iHeartMedia, Inc. Reports Results for 2026 Third Quarter

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--iHeartMedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: IHRT) today reported financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2026.

Financial Highlights:¹

Q3 2026 Consolidated Results

• Q3 Revenue of $1,030 million, up 3.3% (Excluding Q3 Political Revenue, Q3 Revenue up 0.9%)
• GAAP Operating income of $73 million, compared to a GAAP Operating loss of $116 million in Q3 2025
• Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA of $170 million, compared to $205 million in Q3 2025
• Cash provided by operating activities of $14 million, compared to Cash used for operating activities of $10 million in Q3 2025
• Free Cash Flow of ($10) million, compared to ($33) million in Q3 2025
• Cash balance and total available liquidity² of $140 million and $416 million, respectively, as of September 30, 2026

Q3 2026 Digital Audio Group Results

• Digital Audio Group Revenue of $389 million up 14%
  • Podcast Revenue of $174 million up 24%
  • Digital Revenue excluding Podcast of $215 million up 6%
• Segment Adjusted EBITDA of $127 million down 2%
  • Digital Audio Group Adjusted EBITDA margin of 32.8%

Q3 2026 Multiplatform Group Results

• Multiplatform Group Revenue of $562 million down 5%
  • Excluding Multiplatform Group Q3 Political Revenue, Multiplatform Group Q3 Revenue down 7%
• Segment Adjusted EBITDA of $68 million down 43%
  • Multiplatform Group Adjusted EBITDA margin of 12.1%

Q3 2026 Audio & Media Services Group Results

• Audio & Media Services Group Revenue of $82 million up 23%
  • Excluding Audio & Media Services Group Q3 Political Revenue, Audio & Media Services Group Q3 Revenue up 3%
• Segment Adjusted EBITDA of $37 million up 66%
  • Audio & Media Services Group Adjusted EBITDA margin of 45.9%

Expect To Establish Podcasting As A Separate Reporting Segment In 2027

Expect To Generate Approximately $400 Million Total Programmatic Revenue In 2027, Including Approximately $100 Million of Incremental Broadcast Radio Programmatic Revenue

Q4 2026 Guidance

• Consolidated Revenue expected to increase mid-single digits
• Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA³ expected to be approximately $135 million to $185 million
  • Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA³ guide includes approximately $100 million of net negative impact of non-cash marketing⁴

Full Year 2026 Guidance

• Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA³ expected to be approximately $550 million to $600 million
• Free Cash Flow of approximately $50 million
• Total Programmatic Revenue of approximately $200 million, up approximately 50%

Statement from Senior Management

“In the third quarter, our consolidated revenue was $1.03 billion, up 3.3% compared to the prior year quarter; ex political, our consolidated revenue was up 0.9%. We generated Adjusted EBITDA of $170 million. Our Digital Audio Group, led by podcasting, and our Audio and Media Services Group both continued to deliver strong results and profitability,” said Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, Inc. Pittman continued, “Given the accelerating adoption of audio programmatic, we believe that the continuing rollout of our AudioGraph platform has the potential to meaningfully improve the performance of our broadcast radio business, enabling us to meet the advertising community the way they want to buy advertising.”

“In Q3 the Digital Audio Group’s revenue was $389 million, up 13.8% vs. prior year, and our Q3 Adjusted EBITDA margins were 32.8%,” said Rich Bressler, President and COO of iHeartMedia, Inc. “While this quarter was negatively impacted by a number of factors, we believe many of our revenue challenges are addressable – and beginning in 2027, we expect to establish podcasting as a separate reporting segment, which will provide greater insight into its financial performance and make it easier to fully value all four of our segments and our entire company.”

Consolidated Results of Operations

Third Quarter 2026 Consolidated Results

Our consolidated revenue increased $32.8 million, or 3.3%, during the three months ended September 30, 2026 compared to the same period of 2025. Digital Audio revenue increased $47.0 million, or 13.8%, driven primarily by continuing increases in demand for digital and podcast advertising, as well as increased non-cash trade and barter revenue resulting from strategic marketing initiatives. Multiplatform Group revenue decreased $28.8 million, or 4.9%, primarily resulting from a decrease in our broadcast spot and networks revenue reflecting uncertainty on the part of advertisers regarding consumer spending, partially offset by an increase in non-cash trade and barter revenue related to strategic marketing initiatives, and an increase in political revenues as 2026 is a midterm election year. Audio & Media Services revenue increased $15.0 million, or 22.6%, primarily as a result of an increase in political advertising revenue, as well as strong demand for digital advertising.

