Nexstar Media(NXST) - 2025 Q3 - Quarterly Results

Financial Performance - Third quarter net revenue was $1.20 billion, a decrease of $168 million or 12.3% year-over-year, primarily due to lower political advertising revenue [2]. - Distribution revenue for Q3 was $709 million, down $10 million or 1.4% compared to the prior year, reflecting subscriber attrition and non-recurring customer claims [2]. - Advertising revenue decreased to $476 million, down $146 million or 23.5% year-over-year, mainly due to a $145 million drop in political advertising [2]. - Net income for the third quarter was $65 million, a decline of $115 million or 63.9% compared to the previous year, with a net income margin of 5.4% [2]. - Adjusted EBITDA was $358 million, down $152 million or 29.8% year-over-year, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 29.9% [12]. - Net revenue for Q3 2025 was $1,198 million, a decrease of 12.3% compared to $1,366 million in Q3 2024 [27]. - Operating income for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, was $607 million, down 28.6% from $851 million in the same period of 2024 [27]. - Net income attributable to Nexstar Media Group, Inc. for Q3 2025 was $70 million, a decline of 62.7% from $187 million in Q3 2024 [27]. - Adjusted EBITDA for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, was $1,128 million, a decrease of 18.1% compared to $1,376 million in the same period of 2024 [31]. - Free Cash Flow for Q3 2025 was $87 million, down 75.7% from $358 million in Q3 2024 [35]. - Total operating expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, were $3,053 million, a slight decrease from $3,069 million in the same period of 2024 [27]. - Interest expense, net for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, was $288 million, down 15.3% from $340 million in the same period of 2024 [27]. - Corporate operating expenses increased to $68 million in Q3 2025 from $53 million in Q3 2024, reflecting a 28.3% rise [27]. Cash Flow and Debt - Net cash provided by operating activities was $117 million, a decrease of $270 million or 69.8% year-over-year [12]. - Adjusted free cash flow for Q3 was $166 million, down $161 million or 49.2% compared to the prior year [12]. - As of September 30, 2025, total debt was $6.36 billion, with a first lien net leverage ratio of 1.73x [16]. - Cash and cash equivalents at the end of Q3 2025 were $236 million, an increase from $181 million at the end of Q3 2024 [29]. Strategic Developments - The company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire TEGNA Inc. for $6.2 billion, expected to be accretive to standalone adjusted free cash flow [8]. - NewsNation was the fastest growing cable network year-over-year through September 2025, while The CW achieved its sixth consecutive quarter of audience growth [8]. Shareholder Information - The weighted average number of common shares outstanding for Q3 2025 was 30,319 thousand, compared to 32,020 thousand in Q3 2024 [27].