Cumulus Media (CMLS) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $14.04M
• Dividend Yield: N/A
• Average Volume (3M): 29.57K
• Price to Earnings (P/E): ―
• Beta (1Y): 1.62
• Revenue Growth: -6.94%
• EPS Growth: -92.29%
• Country: US
• Employees: 2,250
• Sector: Communication Services
• Sector Strength: 97
• Industry: Broadcasting
• EPS (TTM): -1.17
• Shares Outstanding: 17,128,042
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 22,326
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 29,570
• PEG Ratio: >-0.01
• Price to Book (P/B): 1.63
• Price to Sales (P/S): 0.01
• P/FCF Ratio: -0.50
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: 53.77
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: 0.98
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: 1.56
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: 13.93
• 1Y Price Target: N/A
• Price Target Upside: N/A
• Rating Consensus: Hold
• Number of Analyst Covering: 1
• EPS Forecast (FY): N/A
• Revenue Forecast (FY): N/A

• Rating: 46 Neutral
• Price Target: $0.08 ▼(-2.50% Downside)

The score is primarily constrained by weak financial performance, including declining revenue, materially negative profitability, and a high-risk balance sheet with negative equity. Technicals are only modestly supportive with neutral momentum but a weak longer-term trend, while valuation provides limited help because earnings are negative and no dividend yield is available.

Positive Factors

Scale & Market Reach

A nationwide portfolio of 400+ stations provides durable local market footprints and scale for national advertisers. This distribution breadth supports sustained ad sales, cross-market campaigns and regional pricing power, enabling long-term revenue base and content syndication advantages.

Diversified Audio and Digital Revenue Streams

Multiple monetization channels—linear radio, digital ads, local digital services and podcast sponsorships—reduce single-channel risk. Structurally, this mix positions the company to capture secular audio and local digital ad shifts, improving resilience versus pure-play traditional broadcasters.

Improving Free Cash Flow Trend

Significant year-over-year FCF growth indicates progress on cash conversion and operational improvements. If sustained, rising free cash flow can fund deleveraging, reinvestment in digital/podcast initiatives and reduce reliance on external financing, enhancing long-term solvency.

Negative Factors

Persistent Net Losses and Weak Cash Conversion

Sustained heavy net losses and poor OCF-to-net-income conversion indicate the business is not yet self-financing. Ongoing negative cash generation increases dependence on external capital, restricting reinvestment in digital growth and heightening solvency risk if advertising revenues weaken.

Declining Revenue and Margin Compression

Falling revenue and a sharp drop in gross margin signal structural pressure on core advertising economics, reducing the company's ability to absorb costs or invest. Persisting revenue contraction and margin compression undermine sustainable profitability and limit cash available for strategic initiatives.

Negative Equity and Extreme Leverage

Negative equity and extreme leverage materially impair financial flexibility. This structural balance-sheet weakness raises refinancing and covenant risks, constrains capital allocation, and makes the company vulnerable to interest-rate or ad-market shocks over the medium term.

Cumulus Media Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Cumulus Media Inc., an audio-first media company, owns and operates radio stations in the United States. It owns and operates 406 stations in 86 markets, as well as approximately 9,500 affiliated stations through Westwood One. The company's content portfolio includes sports, news, talk, and entertainment programming from various brands, including the NFL, the NCAA, the Masters, CNN, the AP, the Academy of Country Music Awards, and other partners. It also provides digital marketing services, such as email marketing, geo-targeted display and video solutions, website and microsite building, hosting, social media management, reputation management, and search engine marketing and optimization. The company serves advertisers through broadcast and on-demand digital, mobile, social, and voice-activated platforms. Cumulus Media Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

How the Company Makes Money

Cumulus Media generates revenue primarily through advertising sales, which includes both traditional radio advertising and digital advertising across its online platforms. The company sells air time to advertisers who want to reach listeners in specific markets, capitalizing on its extensive audience reach. Additionally, Cumulus earns revenue from its digital marketing services, including social media management and website development for local businesses. The company also benefits from partnerships with national advertisers and content providers, enabling it to enhance its programming and expand its audience. Moreover, Cumulus monetizes its podcasting network through sponsorships and advertising, tapping into the growing demand for on-demand audio content.