Consolidated direct operating expenses increased $19.3 million, or 4.8%, during the three months ended September 30, 2026 compared to the same period of 2025. The increase was primarily driven by higher variable content costs, including higher third-party digital costs and podcast profit share related to the increase in digital revenues, partially offset by a decrease in employee compensation cost related to our modernization initiatives, as well as a decrease in variable content costs related to the decrease in broadcast revenues.

Consolidated Selling, General & Administrative ("SG&A") expenses increased $31.5 million, or 7.6%, during the three months ended September 30, 2026 compared to the same period of 2025. The increase was driven primarily by a $48.9 million increase in non-cash trade and barter expense mostly related to previously executed strategic marketing agreements as the related benefits are utilized, partially offset by a decrease in share-based compensation expense, primarily related to cash-settled awards remeasured for changes in our stock price, and a decrease in bonus expense based on financial results.

Our consolidated GAAP Operating income was $73.0 million compared to GAAP Operating loss of $116.3 million in the third quarter of 2025.

Adjusted EBITDA decreased to $170.5 million from $204.8 million in the third quarter of 2025.

Cash provided by operating activities was $13.7 million, compared to cash used for operating activities of $9.5 million in the prior year period. The improvement was primarily driven by favorable working capital timing of accounts payable and an increase in accrued expenses, partially offset by higher accounts receivable driven by increased revenue. Free Cash Flow was ($10.4) million, compared to ($32.8) million in the prior year period.

Business Segments: Results of Operations

Third Quarter 2026 Multiplatform Group Results

Revenue from our Multiplatform Group was down $28.8 million, or 4.9% YoY, primarily resulting from a decrease in our broadcast spot and networks revenue reflecting uncertainty on the part of advertisers regarding consumer spending, partially offset by an increase in non-cash trade and barter revenue related to strategic marketing initiatives, and an increase in political revenues as 2026 is a midterm election year. Broadcast revenue decreased $19.2 million, or 4.5% YoY, driven by lower spot revenue, partially offset by an increase in non-cash trade and barter revenue, and political revenues. Networks decreased $13.7 million, or 12.0% YoY. Revenue from Sponsorship and Events increased $2.5 million, or 5.4% YoY.

Operating expenses increased $22.4 million, or 4.7% YoY, driven primarily by higher non-cash trade and barter expenses resulting from strategic marketing initiatives, partially offset by a decrease in variable content costs related to the decrease in broadcast revenues, lower employee compensation costs related to our modernization initiatives, and a decrease in bonus expense based on financial results.

Segment Adjusted EBITDA Margin decreased YoY to 12.1% from 20.2%.

Third Quarter 2026 Digital Audio Group Results

Revenue from our Digital Audio Group increased $47.0 million, or 13.8% YoY, driven by Podcast revenue, which increased $34.0 million, or 24.4% YoY, to $173.7 million, primarily due to a continued increase in demand for podcasting from advertisers, and Digital, excluding Podcast revenue, which increased $13.0 million, or 6.4% YoY, to $215.0 million, primarily related to non-cash trade and barter revenue resulting from strategic marketing initiatives, as well as an increase in demand for digital advertising.

Operating expenses increased $50.0 million, or 23.6% YoY, primarily driven by higher variable content costs, including podcast profit share and third-party digital costs related to the increase in revenues, and higher non-cash trade and barter expense resulting from strategic marketing initiatives.

Segment Adjusted EBITDA Margin decreased YoY to 32.8% from 38.1%.

Third Quarter 2026 Audio & Media Services Group Results

Revenue from our Audio & Media Services Group increased $15.0 million, or 22.6% YoY, primarily due to an increase in political and digital revenues.

Operating expenses were in line with the prior year period.

Segment Adjusted EBITDA Margin increased YoY to 45.9% from 33.9%.

GAAP and Non-GAAP Measures: Consolidated

Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the 2026 presentation of financial information throughout the press release.

Liquidity and Financial Position

As of September 30, 2026, we had $139.7 million of cash on our balance sheet. For the three months ended September 30, 2026, cash provided by operating activities was $13.7 million, cash used for investing activities was $23.6 million and cash used for financing activities was $24.9 million.

Capital expenditures for the three months ended September 30, 2026 were $24.1 million compared to $23.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2025.

As of September 30, 2026, the Company had $5,024.3 million of total debt and $4,680.1 million of Net Debt.⁵

Cash balance and total available liquidity⁶ were $139.7 million and $415.8 million, respectively, as of September 30, 2026 which reflects $125.0 million of outstanding borrowings under our ABL facility.

