inventory earlier in the cycle. During the question-and-answer session, Ripley said the company’s platform is largely unchanged from four years ago and attributed the higher political outlook primarily to increased campaign fundraising. He said total fundraising in the current cycle could approach 2024 presidential-election levels. → The Bitcoin Comeback May Already Be Underway—2 ETFs for Exposure At the same time, Sinclair reduced its outlook for core advertising revenue. Total company core advertising revenue is now expected to be between $1.22 billion and $1.28 billion, while Local Media core advertising is expected to range from $1.04 billion to $1.09 billion. The revision represents a $40 million reduction at the midpoint of the company’s previous ranges. Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Narinder Sahai said the updated view reflects expected political advertising crowd-out in the second half as well as current demand trends, without assuming improvement by year-end. Core advertising declined 3% in the second quarter. Sahai cited political inventory crowd-out, advertiser caution amid fuel and tariff volatility, and cost inflation affecting some advertiser budgets. Weisbord said automotive advertising was flat year over year, while sports betting and legal categories helped drive quarterly results. Services and medical were among the weaker major advertising categories. Despite the more cautious core advertising outlook, Sinclair raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance. Total company adjusted EBITDA is now expected to be between $730 million and $760 million, while Local Media adjusted EBITDA is projected at $710 million to $740 million. Sahai said the midpoint of adjusted EBITDA guidance increased by $25 million. The higher political outlook contributed to the increase, although it was partially offset by lower core advertising expectations and the transition of Sinclair’s St. Louis ABC affiliation at the end of August. Sahai said first-half outperformance and expense management accounted for the remaining improvement. Sinclair maintained its total company revenue forecast of $3.4 billion to $3.54 billion and Local Media revenue guidance of $3 billion to $3.12 billion. Distribution revenue guidance also was unchanged, at $1.72 billion to $1.79 billion for the total company. Second-quarter distribution revenue rose 2%, supported by moderating subscriber churn and partner-station buy-ins completed over the past year, Sahai said. Local Media revenue increased 8% to $731 million, and Local Media adjusted EBITDA climbed 51% to $149 million. Sinclair pointed to the FIFA World Cup on Fox as an example of broadcast television’s live-sports reach and advertising potential. Weisbord said 128.4 million Americans watched some part of the tournament across Fox, FS1 and FS2, while the final drew 66.4 million viewers, the largest U.S. audience for a non-Super Bowl sports event in more than 30 years. The company sold World Cup campaigns across broadcast, streaming, digital, podcasts and live activations. Weisbord said Sinclair plans to build on that approach as college football and the NFL return in the third quarter. Sinclair’s Tennis segment generated $70 million of revenue, compared with $68 million in the prior-year quarter. Advertising revenue increased 8%, aided by ratings growth and direct-to-consumer momentum, while distribution revenue rose 2%. However, Tennis segment adjusted EBITDA declined to $8 million from $13 million a year earlier, reflecting higher programming and production costs, including investments in rights and the direct-to-consumer platform. At quarter-end, Sinclair had about $4.1 billion of total debt and $604 million of consolidated cash and cash equivalents, including $489 million at Ventures. Total liquidity, including undrawn revolver and accounts-receivable facility capacity, was approximately $1.4 billion. In July, after the quarter ended, Sinclair repurchased and retired an additional $25 million face amount of its B7 term loan at a discount and repaid and terminated the remaining B3 term loan balance. Sahai said the company’s nearest material debt maturity, excluding its accounts-receivable facility, remains December 2029. Ripley also discussed an anticipated Federal Communications Commission vote on removing the national television ownership cap. He said the company expected the action to reduce regulatory risk for larger broadcast transactions and could encourage potential counterparties to pursue deals. Sinclair intends to continue pursuing smaller market-by-market optimization opportunities, including swaps and station combinations, while increasing efforts around larger-scale consolidation, he said. Separately, Ripley said Sinclair sees potential value in low-band spectrum and is evaluating possibilities including auctions, negotiated sales and leasing arrangements. He said broader deployment of ATSC 3.0 and a sunset of ATSC 1.0 would be important to creating additional spectrum capacity for programming and datacasting uses. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc (NASDAQ: SBGI) is a media and entertainment company headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Founded in 1971 as a single UHF television station operator, Sinclair has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest owners of local television stations in the United States. Over its history, the company has pursued a diversified portfolio that includes both traditional broadcast assets and newer digital platforms. At its core, Sinclair operates over 190 television stations affiliated with the major national broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW and MyNetworkTV. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Sinclair Q2 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for August 2026.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-05Sinclair’s (NASDAQ:SBGI) Q2 CY2026 Earnings Results: Revenue In Line With Expectations
StockStory
Sinclair’s (NASDAQ:SBGI) Q2 CY2026 Earnings Results: Revenue In Line With Expectations
Media broadcasting company Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q2 CY2026, with sales up 7.1% year on year to $840 million. On the other hand, the company’s full-year revenue guidance of $3.47 billion at the midpoint came in 0.9% below analysts’ estimates. Its GAAP loss of $1.06 per share was significantly below analysts’ consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy Sinclair? Find out in our full research report. Revenue: $840 million vs analyst estimates of $840 million (7.1% year-on-year growth, in line) EPS (GAAP): -$1.06 vs analyst estimates of -$0.31 (significant miss) Adjusted EBITDA: $149 million vs analyst estimates of $141.8 million (17.7% margin, 5.1% beat) EBITDA guidance for the full year is $745 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $735.3 million Operating Margin: 6%, up from 2.7% in the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $1.01 billion With over 2,400 hours of local news produced weekly and 640 broadcast channels reaching millions of American homes, Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) operates a network of 185 local television stations across 86 U.S. markets, producing news programming and distributing content from major networks. Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. With $3.26 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, Sinclair is a mid-sized business services company, which sometimes brings disadvantages compared to larger competitors benefiting from better economies of scale. As you can see below, Sinclair’s demand was weak over the last five years. Its sales fell by 12% annually, a poor baseline for our analysis. We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within business services, a half-decade historical view may miss recent innovations or disruptive industry trends. Sinclair’s revenue over the last two years was flat, suggesting its demand was weak but stabilized after its initial drop. We can dig further into the company’s revenue dynamics by analyzing its most important segments, Distribution and Advertising, which are 36.7% and 52.9% of revenue. Over the last two years, Sinclair’s Distribution revenue (content distribution) averaged 6.6% year-on-year growth while its Advertising revenue (advertising sales) averaged 19.1% growth. This quarter,…Read full documentShow less
Media broadcasting company Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) met Wall Street’s revenue expectations in Q2 CY2026, with sales up 7.1% year on year to $840 million. On the other hand, the company’s full-year revenue guidance of $3.47 billion at the midpoint came in 0.9% below analysts’ estimates. Its GAAP loss of $1.06 per share was significantly below analysts’ consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy Sinclair? Find out in our full research report. Revenue: $840 million vs analyst estimates of $840 million (7.1% year-on-year growth, in line) EPS (GAAP): -$1.06 vs analyst estimates of -$0.31 (significant miss) Adjusted EBITDA: $149 million vs analyst estimates of $141.8 million (17.7% margin, 5.1% beat) EBITDA guidance for the full year is $745 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $735.3 million Operating Margin: 6%, up from 2.7% in the same quarter last year Market Capitalization: $1.01 billion With over 2,400 hours of local news produced weekly and 640 broadcast channels reaching millions of American homes, Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) operates a network of 185 local television stations across 86 U.S. markets, producing news programming and distributing content from major networks. Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. With $3.26 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, Sinclair is a mid-sized business services company, which sometimes brings disadvantages compared to larger competitors benefiting from better economies of scale. As you can see below, Sinclair’s demand was weak over the last five years. Its sales fell by 12% annually, a poor baseline for our analysis. We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within business services, a half-decade historical view may miss recent innovations or disruptive industry trends. Sinclair’s revenue over the last two years was flat, suggesting its demand was weak but stabilized after its initial drop. We can dig further into the company’s revenue dynamics by analyzing its most important segments, Distribution and Advertising, which are 36.7% and 52.9% of revenue. Over the last two years, Sinclair’s Distribution revenue (content distribution) averaged 6.6% year-on-year growth while its Advertising revenue (advertising sales) averaged 19.1% growth. This quarter, Sinclair grew its revenue by 7.1% year on year, and its $840 million of revenue was in line with Wall Street’s estimates. Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 6% over the next 12 months, an improvement versus the last two years. This projection is above the sector average and suggests its newer products and services will catalyze better top-line performance. WHILE YOU’RE HERE: The Next Palantir? One satellite company captures images of every point on Earth. Every single day. The Pentagon wants it. Hedge funds are using it to beat earnings. You’ve probably never heard of it. This is what the early days of Palantir looked like before it became a giant. Same playbook. Different technology. If you missed Palantir, you need to see this. Claim The Stock Ticker for Free HERE. Sinclair has been a well-oiled machine over the last five years. It demonstrated elite profitability for a business services business, boasting an average adjusted operating margin of 25.5%. Looking at the trend in its profitability, Sinclair’s adjusted operating margin decreased by 67 percentage points over the last five years. Even though its historical margin was healthy, shareholders will want to see Sinclair become more profitable in the future. In Q2, Sinclair generated an adjusted operating margin profit margin of 8.2%, up 5.5 percentage points year on year. This increase was a welcome development and shows it was more efficient. Revenue trends explain a company’s historical growth, but the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) points to the profitability of that growth — for example, a company could inflate its sales through excessive spending on advertising and promotions. Sinclair’s full-year EPS flipped from negative to positive over the last five years. This is encouraging and shows it’s at a critical moment in its life. Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a more recent period because it can provide insight into an emerging theme or development for the business. For Sinclair, its two-year annual EPS growth of 46.3% was higher than its five-year trend. We love it when earnings growth accelerates, especially when it accelerates off an already high base. In Q2, Sinclair reported EPS of negative $1.06, down from negative $0.92 in the same quarter last year. This print missed analysts’ estimates, but we care more about long-term EPS growth than short-term movements. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Sinclair’s full-year EPS to shrink by 62.4% from $0.76 to $0.29. This is unusual as its revenue and operating margin are anticipated to increase, signaling the fall likely stems from “below-the-line” items such as taxes. We struggled to find many positives in these results. Its EPS missed and its full-year revenue guidance fell slightly short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this quarter could have been better. The stock traded up 3.1% to $14.27 immediately after reporting. Is Sinclair an attractive investment opportunity right now? What happened in the latest quarter matters, but not as much as longer-term business quality and valuation, when deciding whether to invest in this stock. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it’s free.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-05Sinclair Declares $0.25 Per Share Quarterly Cash Dividend
GlobeNewswire
Sinclair Declares $0.25 Per Share Quarterly Cash Dividend
BALTIMORE, Aug. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sinclair, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share on the Company's Class A and Class B common stock. The dividend is payable on September 15, 2026, to the holders of record at the close of business on August 31, 2026. Sinclair, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) is a diversified media company and a leading provider of local news and sports. The Company owns, operates and/or provides services to 178 television stations in 79 markets affiliated with all major broadcast networks; owns Tennis Channel, the premium destination for tennis enthusiasts; and multicast networks CHARGE, Comet, ROAR and The Nest. Sinclair’s AMP Media produces a growing portfolio of digital content and original podcasts. Additional information about Sinclair can be found at www.sbgi.net. Contact: Christopher C. King, VP, Investor Relations(410) 568-1500 Category: Financial
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-05Sinclair Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
GlobeNewswire
Sinclair Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
BALTIMORE, Aug. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sinclair, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI), the "Company" or "Sinclair," today reported financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026. Highlights: Total Revenue increased by 7% and Total Adjusted EBITDA increased by 45% year-over-year Total Adjusted EBITDA of $149 million Strong Political Advertising Revenue in the quarter of $59 million, an increase of 9% versus 2Q22 Record setting World Cup audiences were showcased by Sinclair's FOX affiliate portfolio and cross platform engagement beyond linear TV with digital and podcast platforms Increased Full Year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA guidance CEO Comment: "Sinclair delivered strong second quarter results, with meaningful year-over-year growth in revenue and Adjusted EBITDA, driven by political advertising and disciplined execution across the business. Political advertising maintained significant momentum during the quarter as we move further into the 2026 midterm election cycle. Record-setting World Cup audiences across our FOX affiliate portfolio once again demonstrated the reach of broadcast television, while also driving engagement across our digital and podcast platforms. Traditional MVPD subscriber trends also continued to show signs of modest stabilization. Based on our second quarter performance and current political trends, we are increasing our full-year Adjusted EBITDA guidance." Recent Developments: Updated Full Year 2026 Guidance Increasing Total Company Adjusted EBITDA from a range of $700 million-$740 million to $730 million-$760 million Total Company and Local Media Total Revenue and Distribution Revenue guidance remain unchanged Decreasing Core Advertising Revenue reflecting strong political demand crowding out inventory in our most competitive markets and caution in a handful of cost-pressured advertiser categories 2026 Midterm Election Political revenue of $59 million in the quarter is up 9% compared to the second quarter of the 2022 mid-term election cycle Increased Political Advertising Revenue Guidance 13% from at least $333 million to at least $375 million Broadcast footprint spans across 39 distinct markets across the top-10 states with the highest projected political spend around this year’s mid-term elections, including 6 Competitive Senate races, 7 competitive gubernatorial races and 33 competitive House races Balance Sheet Reduced $320 mi…Read full documentShow less
BALTIMORE, Aug. 05, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sinclair, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI), the "Company" or "Sinclair," today reported financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026. Highlights: Total Revenue increased by 7% and Total Adjusted EBITDA increased by 45% year-over-year Total Adjusted EBITDA of $149 million Strong Political Advertising Revenue in the quarter of $59 million, an increase of 9% versus 2Q22 Record setting World Cup audiences were showcased by Sinclair's FOX affiliate portfolio and cross platform engagement beyond linear TV with digital and podcast platforms Increased Full Year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA guidance CEO Comment: "Sinclair delivered strong second quarter results, with meaningful year-over-year growth in revenue and Adjusted EBITDA, driven by political advertising and disciplined execution across the business. Political advertising maintained significant momentum during the quarter as we move further into the 2026 midterm election cycle. Record-setting World Cup audiences across our FOX affiliate portfolio once again demonstrated the reach of broadcast television, while also driving engagement across our digital and podcast platforms. Traditional MVPD subscriber trends also continued to show signs of modest stabilization. Based on our second quarter performance and current political trends, we are increasing our full-year Adjusted EBITDA guidance." Recent Developments: Updated Full Year 2026 Guidance Increasing Total Company Adjusted EBITDA from a range of $700 million-$740 million to $730 million-$760 million Total Company and Local Media Total Revenue and Distribution Revenue guidance remain unchanged Decreasing Core Advertising Revenue reflecting strong political demand crowding out inventory in our most competitive markets and caution in a handful of cost-pressured advertiser categories 2026 Midterm Election Political revenue of $59 million in the quarter is up 9% compared to the second quarter of the 2022 mid-term election cycle Increased Political Advertising Revenue Guidance 13% from at least $333 million to at least $375 million Broadcast footprint spans across 39 distinct markets across the top-10 states with the highest projected political spend around this year’s mid-term elections, including 6 Competitive Senate races, 7 competitive gubernatorial races and 33 competitive House races Balance Sheet Reduced $320 million of debt in the quarter (inclusive of $150 million accounts receivable facility paydown) Retired an additional approximate $25 million of B7 term loan in early July Ended the second quarter with total liquidity of ~$1.4 billion consisting of cash and cash equivalents of $604 million plus undrawn revolver and accounts receivable facility capacity Content and Distribution Record setting 2026 FIFA World Cup audiences highlight the company's FOX affiliate portfolio, while AMP Media brands extended engagement and advertiser reach beyond traditional linear television Tennis Channel continued to grow engagement across linear, streaming, and direct-to-consumer (DTC) platforms with multiple second quarter events reaching record audiences including Charleston, Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, and 8 of 9 grass court tournaments Financial Results: Consolidated Financial Results Segment Financial Results Segment financial information is included in the following tables for the periods presented. The Local Media segment consists primarily of broadcast television stations, which the Company owns, operates or to which the Company provides services, and includes multicast networks and original content. The Local Media segment assets are owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, LLC (SBG), including its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sinclair Television Group, Inc. (STG). The Tennis segment consists primarily of Tennis Channel, a cable network which includes coverage of most of tennis' top tournaments and original professional sport and tennis lifestyle shows; the Tennis Channel International subscription and streaming service; Tennis Channel streaming service; TennisChannel 2, a 24-hours a day free ad-supported streaming television channel; and Tennis.com. Other includes non-broadcast digital solutions such as Digital Remedy, technical services, and other non-media investments. The assets of the Tennis segment and Other are owned and operated by Sinclair Ventures, LLC (Ventures). Consolidated Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights: Total Company debt was $4,059 million, all of which is indebtedness of STG. Cash and cash equivalents were $604 million, of which $115 million was STG cash and $489 million was Ventures cash. In addition, the Company had $763 million of available borrowing capacity under its revolver and undrawn capacity in our accounts receivable facility, bringing available liquidity to $1.4 billion. Leverage Metrics1 were: 48,507,841 Class A common shares and 23,755,236 Class B common shares were outstanding, for a total of 72,263,077 common shares. In June, the Company paid a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share. Capital expenditures for the second quarter of 2026 were $20 million. ____________________1 Ratios as calculated and defined in STG’s bank credit agreement dated February 12, 2025.2 The First-Out First Lien Leverage Ratio covenant in the STG Credit Agreement is only applicable if more than 35% of the first lien revolving credit facility is drawn and outstanding as of the end of the respective quarter. As of June 30, 2026, STG had no amounts outstanding under its first lien revolving credit facility. Outlook: The Company is updating its 2026 full year financial guidance that was reaffirmed in April in conjunction with the Company's second quarter earnings release. Conference Call: The senior management of Sinclair will hold a conference call to discuss the Company's second quarter 2026 results on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. ET. The call will be webcast live and can be accessed at www.sbgi.net under "Investor Relations/Events and Presentations." After the call, an audio replay will remain available at www.sbgi.net. The press and the public will be welcome on the call in a listen-only mode. The dial-in number is (888) 506-0062, with entry code 943393. