Cumulus Media (CMLS) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $15.14M
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Average Volume (3M): 65.53K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): ―
• Beta (1Y): 1.29
• Revenue Growth: -4.57%
• EPS Growth: -103.56%
• Country: US
• Employees: 2,250
• Sector: Communication Services
• Sector Strength: 90
• Industry: Broadcasting
• EPS (TTM): -0.74
• Shares Outstanding: 17,128,042
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 145,248
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 65,527
• PEG Ratio: N/A
• Price to Book (P/B): N/A
• Price to Sales (P/S): N/A
• P/FCF Ratio: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 61.74
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 1.17
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 1.90
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 14.25
• 1Y Price Target: N/A
• Price Target Upside: N/A
• Rating Consensus: Hold
• Number of Analyst Covering: 3

• Rating: 41 Neutral
• Price Target: $0.00 ▼(-100.00% Downside)

Cumulus Media's overall stock score is heavily impacted by its poor financial performance, which is the most significant factor. The company's financial instability, characterized by declining revenues, negative equity, and cash flow challenges, poses substantial risks. The earnings call provides some positive insights into digital growth, but these are overshadowed by broader revenue declines. The lack of technical indicators and poor valuation metrics further contribute to the low score.

Positive Factors

Cost Management

Management has been diligent in reducing its fixed cost base, making room for growing variable expense tied to its digital businesses, executing on $35 million in cost reduction in Q4.

Digital Segment Growth

The DMS business has been the main source of growth in the digital segment, growing 30% in the quarter, and is expected to grow at a similar pace in Q2.

Negative Factors

Ad Sales Relationship Loss

The end of an ad sales relationship towards year end is expected to be a $15 million headwind for 2025.

Cash Flow Strain

The company has $24 million of principle due next year, and the difficult ad environment is a strain on cash flow trends.

Macro Uncertainty

Macro uncertainty, particularly around tariffs and rates were noted as adding to uncertainty and pressuring ad spend, in addition to the shorter-term challenges from the loss of some content relationships.

Cumulus Media Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Cumulus Media Inc. (CMLS) is a leading media and entertainment company that operates a diversified portfolio of radio stations across the United States, focusing on both AM and FM broadcasting. The company is also engaged in the production and distribution of digital content, including podcasts and online radio, and offers advertising solutions to reach various audiences. Cumulus Media's core products include traditional radio programming, digital streaming services, and advertising packages tailored for local and national businesses.

How the Company Makes Money

Cumulus Media generates revenue primarily through advertising sales, which is the largest portion of its income. The company sells airtime to advertisers who want to promote their products or services to the station's listeners. Additionally, Cumulus earns money from digital media initiatives, including online streaming and podcast advertising, which have become increasingly important as consumption habits shift. The company also benefits from partnerships with local businesses for cross-promotions and event sponsorships. Furthermore, Cumulus Media has engaged in strategic acquisitions to enhance its market presence and expand its revenue base, allowing it to capitalize on synergies and improve operational efficiencies.

Cumulus Media Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Cumulus Media faces significant financial challenges with declining revenues, high leverage, and net losses. The negative equity and cash flow issues pose substantial risks, although there are slight improvements in operating cash flow. Urgent strategic and operational adjustments are needed to stabilize and improve financial health.

Income Statement

Cumulus Media is experiencing declining revenue and negative profitability. TTM (Trailing-Twelve-Months) revenue decreased compared to the previous periods, with a current gross profit margin of 68.84%. The company reported significant net losses, and negative EBIT and EBITDA margins, indicating operational challenges.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet shows high leverage with a debt-to-equity ratio of -31.82 due to negative stockholders' equity, indicating financial instability. Return on equity is not meaningful given the negative equity. The equity ratio is also negative, highlighting potential solvency issues.

Cash Flow

The company shows some improvement in operating cash flow to net income ratio, but overall free cash flow remains negative. The free cash flow to net income ratio is also negative, suggesting difficulties in generating cash relative to net losses.

Breakdown	TTM	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement
Total Revenue	795.54M	827.08M	844.55M	953.51M	916.47M	816.22M
Gross Profit	491.23M	502.83M	511.19M	596.03M	557.78M	479.14M
EBITDA	65.60M	59.20M	81.83M	158.40M	119.65M	59.51M
Net Income	-286.59M	-283.25M	-117.88M	16.23M	17.28M	-59.72M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	1.11B	1.12B	1.44B	1.61B	1.72B	1.86B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	96.75M	63.84M	80.66M	107.43M	177.03M	271.76M
Total Debt	845.92M	794.71M	813.08M	862.35M	952.96M	1.13B
Total Liabilities	1.14B	1.11B	1.15B	1.20B	1.30B	1.46B
Stockholders Equity	-37.09M	6.95M	286.58M	408.40M	419.50M	397.59M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	-4.57M	-22.58M	6.85M	47.42M	39.43M	18.34M
Operating Cash Flow	13.41M	-3.12M	31.66M	78.48M	68.52M	33.21M
Investing Cash Flow	-17.15M	-4.23M	-6.82M	-26.24M	-1.54M	64.36M
Financing Cash Flow	46.99M	-9.47M	-51.61M	-121.84M	-161.71M	157.19M

Cumulus Media Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 0.17
• 50DMA: Positive
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For CMLS, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 0.17 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 0.15, above the 50-day MA of 0.13, and below the 200-day MA of 0.49, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of <0.01 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 52.08 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 41.60 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for CMLS.

Cumulus Media Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
SGA	64 Neutral	$86.94M	40.49	1.23%	7.72%	-1.72%	-66.67%
Sector *	60 Neutral	$44.01B	1.91	-11.93%	4.00%	2.46%	-39.70%
IHRT	54 Neutral	$271.71M	―	86.54%	―	3.18%	62.89%
UONE	46 Neutral	$42.12M	―	-97.71%	―	-10.63%	-61.23%
BBGI	45 Neutral	$8.22M	3.37	-5.76%	―	-5.52%	87.59%
CMLS	41 Neutral	$15.14M	―	-274.30%	―	-4.57%	-103.56%

Cumulus Media Corporate Events

Cumulus Media Holds Annual Shareholder Meeting

On May 30, 2025, Cumulus Media held its Annual Meeting where shareholders voted on several key proposals. All seven nominees were elected as directors, the compensation for named executive officers was approved, and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP was ratified as the independent registered public accounting firm for 2025.