Revenue Streams

The table below present our historical revenue streams (including political revenue) for the periods presented:

Conference Call
iHeartMedia, Inc. will host a conference call to discuss results and business outlook on November 9, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The conference call number is (833) 461-5787 (domestic) or +1 585 542-9983 (international) using Meeting ID 653 924 567. A live audio webcast of the conference call will also be available on the Investors homepage of iHeartMedia's website investors.iheartmedia.com. After the live conference call, a replay will be available for a period of thirty days. The replay numbers are (833) 309-1852 (domestic) or +1 929 828-5978 (international) using Meeting ID 653 924 567. An archive of the webcast will be available beginning 24 hours after the call for a period of thirty days.

About iHeartMedia, Inc.

iHeartMedia (Nasdaq: IHRT) is the number one audio company in the United States, reaching nine out of 10 Americans every month. It consists of three business groups.

With its quarter of a billion monthly listeners, the iHeartMedia Multiplatform Group has a greater reach than any other media company in the U.S. Its leadership position in audio extends across multiple platforms, including more than 860 live broadcast stations in over 160 markets nationwide; its National Sales organization; and the Company’s live and virtual events business. It also includes Premiere Networks, the industry’s largest Networks business, with its Total Traffic and Weather Network; and BIN: Black Information Network, the first and only 24/7 national and local all news audio service for the Black community. iHeartMedia also leads the audio industry in analytics, targeting and attribution for its marketing partners with its SmartAudio suite of data targeting and attribution products using data from its massive consumer base.

The iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group includes the Company’s growing podcasting business -- iHeartMedia is the number one podcast publisher in downloads, unique listeners, revenue and earnings -- as well as its industry-leading iHeartRadio digital service, available across more than 500+ platforms and thousands of devices; the Company’s digital sites, newsletters, digital services and programs; its digital advertising technology companies; and its audio industry-leading social media footprint.

The Company’s Audio & Media Services reportable segment includes Katz Media Group, the nation’s largest media representation company, and RCS, the world's leading provider of broadcast and webcast software.

Certain statements herein constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of iHeartMedia, Inc. and its subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The words or phrases “guidance,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimates,” “forecast” and similar words or expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s anticipated growth and continued investments; our expected costs savings; utilization of new technologies, programmatic platforms, and revenue opportunities; the expected benefits of the continued rollout of our AudioGraph platform; the expected benefits of our modernization and cost-savings initiatives; strategies, goals and initiatives; the expected benefits of establishing podcasting as a separate reporting segment; our ability to address our revenue challenges; our anticipated financial condition and performance, including our outlook as to fourth quarter and full year 2026 consolidated results of operations and Free Cash Flow; our cash tax expectations and our future liquidity and net leverage. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and other important factors, some of which are beyond our control and are difficult to predict. Various risks that could cause future results to differ from those expressed by the forward-looking statements included in this press release include, but are not limited to: risks related to global economic or political uncertainty and our dependence on advertising revenues; competition, including increased competition from alternative media platforms and technologies; dependence upon our brand and the performance of on-air talent, program hosts and management; fluctuations in operating costs; technological and industry changes and innovations; shifts in population and other demographics; risks related to our use of artificial intelligence, impact of acquisitions, dispositions and other strategic transactions; risks related to our indebtedness; legislative or regulatory requirements; impact of legislation, and royalty audits on music licensing and royalties; regulations and concerns regarding privacy and data protection and breaches of information security measures; risks related to scrutiny and regulation of environmental, social and governance matters, risks related to our Class A common stock; regulations impacting our business and the ownership of our securities; and risks related to adverse political effects, acts or threats of terrorism or military conflicts. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on the Company’s future results, performance or achievements. In light of these risks, uncertainties, assumptions and factors, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release may not occur. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date stated, or if no date is stated, as of the date hereof. Additional risks that could cause future results to differ from those expressed by any forward-looking statement are described in the Company’s reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including in the section entitled “Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors” of iHeartMedia, Inc.’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K and “Part II, Item 1A. Risk Factors” of iHeartMedia, Inc.’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. The Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements because of new information, future events or otherwise.

APPENDIX

TABLE 1 - Comparison of operating performance

For further information, please contact:

Media

Wendy Goldberg
Chief Communications Officer
(212) 377-1105
wendygoldberg@iheartmedia.com

Investors

Andrey Hart
SVP of Investor Relations
(703) 956-0115
andreyhart@iheartmedia.com