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP operating performance measure that management and the Company’s Board of Directors use to evaluate the Company’s operating performance and for executive compensation purposes. The Company believes that Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors by allowing them to view the Company’s business through the eyes of management and is a measure that is frequently used by industry analysts, investors and lenders as a measure of relative operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA is provided on a forward-looking basis under the section entitled “Outlook” above. The Company has not included a reconciliation of projected Adjusted EBITDA to net income, which is the most directly comparable GAAP measure, for the periods presented in reliance on the unreasonable efforts exception provided under Item 10(e)(1)(i)(B) of Regulation S-K. The Company’s projected Adjusted EBITDA excludes certain items that are inherently uncertain and difficult to predict including, but not limited to, income taxes. Due to the variability, complexity and limited visibility of the adjusting items that would be excluded from projected Adjusted EBITDA in future periods, management does not rely upon them for internal use or measurement of operating performance, and therefore cannot create a quantitative projected Adjusted EBITDA to net income reconciliation for the periods presented without unreasonable efforts. A quantitative reconciliation of projected Adjusted EBITDA to net income for the periods presented would imply a degree of precision and certainty as to these future items that does not exist and could be confusing to investors. From a qualitative perspective, it is anticipated that the differences between projected Adjusted EBITDA to net income for the periods presented will consist of items similar to those described in the reconciliation of historical results below. The timing and amount of any of these excluded items could significantly impact the Company’s net income for a particular period. When planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods, the Company does so primarily on a non-GAAP basis without preparing a GAAP analysis. In addition to the reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to its most directly comparable GAAP measure, net income, the Company also discloses a reconciliation of the Adjusted EBITDA of its segments to its more directly comparable GAAP measure, segment operating income. Non-GAAP measures are not formulated in accordance with GAAP, are not meant to replace GAAP financial measures and may differ from other companies’ uses or formulations. Further discussions and reconciliations of the Company’s non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures can be found on its website www.sbgi.net. Forward-Looking Statements:The matters discussed in this news release, particularly those in the section labeled “Outlook,” include forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, future operating results. When used in this news release, the words “outlook,” “intends to,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “achieves,” “estimates,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results in the future could differ materially and adversely from those described in the forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including and in addition to the assumptions set forth therein, but not limited to, the rate of decline in the number of subscribers to services provided by traditional and virtual multi-channel video programming distributors (“Distributors”); the Company’s ability to generate cash to service its substantial indebtedness; the successful execution of outsourcing agreements; the successful execution of retransmission consent agreements; the successful execution of network and Distributor affiliation agreements; the Company’s ability to identify and consummate acquisitions and investments, to manage increased financial leverage resulting from acquisitions and investments, and to achieve anticipated returns on those investments once consummated; the Company’s ability to compete for viewers and advertisers; pricing and demand fluctuations in local and national advertising; the appeal of the Company’s programming and volatility in programming costs; material legal, financial and reputational risks and operational disruptions resulting from a breach of the Company’s information systems; the impact of FCC and other regulatory proceedings against the Company; compliance with laws and uncertainties associated with potential changes in the regulatory environment affecting the Company’s business and growth strategy; the impact of pending and future litigation claims against the Company; the Company’s limited experience in operating or investing in non-broadcast related businesses; the outcome and timing of the strategic review process, which may be suspended or modified at any time; the possibility that the Company may decide not to undertake any transactions following the Board’s strategic review process; the Company’s inability to consummate any proposed transactions resulting from the strategic review; the potential for disruption to the Company’s business resulting from the strategic review process; potential adverse effects on the Company’s stock price from the announcement, suspension or consummation of the strategic review process and the results thereof; and any risk factors set forth in the Company’s recent reports on Form 10-Q and/or Form 10-K, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There can be no assurances that the assumptions and other factors referred to in this release will occur. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements except as required by law. Category: Financial About Sinclair:Sinclair, Inc. is a diversified media company and a leading provider of local news and sports. The Company owns, operates and/or provides services to 178 television stations in 79 markets affiliated with all major broadcast networks; and owns Tennis Channel, the premium destination for tennis enthusiasts, and multicast networks CHARGE, Comet, ROAR and The Nest. Sinclair’s AMP Media produces a growing portfolio of digital content and original podcasts. Additional information about Sinclair can be found at www.sbgi.net. Investor Contact:Christopher C. King, VP, Investor Relations(410) 568-1500 Media Contact:Jessica [email protected]
TranscriptFY2026 Q22026-08-05FY2026 Q2 earnings call transcript
Earnings source - 61 paragraphs
FY2026 Q2 earnings call transcript
Good day, everyone, welcome to the Sinclair second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are placed on a listen-only mode. If you have any questions or comments during the presentation, you may press star one on your phone to enter the question queue at any time, we will open the floor for your questions and comments after the presentation. It is now my pleasure to hand the floor over to your host, Chris King, Vice President of Investor Relations. Sir, the floor is yours.
Good afternoon, everyone, thank you for joining Sinclair's second quarter 2026 earnings conference call. Joining me on the call today are Chris Ripley, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Narinder Sahai, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Rob Weisbord, our Chief Operating Officer and President of Local Media. Before we begin, I want to remind everyone that the slides for today's earnings call are available on our website, sbgi.net, on the Events and Presentations page of the Investor Relations portion of the site. A webcast replay will remain available on our website until our next quarterly earnings release. Certain matters discussed on this call may include forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, future operating results. Such statements are subject to several risks and uncertainties. Actual results in the future could differ from those described in the forward-looking statements because of various important factors.
Such factors have been set forth in the company's most recent reports as filed with the SEC and included in our second quarter earnings release. The company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Including on the call will be a discussion of non-GAAP financial measures, specifically Adjusted EBITDA. This measure is not formulated in accordance with GAAP and is not meant to replace GAAP measurements and may differ from other companies' uses or formulations. Further discussions or reconciliations of the company's non-GAAP financial measures to comparable GAAP financial measures can be found on our website. Please note that unless otherwise noted, all year-over-year comparisons throughout today's call are presented on an as reported basis. Let me now turn the call over to Chris Ripley.
Thank you, Chris, good afternoon, everyone. Let me begin on slide three. We delivered a strong second quarter with results that reflected the early strength of the 2026 political cycle, continued distribution revenue growth, disciplined execution across the business. For the quarter, total revenue was $840 million, up 7% year-over-year, while Adjusted EBITDA was $149 million, up 45%. Growth was led by political advertising the early pace of demand reinforces our confidence in the strength of the cycle the value of our broad station footprint in many of the country's most competitive races. Distribution revenue continued to grow, supported by the partner station buy-ins completed over the past year. The combination of broadcast, connected television, digital, podcast inventory continues to expand the solutions we offer advertisers positions us well as political demand builds through the remainder of the year.
