TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) Reports Sales Below Analyst Estimates In Q3 Earnings

Broadcasting and digital media company TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) fell short of the markets revenue expectations in Q3 CY2025, with sales falling 19.3% year on year to $650.8 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.33 per share was 3.5% above analysts’ consensus estimates.

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Company Overview

Spun out of Gannett in 2015, TEGNA (NYSE:TGNA) is a media company operating a network of television stations and digital platforms, focusing on local news and community content.

Revenue Growth

A company’s long-term sales performance is one signal of its overall quality. Any business can have short-term success, but a top-tier one grows for years. Regrettably, TEGNA’s sales grew at a weak 1.3% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. This fell short of our benchmarks and is a poor baseline for our analysis.

Long-term growth is the most important, but within consumer discretionary, product cycles are short and revenue can be hit-driven due to rapidly changing trends and consumer preferences. TEGNA’s performance shows it grew in the past but relinquished its gains over the last two years, as its revenue fell by 3.7% annually.

We can dig further into the company’s revenue dynamics by analyzing its most important segments, Subscription and Advertising, which are 55.1% and 42% of revenue. Over the last two years, TEGNA’s Subscription revenue (access to content) averaged 2.8% year-on-year declines while its Advertising revenue (marketing services) averaged 5.2% declines.

This quarter, TEGNA missed Wall Street’s estimates and reported a rather uninspiring 19.3% year-on-year revenue decline, generating $650.8 million of revenue.

Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to remain flat over the next 12 months. Although this projection suggests its newer products and services will spur better top-line performance, it is still below the sector average.

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Operating Margin

TEGNA’s operating margin has been trending down over the last 12 months, but it still averaged 21.5% over the last two years, top-notch for a consumer discretionary business. This shows it’s an efficient company that manages its expenses effectively.

In Q3, TEGNA generated an operating margin profit margin of 14.2%, down 14.3 percentage points year on year. This contraction shows it was less efficient because its expenses increased relative to its revenue.

Earnings Per Share

We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.

TEGNA’s EPS grew at an unimpressive 7.9% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years. This performance was better than its flat revenue but doesn’t tell us much about its business quality because its operating margin didn’t improve.

In Q3, TEGNA reported adjusted EPS of $0.33, down from $0.94 in the same quarter last year. Despite falling year on year, this print beat analysts’ estimates by 3.5%. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects TEGNA’s full-year EPS of $2.35 to shrink by 3.5%.

Key Takeaways from TEGNA’s Q3 Results

It was good to see TEGNA beat analysts’ EPS expectations this quarter. On the other hand, its Advertising revenue missed and its revenue fell slightly short of Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, this was a weaker quarter. The stock remained flat at $19.93 immediately following the results.

So do we think TEGNA is an attractive buy at the current price? When making that decision, it’s important to consider its valuation, business qualities, as well as what has happened in the latest quarter. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it’s free for active Edge members.