Core advertising was softer as we expected, reflecting record political demand crowding out inventory in our most competitive markets and caution in a handful of cost-pressured advertiser categories. Narinder will take you through the details. Live sports once again demonstrated the reach of broadcast television led by record World Cup audiences on Fox. Rob will take you through that shortly. Tennis Channel also sustained its audience momentum with growth across its linear, direct-to-consumer, Tennis Channel 2, and Pickleball TV platforms. Within Ventures, the portfolio continued to generate cash distributions and ended the quarter with $489 million cash on hand. That liquidity continues to provide meaningful flexibility as we evaluate opportunities across the portfolio and advance our broader strategic priorities. We also made substantial progress on deleveraging as we repaid or retired approximately $320 million of debt in the quarter. Deleveraging our balance sheet remains our top priority for the company.
Based on our first half performance and current outlook, we are increasing our full year Adjusted EBITDA and political advertising guidance. Narinder will discuss the updated outlook in more detail later in the call. On slide four, we highlight what we expect to be a historic day for the broadcast industry tomorrow with the expectation of an FCC vote to remove the national ownership cap of 39%, a development that the industry has been supporting for many years. The removal of the national ownership cap would set the stage for broadcasters to be able to compete on a more level playing field as the industry finds itself competing against big tech and streamers that are not subjected to comparable regulatory constraints. It would strengthen broadcasters' ability to invest in local news across the country as we continue to serve our local communities.
As we continue our strategic review process, the increased clarity and support from an improved regulatory environment could help facilitate M&A activity across the industry. Sinclair is well prepared to participate in value-creating consolidation, and we will remain disciplined in how and when we do so. The slide also summarizes the other proceedings moving in the same constructive direction, the ATSC 3.0 transition, the network affiliation review, and modernized local ownership rules. With that, let me turn the call over to Rob to discuss our operating highlights in more detail.
Thank you, Chris, and good afternoon, everyone. Turning to slide five, the 2026 midterm election cycle is off to a strong start across our footprint. We operate in all of the top 10 states currently projected to receive the highest levels of political advertising spending. Importantly, these states include six competitive Senate, seven competitive gubernatorial, and 33 competitive House races, according to a recent stand and forest analysis. That combination of geographic reach, local audience scale, and competitive races positions us well as campaign spending expands through the second half of the year. Second quarter political revenue of $59 million was 9% above the second quarter of 2022. Demand has been broad-based across our markets, with candidates, parties, and issue advertisers beginning to reserve inventory earlier in the cycle. Recent changes to campaign finance rules are also enabling party committees to invest earlier and at greater scale.
Given the strength we have seen to date and the current outlook for competitive races across our footprint, we are increasing full-year political advertising revenue guidance to at least $375 million. Narinder will take you through the updated outlook. Political spending is always back-end loaded towards the weeks immediately preceding election day, and timing can vary by race and market. However, the early activity we are seeing supports our expectation for a robust cycle and underscores the differentiated value of local broadcast television for reaching voters at scale. Turning to slide six, the FIFA World Cup provided another clear example of the power of broadcast-led live sports and the value of our Fox affiliate portfolio. The tournament delivered record soccer audiences on broadcast and generated strong advertising demand across our local markets.
For some perspective, 128.4 million Americans watched some portion of the World Cup on Fox, FS1 and FS2, and the World Cup final drew an audience of 66.4 million viewers, which was the largest U.S. audience for any non-Super Bowl sports event in more than 30 years. Sinclair took this opportunity to expand well beyond the linear broadcast. Its media brands allowed advertisers to add targeted cross-platform reach, while our Unfiltered Soccer podcast featuring Landon Donovan and Tim Howard gave brands another way to engage highly interested soccer fans around the tournament. In addition, three live activations around the World Cup let consumers physically experience our advertisers' products, deepening engagement with their campaigns. This coordinated approach across broadcast, digital, and podcast platforms is increasingly important to advertisers.
Broadcast provides mass reach and live engagement, while our digital capabilities, along with live activations, add audience targeting, frequency, and measurable extensions beyond the telecast. Premium live sports remain one of the most powerful drivers of appointment viewing, and broadcast delivers that content with unmatched reach. As we head into the third quarter, we look to build on the World Cup successes with the return of college football and the NFL. Our operational takeaways on slide seven highlight the strong early political demand across our markets during the quarter. With political revenue ahead of the comparable 2022 period, our broad station footprint, local sales relationships, and expanding digital capabilities position us well as campaign activity builds through the remainder of the cycle. Distribution also remains solid, supported by our partner station buy-ins.
The value of broadcast remains clear, particularly around live news, premium sports, and other programming that consistently brings audience together at scale. Advertisers are increasingly looking for integrated campaigns that combine the broad reach and live engagement of broadcast with the targeting and measurement available through digital. Our portfolio allows us to deliver both, creating more value for the advertiser while deepening engagement with audiences across platforms. Client demand is consolidating total video with linear and streaming bought together. That is exactly what we have built towards. The World Cup was the template with broadcast reach, streaming, digital podcasts, and live activations sold as integrated campaigns. Across the business, we remain disciplined on expenses while continuing to support the content, technology, and sales capabilities that can drive long-term growth.
In summary, strong early political demand, expanding cross-platform capabilities, and the audience strength of broadcast-led live sports position us well for the second half of the year. With that, let me turn the call over to Narinder to review the second quarter financial results and our updated outlook.
Thank you, Rob, and good afternoon, everyone. Turning to slide eight, I will walk through the second quarter financial results in more detail. At the total company level, revenue was $840 million, up 7% year-over-year. The increase was driven primarily by political advertising and continued distribution revenue growth. Adjusted EBITDA was $149 million, up 45%, reflecting the favorable revenue mix and disciplined expense management. Political advertising revenue of $59 million was the largest contributor to growth, up 9% from the second quarter of 2022. Our strongest prior midterm cycle. Distribution revenue increased 2%, with subscriber churn continuing to moderate, consistent with trends the largest distributors have reported publicly, and the benefit of partner station buy-ins we have executed. Core advertising revenue declined 3%. Two things are worth keeping in mind.
First, this was the first quarter with a full prior year comparison for Digital Remedy, which we acquired in March of 2025. That anniversary affects the year-over-year comparison. Second, on the demand backdrop, consumer spending held up in the quarter, but the fuel and tariff volatility clearly made advertisers more cautious. The pressure we saw was concentrated due to political crowd-out and in categories where cost inflation is squeezing advertiser budgets. In the Local Media segment, total revenue was $731 million, an increase of 8% year-over-year. Local Media Adjusted EBITDA was $149 million, up 51% year-over-year. The increase reflects strong political revenue and continued cost discipline across programming, production, and selling general and administrative expenses. Within the Tennis segment, total revenue was $70 million, up from $68 million in the prior year quarter. Advertising revenue increased 8%, supported by ratings growth and continued direct-to-consumer momentum, while distribution revenue increased 2%.
Tennis segment Adjusted EBITDA was $8 million compared with $13 million in the prior year quarter. The decline primarily reflects higher programming and production costs as we continue to strengthen and monetize our rights portfolio and ongoing investment in our direct-to-consumer platform. On slide nine, we are updating our full year 2026 guidance. I will start with what is changing, which is political advertising revenue, core advertising revenue, and Adjusted EBITDA. Cover what is not changing, and close with the key free cash flow items. As Rob discussed, we are increasing political advertising revenue guidance to at least $375 million from at least $333 million previously. This 13% increase takes our guidance above the 2022 record and reflects strong first half demand and the current outlook for competitive Senate, gubernatorial, and House races across our footprint.
We are resetting our core advertising revenue guidance, which is now expected to be between $1.22 billion and $1.28 billion for total company. While Local Media core advertising revenue is expected to be between $1.04 billion and $1.09 billion. This represents a reduction of $40 million at the midpoint of prior guidance ranges. On our last call, we said that if current conditions persisted, we would reassess our core advertising outlook. This revision now reflects the expected crowd out from an elevated political spending in the second half, and it resets second half core advertising to the demand levels we are currently seeing with no improvement assumed through year-end. Despite the change in core advertising expectations, we are increasing Adjusted EBITDA guidance by $25 million at the midpoint on the strength of our first half performance.
Our updated guidance now includes the transition of our St. Louis ABC affiliation at the end of August in our guidance for the remainder of the year. Even after accounting for St. Louis, the new midpoint of our Adjusted EBITDA guidance is above the high end of our prior range, reflecting the improved political forecast and our continued expense discipline across the company. Total company Adjusted EBITDA is now expected to be between $730 million and $760 million. Local Media Adjusted EBITDA is now expected to be between $710 million and $740 million. Moving to what is not changing. We are maintaining total company revenue guidance of $3.4 billion-$3.54 billion and Local Media revenue guidance of $3 billion-$3.12 billion.
Within that, distribution revenue guidance is also unchanged at $1.72 billion-$1.79 billion for the total company and $1.51 billion-$1.57 billion for Local Media segment. Finally, turning to key free cash flow components. Our capital expenditure forecast is unchanged at $75 million-$80 million. We are lowering our net interest expense guidance to be between $295 million and $290 million, reflecting the deleveraging activities we have completed to date. Our net cash tax guidance is now approximately $50 million, a function of higher expected pre-tax income in an expected record midterm political year. Taken together, our updated guidance reflects our current expectations for the full year. Turning to slide 10, we continue to make meaningful progress on our de-leveraging priorities during and immediately following the quarter. As Chris referenced, during the second quarter, we reduced our debt balance by approximately $320 million.
That included the $165 million of term loans we repurchased through the reverse Dutch auction discussed on our last call, $150 million of repayment on our accounts receivable facility, and roughly $5 million of scheduled amortization and finance lease payments. In July, after quarter end, we repurchased and retired an additional $25 million face amount of our B7 term loan at a discount and repaid and terminated the remaining B3 term loan balance. These actions have improved our maturity profile and reduced our interest expense, directly benefiting our cash flow. At quarter end, total debt was approximately $4.1 billion. Our nearest material maturity, excluding the accounts receivable facility, remains in December of 2029, providing us with a manageable runway to continue executing our de-leveraging plan.
Sinclair Television Group, or STG, net leverage ended the quarter at 5.2x. With the heaviest political quarters still ahead of us, we expect continued progress through the balance of the year. We ended the quarter with $604 million of consolidated cash and cash equivalents, including $115 million at STG and $489 million at Ventures. Ventures generated $19 million of cash distributions from its portfolio during the quarter. Including undrawn revolver and AR facility capacity, total liquidity was approximately $1.4 billion. We remain focused on reducing debt and improving leverage over time while maintaining sufficient liquidity to operate the business and invest selectively in high return opportunities. With that, let me turn the call back to Chris for a community update and closing comments.
Thank you, Narinder. Before wrapping up, I want to recognize our employees and the impact they made through the 2026 Sinclair Day of Service, highlighted on slide 11. More than 1,200 employees contributed a combined 3,070 hours of service across our markets and cities. Their work supported a wide range of local needs, including food security, hygiene assistance, accessibility resources, and animal welfare. Enriching local lives is central to who we are as a company. Our stations and employees live in the communities they serve. I'm proud of the time, energy, and care they contributed through this year's Day of Service. As we wrap up on slide 12, let me briefly summarize our second quarter and outlook. First, the 2026 political cycle is off to a strong start.
Second quarter political revenue highlights the value of our broad local footprint. The demand we are seeing across competitive races supports our increased full-year political guidance. We also enter what we expect to be a more constructive regulatory era for local broadcast. We are preparing for it. Broadcast-led live sports continue to deliver premium audiences at scale. The FIFA World Cup on Fox generated record audiences and strong advertiser demand across our platforms. Tennis Channel also maintained strong momentum across linear, direct consumer, Tennis Channel 2, and Pickleball TV. Our cross-platform portfolio is expanding our reach beyond linear television, helping advertisers connect with audiences when and where they interact with our brands. Based on our first half results and current outlook, we increased full-year Adjusted EBITDA guidance despite a more cautious view of the core advertising environment.
Lastly, de-leveraging remains a top priority, as illustrated through our actions during and immediately following the quarter. These actions are reducing interest expense and strengthening our financial position. We enter the second half of the year with strong political momentum, a valuable live sports programming schedule, expanded cross-platform capabilities, meaningful strategic optionality, and a continued focus on cost discipline and debt reduction. With that, operator, we are ready to open the line for questions.
Certainly. Everyone at this time will be conducting a question-and-answer session. If you have any questions or comments, please press star one on your phone at this time. We do ask that while posing your question, please pick up your handset if you're listening on speakerphone to provide optimum sound quality. Once again, if you have any questions or comments, please press star one on your phone. Your first question's coming from Dan Kurnos from StoneX. Your line is live.
Great, thanks. Good afternoon. Chris, you get the first crack at upcoming FCC cap repeal and any comments you want to make. It seems likely tomorrow. A little premature, but we've obviously been talking M&A in the space for a long time. Do you think that changes the conversation, number one? Number two, your guidance is just shy now, I think $25 million or $30 million of your 2024 political numbers. What are you seeing? How much conservatism? It's still early. Just maybe unpack some of the pieces would be great. Thank you.
Okay. I'll let Rob speak to what he's seeing on the political ad front, in terms of the cap elimination, which is expected tomorrow, we couldn't be happier. We certainly applaud the FCC for taking this very meaningful step to remove an outdated regulation that really just has no place in this modern media marketplace. It is very significant to change this rule. As we look at large-scale M&A, which is a major objective for us, this really de-risks those opportunities, and we expect that some of the counterparties that we are interested in will be more likely to want to transact with this certainty put on the books.
In regards to the political, we've taken it up significantly. The last guide was $333 million. The guide now is to $375 million. As we get closer into election day, we'll have a better indication of what races will remain hot and where that funding's going. In 2024, we saw some funding in Pennsylvania move to the bigger cities of Philly and Pittsburgh, where earlier on in the pre-race, it was spread out throughout the state. Today, we're comfortable at that $375 guidance, and we'll have more clarity within the next four weeks. We feel very comfortable that we can handle this demand.
Yeah. Dan, I'd just add to that, the intensity of the political ad spend, it almost doubles every quarter. In the fourth quarter, you'll only have a half a quarter, essentially, of political ad spending, and it's usually about double Q3 in terms of volume. It really is hard to predict how you will ultimately end up with everything being as back-end loaded as it is. With what we're seeing so far, we were comfortable meaningfully increasing our guidance.
Super helpful. Thanks, guys, and congrats on print.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you. Your next question's coming from Benjamin Soff from Deutsche Bank. Your line is live.
Good afternoon. Thanks for the question. I'm wondering how you expect the recent ruling from the Supreme Court on lowest unit pricing for political party spending could impact your business either this year or in the future. On tuck-in M&A, you've recently closed your buy-in transactions, and I'm wondering how you think about the opportunity set for more tuck-in M&A. Are there any types of assets or markets that are attractive right now? How do you think about balancing doing smaller deals versus your focus on larger consolidation? Thank you.
I'll handle the political question. Our outlook for this year already takes into account the ruling. Something to note is this ruling only affects 60 days out from the election. In 2024, it was mid-single digits that came from the party spending. If we see an increase in that spending, our yield team will adjust rates on the fly based on the demand, and our capacity still will be able to handle the volume of dollars being spent this year and historically as that spending has increased, we will be able to handle it.
Look, on the M&A front, overall, we see the environment and of course, led by regulatory being increasingly constructive for all sorts of M&A. As I mentioned in my prepared remarks, there is additional local ownership easing, which is in the pipeline tied to the Quadrennial Review. That's another key rule change that we're tracking closely here and will be very helpful in terms of local market consolidation. In terms of the opportunity set, I do think the elimination of the cap will make large-scale M&A much easier and less risky. We're going to be redoubling our efforts in that area.
In the meantime, we've done some smaller market-by-market optimization deals recently, such as in Tulsa, and we have a very full pipeline of additional opportunities on the smaller side where we're going market-by-market, looking at swaps and looking at ways to double up and sometimes triple up. Those are very accretive transactions. We're pursuing those quite extensively. The cap obviously does not implicate those opportunities, but we are still prioritizing them as well as redoubling our efforts on the large-scale front.
Got it. Thank you.
Thank you. Your next question's coming from Steven Cahall from Wells Fargo. Your line is live.
Thank you. Three, if you don't mind. First, just on the political guide, I think you're now at least 13% over 2022. How do we think about that in terms of what's being driven by some of the idiosyncrasies of this election cycle or some of the consolidation that you've just done versus just the size of the cycle? I'm kind of getting to whether or not 2028 could be 13% over 2024 or if there's something more special in 2026 that's driving that upside.
Sure. Look, I think our platform is pretty much the same as it was four years prior. There's very little movement in terms of station portfolio. I believe that the main driver of the increase here that we're expecting this year versus four years prior is being driven by money raised. If you pay attention to external research tracking these numbers, there is a significant step up in money raised this year versus 2022. It's approaching, the total money raised this may equal 2024, which is a presidential year, of course. The basic formula for political ad spending is money raised equals money spent. As I like to point out, politicians don't return money to the donors when the elections are over. It's really the most important factor, is money raised, and we're seeing that being done in record levels.
Certainly, for a midterm, it might even be an all-time record. We'll have to see how the final numbers come in. I think the read-through to 2028 is very positive.
Yeah. I'll add, by the time 2028 comes around, some of our investments will be content on the digital side as well, full platform. We'll be able to capture that money both on the linear and digital side, capturing some of that now, and it'll be even more significant in 2028.
Great. Narinder, I just want to make sure I understand the guidance changes. Is it that political revenue is a little higher margin than core revenue? Is it that you've done better on cost than you thought for the year or a combination of those two things with the EBITDA guide going higher?
Sure. Steve, thank you for the question. Yes, you're absolutely right. There are a few moving pieces here. If you just compare midpoint of the prior guide to the midpoint of this revised guide on Adjusted EBITDA, plus $25 million. We took up the political by about $42 million. Very, very high margin. When you look at the reset we have on the core, there's certainly some offset there, right? When you look at the impact of our St. Louis affiliation transition, that's also factored into the guide. If you take these three together, that does not take you all the way to $25 million. The delta there is the outperformance and the expense management that we have achieved so far year-to-date. We expect that to continue to flow through for the remainder of the year. We are not giving that back.
Great. Last one. I know you and your peers are pursuing some spectrum-related business opportunities through EdgeBeam. Historically, in spectrum, there were three telcos that might have competed to buy that from you at some point. Now there's another player in this market with more than a trillion-market cap. Some days it's $2 trillion. You and your peers, it just seems like are sitting on a resource that has a different scarcity factor than it has historically. How do you think about the opportunities to monetize that low-band spectrum? Does it have to be done through an auction, or are there ways that you can use the EdgeBeam consortium and do something more quickly with some of the unused spectrum? Thanks.
Thank you for that question. It's a great question, Steve. It's very encouraging to hear from you and other market participants talking about the underlying value of our spectrum, which we've been big believers in for a long time. If you dial back the clock to the last auction, which was 2017, it was really a disappointment for the industry because AT&T and Verizon, for reasons I won't expand upon here because it would take too long, decided not to participate in that auction in any meaningful way. You essentially had two major bidders, which was T-Mobile and Dish. If you remember, Dish also had some shenanigans working through some entities to get a discount. It really was not a great outcome for the broadcasters.
It ended up having an average price of about $1.00/MHz-POP, which we think vastly undervalues low-band spectrum given its scarcity value and its beachfront location. Really, that was just driven by a lack of competition. Fast-forward to today, I think the competitive set on the telecom side has changed. If you did have another auction, it wouldn't just be T-Mobile showing up or a new entrant like Dish. I think you'd see competition from the AT&T's and the Verizon's of the world as well. Now, as you alluded to, anyone who has or is planning on launching a LEO constellation is very interested in acquiring low-band spectrum. Either acquiring it or acquiring access to it, which I think goes to your second statement, which is how would you go about activating this spectrum for use on those constellations.
That could obviously be achieved through a conventional auction like we did in 2017. It could also be achieved through a negotiated sale, which is another possibility that would be organized with the FCC. The third option would be to enter in some sort of a lease arrangement to make capacity available. I think the macro point is that this spectrum is very valuable. I think it's easily at market, at auction, at a negotiated sale over $2.50/MHz-POP. I think it would be a floor valuation that I would see in any sort of transaction, which, by the way, implies $4.1 billion for Sinclair's portfolio in totality.
It also underscores the necessity to fully roll out ATSC 3.0 and sunset ATSC 1.0 because by sunsetting ATSC 1.0, we're able to free up a lot of spectrum, which could be used for additional programming and data casting, which we're working on at EdgeBeam. There is sort of a cost-benefit analysis that I think will go on once we sunset ATSC 1.0 and these commercial applications are available that EdgeBeam is working on. The industry will have to assess, is it better to run those use cases over that spectrum and earn an annuity stream of income from it? Or is it better to transact and sell or lease to someone like Starlink?
I think all of those are possibilities, and it's really just an economic equation, and it reinforces to me and the rest of the industry that we need to get the FCC to act and approve the NPRM in front of them on ATSC 3.0 and sunset ATSC 1.0 in order to open up these types of opportunities.
Great. Thank you.
Thank you. Your next question is coming from Aaron Watts from Deutsche Bank. Your line is live.
Hi. Thanks for having me on. Covered a lot of ground already. Chris, I had a follow-up around the FCC and the national ownership cap change. Curious how you think about the practical timing of the industry being able to act on the changes that we may see come tomorrow and in the near future, especially in light of how other media consolidation processes are playing out and the expected or potential challenges that may be raised in the courts.
Once the vote happens, it does take some amount of time to go into the registry, where it becomes officially a rule. I think it's something around 30 days or so, but don't quote me on that. After that's the law of the land, so to speak. We fully expect people to challenge this order, and we think the FCC is on solid legal ground here in terms of their authority to change this rule and the rationale behind changing it. In terms of the FCC's mandate is to deregulate over time. That was the mandate from Congress as conditions change, and that's what's happening here. We'll be able to transact under this new rule shortly after the vote happens, as soon as it gets into the federal registry.
Okay. That's really helpful. Thanks. Maybe one for Rob, potentially, but I know you touched on some weakness in some of your core categories. Can you highlight a little bit more about your top categories and how they're trending plus or minus right now? Are the ones that are a little softer at the moment just really a reflection of the macro uncertainties?
Yeah. I'll start with automotive. Automotive is flat year-over-year, that trend continues, which means it's a great sign through these macroeconomics that automotive spending remains equal to last year. Sports betting and legal were categories that helped drive the quarter, while services and medical were the downtrending top categories.
All right. Perfect. Thanks again, guys.
Thank you. That concludes our Q&A session. I'll now hand the conference back to Chris Ripley, President and Chief Executive Officer, for closing remarks. Please go ahead.
Thank you once again for joining us for our Q2 earnings call. If you have any follow-ups or questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.
Thank you. Everyone, this concludes today's event. You may disconnect at this time and have a wonderful day. Thank you for your participation.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-08-04Sinclair Earnings: What To Look For From SBGI
StockStory
Sinclair Earnings: What To Look For From SBGI
Media broadcasting company Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) will be reporting earnings this Wednesday after market close. Here’s what to look for. Sinclair beat analysts’ revenue expectations last quarter, reporting revenues of $807 million, up 4% year on year. It was an exceptional quarter for the company, with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates. Is Sinclair a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it’s free for active Edge members. This quarter, the market is expecting Sinclair’s revenue to grow 7.1% year on year, a reversal from the 5.4% decrease it recorded in the same quarter last year. Analysts covering the company have generally reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business will stay the course heading into earnings. Sinclair has missed Wall Street’s revenue estimates multiple times over the last two years. Looking at Sinclair’s peers in the media & entertainment segment, some have already reported their Q2 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. IMAX delivered year-on-year revenue growth of 12.2%, beating analysts’ expectations by 8.8%, and Ibotta reported revenues up 3.3%, topping estimates by 4.7%. IMAX traded up 10.4% following the results. Read our full analysis of IMAX’s results here and Ibotta’s results here. There has been positive sentiment among investors in the media & entertainment segment, with share prices up 5.3% on average over the last month. Sinclair is down 8% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $17.71 (compared to the current share price of $13.94). WHILE YOU’RE HERE: The Next Palantir? One satellite company captures images of every point on Earth. Every single day. The Pentagon wants it. Hedge funds are using it to beat earnings. You’ve probably never heard of it. This is what the early days of Palantir looked like before it became a giant. Same playbook. Different technology. If you missed Palantir, you need to see this. Claim The Stock Ticker for Free HERE.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-06-29Sinclair to Report Second Quarter 2026 Results on August 5, 2026 at 4:00 P.M. (Eastern Time)
GlobeNewswire
Sinclair to Report Second Quarter 2026 Results on August 5, 2026 at 4:00 P.M. (Eastern Time)
BALTIMORE, June 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sinclair, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) will report its second quarter 2026 earnings results at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 5, 2026, followed by a conference call to discuss the results at 4:30 p.m. ET. The call will be webcast live and can be accessed at www.sbgi.net under the subtitle “Investor Relations/Events and Presentations.” The dial-in number for the earnings call is 888-506-0062, with entry code 943393. If you plan to participate on the conference call, please call at least two minutes prior to the start time and provide the entry code to the conference operator; or tell the operator that you are joining the Sinclair Earnings Conference Call. If you are unable to listen to the live webcast or participate in the live conference call, a replay of the call will be available on Sinclair’s website at www.sbgi.net. This will be the only venue through which a replay will be available. The company’s press release and any non-GAAP reconciliations will also be available on the website. Members of the news media are welcome on the call in a listen-only mode. Key executives will be made available to members of the news media, time permitting, following the conference call. The Company regularly uses its website as a key source of Company information and can be accessed at www.sbgi.net. Category: Financial Investor Contacts:Christopher C. King, VP, Investor Relations(410) 568-1500
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-06-23Q1 Media & Entertainment Earnings: Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Impresses
StockStory
Q1 Media & Entertainment Earnings: Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Impresses
Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q1 behind us, let’s have a look at Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) and its peers. Simply put, traditional media like linear TV is losing eyeballs and as a result, ad dollars as well. On the other hand, digital media such as streaming and social media are taking share of audience and ad spend. AI-driven content creation and digital advertising are continuing to evolve, which benefits companies in the sector that invest behind these themes. On the other hand, headwinds include growing regulatory scrutiny on AI-generated content, with many publishers balking at anything that gets no human oversight. Additional areas to navigate for companies in the space include the phasing out of third-party cookies, which could make traditional ways of tracking the online behavior of consumers (a secret sauce in digital marketing) much less effective. The 14 media & entertainment stocks we track reported a mixed Q1. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.1% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line. In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 1.6% on average since the latest earnings results. With over 2,400 hours of local news produced weekly and 640 broadcast channels reaching millions of American homes, Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) operates a network of 185 local television stations across 86 U.S. markets, producing news programming and distributing content from major networks. Sinclair reported revenues of $807 million, up 4% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates. Investor expectations, however, were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wishing for even better results (analysts’ consensus estimates are those published by big banks and advisory firms, not the investors who make buy and sell decisions). The stock is down 12.5% since reporting and currently trades at $13.61. Is now the time to buy Sinclair? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free. Often appearing as those "You May Also Like" or "Recommended For You" boxes at the bottom of news articles, Taboola (NASDAQ:TBLA) operates a digital platform that recommends personalized content to users acros…Read full documentShow less
Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q1 behind us, let’s have a look at Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) and its peers. Simply put, traditional media like linear TV is losing eyeballs and as a result, ad dollars as well. On the other hand, digital media such as streaming and social media are taking share of audience and ad spend. AI-driven content creation and digital advertising are continuing to evolve, which benefits companies in the sector that invest behind these themes. On the other hand, headwinds include growing regulatory scrutiny on AI-generated content, with many publishers balking at anything that gets no human oversight. Additional areas to navigate for companies in the space include the phasing out of third-party cookies, which could make traditional ways of tracking the online behavior of consumers (a secret sauce in digital marketing) much less effective. The 14 media & entertainment stocks we track reported a mixed Q1. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.1% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line. In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 1.6% on average since the latest earnings results. With over 2,400 hours of local news produced weekly and 640 broadcast channels reaching millions of American homes, Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) operates a network of 185 local television stations across 86 U.S. markets, producing news programming and distributing content from major networks. Sinclair reported revenues of $807 million, up 4% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates. Investor expectations, however, were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wishing for even better results (analysts’ consensus estimates are those published by big banks and advisory firms, not the investors who make buy and sell decisions). The stock is down 12.5% since reporting and currently trades at $13.61. Is now the time to buy Sinclair? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free. Often appearing as those "You May Also Like" or "Recommended For You" boxes at the bottom of news articles, Taboola (NASDAQ:TBLA) operates a digital platform that recommends personalized content to users across publisher websites, helping both publishers monetize their sites and advertisers reach target audiences. Taboola reported revenues of $466.4 million, up 9.1% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.9%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and revenue guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations. Taboola achieved the highest guidance raise and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 18.6% since reporting. It currently trades at $4.52. Is now the time to buy Taboola? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free. Originally known as InterActiveCorp and built through Barry Diller's strategic acquisitions since the 1990s, People (NASDAQ:PPLI) operates a portfolio of category-leading digital businesses including Dotdash Meredith, Angi, and Care.com, focusing on digital publishing, home services, and caregiving platforms. People reported revenues of $422.9 million, down 12.2% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 17.3%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates. People delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 8.1% since the results and currently trades at $41.50. Read our full analysis of People’s results here. Powering nearly 10 million consumer referrals each month in the insurance marketplace, MediaAlpha (NYSE:MAX) operates a technology platform that connects insurance carriers with high-intent consumers shopping for property, casualty, health, and life insurance products. MediaAlpha reported revenues of $310 million, up 17.3% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 3.5%. More broadly, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced revenue guidance for next quarter beating analysts’ expectations but a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates. The stock is up 1.8% since reporting and currently trades at $10.18. Read our full, actionable report on MediaAlpha here, it’s free. Born from the 2020 merger of Rubicon Project and Telaria, Magnite (NASDAQ:MGNI) operates the world's largest independent sell-side advertising platform that automates the buying and selling of digital advertising inventory across all channels and formats. Magnite reported revenues of $164.4 million, up 5.5% year on year. This print missed analysts’ expectations by 5.5%. Taking a step back, it was still a satisfactory quarter as it recorded a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates. The stock is up 31.6% since reporting and currently trades at $17.63. Read our full, actionable report on Magnite here, it’s free. Late in 2025 into early 2026, there was hand-wringing around artificial intelligence. For software companies, the fear was that AI would erode pricing power and compress margins as new tools made it easier to replicate what once required expensive enterprise platforms. Crypto investors had their own version of the same anxiety: if AI agents could trade, allocate capital, and manage wallets autonomously, what exactly was the long-term value of today’s crypto infrastructure? These concerns triggered a noticeable rotation away from these sectors and into safer havens. But markets rarely dwell on one narrative for long. Spring 2026 came, and the focus shifted abruptly from technological disruption to geopolitical risk. The US’ conflict with Iran became the dominant driver of market psychology, and when geopolitics takes center stage, the script changes quickly. Investors stop debating growth rates and start worrying about oil supply, inflation, and global stability. Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Strong Momentum Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. StockStory’s analyst team — all seasoned professional investors — uses quantitative analysis and automation to deliver market-beating insights faster and with higher quality.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-14Beyond Lackluster Earnings: Potential Concerns For Sinclair's (NASDAQ:SBGI) Shareholders
Simply Wall St.
Beyond Lackluster Earnings: Potential Concerns For Sinclair's (NASDAQ:SBGI) Shareholders
Sinclair, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SBGI) stock wasn't much affected by its recent lackluster earnings numbers. Our analysis suggests that they may be missing some concerning details underlying the profit numbers. Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. For anyone who wants to understand Sinclair's profit beyond the statutory numbers, it's important to note that during the last twelve months statutory profit gained from US$28m worth of unusual items. We can't deny that higher profits generally leave us optimistic, but we'd prefer it if the profit were to be sustainable. We ran the numbers on most publicly listed companies worldwide, and it's very common for unusual items to be once-off in nature. And that's as you'd expect, given these boosts are described as 'unusual'. Assuming those unusual items don't show up again in the current year, we'd thus expect profit to be weaker next year (in the absence of business growth, that is). That might leave you wondering what analysts are forecasting in terms of future profitability. Luckily, you can click here to see an interactive graph depicting future profitability, based on their estimates. Just as we noted the unusual items, we must inform you that Sinclair received a tax benefit which contributed US$166m to the bottom line. It's always a bit noteworthy when a company is paid by the tax man, rather than paying the tax man. The receipt of a tax benefit is obviously a good thing, on its own. However, the devil in the detail is that these kind of benefits only impact in the year they are booked, and are often one-off in nature. In the likely event the tax benefit is not repeated, we'd expect to see its statutory profit levels drop, at least in the absence of strong growth. So while we think it's great to receive a tax benefit, it does tend to imply an increased risk that the statutory profit overstates the sustainable earnings power of the business. In the last year Sinclair received a tax benefit, which boosted its profit in a way that might not be much more sustainable than turning prime farmland into gas fields. And on top of that, it also saw an unusual item boost its profit, suggesting that next year might see a lower profit number, if these events are not repeated. For the reasons mentioned above, we think that a perfunctory glance at Sincla…Read full documentShow less
Sinclair, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:SBGI) stock wasn't much affected by its recent lackluster earnings numbers. Our analysis suggests that they may be missing some concerning details underlying the profit numbers. Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. For anyone who wants to understand Sinclair's profit beyond the statutory numbers, it's important to note that during the last twelve months statutory profit gained from US$28m worth of unusual items. We can't deny that higher profits generally leave us optimistic, but we'd prefer it if the profit were to be sustainable. We ran the numbers on most publicly listed companies worldwide, and it's very common for unusual items to be once-off in nature. And that's as you'd expect, given these boosts are described as 'unusual'. Assuming those unusual items don't show up again in the current year, we'd thus expect profit to be weaker next year (in the absence of business growth, that is). That might leave you wondering what analysts are forecasting in terms of future profitability. Luckily, you can click here to see an interactive graph depicting future profitability, based on their estimates. Just as we noted the unusual items, we must inform you that Sinclair received a tax benefit which contributed US$166m to the bottom line. It's always a bit noteworthy when a company is paid by the tax man, rather than paying the tax man. The receipt of a tax benefit is obviously a good thing, on its own. However, the devil in the detail is that these kind of benefits only impact in the year they are booked, and are often one-off in nature. In the likely event the tax benefit is not repeated, we'd expect to see its statutory profit levels drop, at least in the absence of strong growth. So while we think it's great to receive a tax benefit, it does tend to imply an increased risk that the statutory profit overstates the sustainable earnings power of the business. In the last year Sinclair received a tax benefit, which boosted its profit in a way that might not be much more sustainable than turning prime farmland into gas fields. And on top of that, it also saw an unusual item boost its profit, suggesting that next year might see a lower profit number, if these events are not repeated. For the reasons mentioned above, we think that a perfunctory glance at Sinclair's statutory profits might make it look better than it really is on an underlying level. In light of this, if you'd like to do more analysis on the company, it's vital to be informed of the risks involved. For example, we've found that Sinclair has 6 warning signs (2 are a bit concerning!) that deserve your attention before going any further with your analysis. In this article we've looked at a number of factors that can impair the utility of profit numbers, and we've come away cautious. But there are plenty of other ways to inform your opinion of a company. For example, many people consider a high return on equity as an indication of favorable business economics, while others like to 'follow the money' and search out stocks that insiders are buying. While it might take a little research on your behalf, you may find this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks with significant insider holdings to be useful. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Investor releaseQuarter not tagged2026-05-02Sinclair Inc (SBGI) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Revenue Growth and Strategic Deleveraging ...
GuruFocus.com
Sinclair Inc (SBGI) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights: Revenue Growth and Strategic Deleveraging ...
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Release Date: April 30, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Sinclair Inc (NASDAQ:SBGI) reported a 4% year-over-year increase in total revenue, reaching $807 million, with adjusted EBITDA growing by 13%. The company saw a 2% increase in distribution revenue, supported by improved subscriber trends and partner station buy-ins. Core advertising revenue grew by 4%, driven by digital strength and major live sporting events. Tennis Channel experienced its most-watched month ever in March 2026, with a 19% increase in household viewership year-over-year. Sinclair Inc (NASDAQ:SBGI) retired approximately $165 million in term loans, reducing annual cash interest expense by $12 million and prioritizing deleveraging. The external environment has evolved with consumer sentiment moving lower and inflation expectations ticking higher, impacting advertiser visibility. The company faces macroeconomic headwinds, including rising gas prices and potential increases in the cost of goods. Sinclair Inc (NASDAQ:SBGI) is underweight in NBC, which affected its core advertising growth compared to competitors benefiting from major NBC events. The ongoing legal issues surrounding the Nexstar-Tegna transaction introduce uncertainty in the broadcast M&A environment. The company remains cautious about the potential impact of geopolitical conflicts, such as the Middle East war, on its advertising bookings. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 10 Warning Signs with SBGI. Is SBGI fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Q: With the Nexstar-Tegna merger facing legal challenges, what insights have you gained regarding potential M&A for Sinclair? A: Chris Ripley, CEO: The approval of the Nexstar-Tegna transaction by both the FCC and DOJ without conditions is a significant shift in how the DOJ views our market, recognizing competition across various mediums. This sets a precedent for future consolidation. Despite the legal challenges at the state level, we believe the case against Nexstar-Tegna is weak. We are confident that future transactions can mitigate similar risks, and we remain open to discussions with Scripps or other opportunities. Q: Do you expect the FCC to change or abolish the national ownership cap to avoid reliance on waivers for future deals? A: Chris Rip…Read full documentShow less
This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Release Date: April 30, 2026 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Sinclair Inc (NASDAQ:SBGI) reported a 4% year-over-year increase in total revenue, reaching $807 million, with adjusted EBITDA growing by 13%. The company saw a 2% increase in distribution revenue, supported by improved subscriber trends and partner station buy-ins. Core advertising revenue grew by 4%, driven by digital strength and major live sporting events. Tennis Channel experienced its most-watched month ever in March 2026, with a 19% increase in household viewership year-over-year. Sinclair Inc (NASDAQ:SBGI) retired approximately $165 million in term loans, reducing annual cash interest expense by $12 million and prioritizing deleveraging. The external environment has evolved with consumer sentiment moving lower and inflation expectations ticking higher, impacting advertiser visibility. The company faces macroeconomic headwinds, including rising gas prices and potential increases in the cost of goods. Sinclair Inc (NASDAQ:SBGI) is underweight in NBC, which affected its core advertising growth compared to competitors benefiting from major NBC events. The ongoing legal issues surrounding the Nexstar-Tegna transaction introduce uncertainty in the broadcast M&A environment. The company remains cautious about the potential impact of geopolitical conflicts, such as the Middle East war, on its advertising bookings. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 10 Warning Signs with SBGI. Is SBGI fairly valued? Test your thesis with our free DCF calculator. Q: With the Nexstar-Tegna merger facing legal challenges, what insights have you gained regarding potential M&A for Sinclair? A: Chris Ripley, CEO: The approval of the Nexstar-Tegna transaction by both the FCC and DOJ without conditions is a significant shift in how the DOJ views our market, recognizing competition across various mediums. This sets a precedent for future consolidation. Despite the legal challenges at the state level, we believe the case against Nexstar-Tegna is weak. We are confident that future transactions can mitigate similar risks, and we remain open to discussions with Scripps or other opportunities. Q: Do you expect the FCC to change or abolish the national ownership cap to avoid reliance on waivers for future deals? A: Chris Ripley, CEO: We anticipate that the FCC will eventually address this issue. The industry has been advocating for it, and it would simplify future transactions by eliminating the need for waivers. Q: How are local media core advertising trends, and has the conflict in the Middle East impacted your bookings, particularly in the auto sector? A: Rob Weisford, COO: The slowdown in growth from Q4 to Q1 was largely due to sports-related factors, particularly our underweight position in NBC. However, we are optimistic about the upcoming World Cup on Fox. Despite macroeconomic headwinds, we remain confident in our full-year guidance for core advertising. Q: What is your outlook for net retransmission revenue this year? A: Chris Ripley, CEO: We expect long-term growth in net retransmission revenue. The balance of power is shifting back towards affiliates, as networks increasingly monetize content on both broadcast and streaming platforms. This rebalancing should help reduce network affiliation costs over time. Q: Can you elaborate on your strategies to mitigate potential challenges in future transactions? A: Chris Ripley, CEO: While specifics can't be disclosed, future transactions will differ in setup, avoiding some of the unique challenges faced by Nexstar-Tegna. We are confident that lessons learned will help mitigate risks in future deals. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