Cumulus Media Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Weak fundamentals: declining revenue (TTM growth -2.93%), sharply lower gross margin (60.79% in 2024 to 47.14% TTM), and deeply negative net margin (-38.42% TTM). Balance sheet risk is elevated with negative equity and extreme leverage (debt-to-equity -14.83). Cash flow shows improvement (TTM FCF growth 123.68%) but remains negative with limited cash conversion versus losses (operating cash flow to net income 0.06).

Income Statement

Cumulus Media's income statement reveals significant challenges. The company has experienced declining revenue over the past few years, with a negative revenue growth rate of -2.93% in the TTM. The gross profit margin has decreased from 60.79% in 2024 to 47.14% in the TTM, indicating reduced efficiency in generating profit from revenue. Net profit margins have also been negative, with a substantial decline to -38.42% in the TTM, reflecting ongoing losses. The EBIT and EBITDA margins are weak, further highlighting profitability issues.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet shows a precarious financial position. The debt-to-equity ratio is highly negative at -14.83 in the TTM, indicating excessive leverage and negative equity, which poses a significant risk. Return on equity is positive at 10.61% in the TTM, but this is due to negative equity, which distorts the metric. The company's equity ratio is not calculable due to negative equity, highlighting financial instability.

Cash Flow

Cash flow analysis shows some improvement, with free cash flow growth of 123.68% in the TTM. However, free cash flow remains negative, and the operating cash flow to net income ratio is low at 0.06, indicating limited cash generation relative to net losses. The free cash flow to net income ratio is negative, reflecting ongoing cash flow challenges.

Breakdown	TTM	Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement
Total Revenue	772.20M	827.08M	844.55M	953.51M	916.47M	816.22M
Gross Profit	484.00M	502.83M	511.19M	596.03M	557.78M	479.14M
EBITDA	54.19M	59.20M	81.83M	158.40M	138.13M	37.02M
Net Income	-296.68M	-283.25M	-117.88M	16.23M	17.28M	-59.72M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets	1.08B	1.12B	1.44B	1.61B	1.72B	1.86B
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments	90.41M	63.84M	80.66M	107.43M	177.03M	271.76M
Total Debt	843.97M	794.71M	813.08M	862.35M	988.00M	1.13B
Total Liabilities	1.14B	1.11B	1.15B	1.20B	1.30B	1.46B
Stockholders Equity	-56.92M	6.95M	286.58M	408.40M	419.50M	397.59M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow	-10.22M	-22.58M	6.85M	47.42M	39.43M	18.34M
Operating Cash Flow	8.82M	-3.12M	31.66M	78.48M	68.52M	33.21M
Investing Cash Flow	-17.73M	-4.23M	-6.82M	-26.24M	-1.54M	64.36M
Financing Cash Flow	47.16M	-9.47M	-51.61M	-121.84M	-161.71M	157.19M

Cumulus Media Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 0.08
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Positive
• 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 0.08 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 0.10, below the 50-day MA of 0.10, and below the 200-day MA of 0.13, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of >-0.01 indicates Positive momentum. The RSI at 44.60 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 20.81 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	62 Neutral	$73.67M	231.11	0.18%	8.81%	-0.77%	-93.46%
Sector *	60 Neutral	$48.67B	4.58	-11.27%	4.14%	2.83%	-41.78%
UONE	55 Neutral	$44.09M	-0.39	-90.36%	―	-13.08%	-69.47%
CMLS	46 Neutral	$14.04M	>-0.01	-329.89%	―	-6.94%	-92.29%
IHRT	44 Neutral	$458.68M	-1.23	―	―	1.39%	61.75%
MDIA	44 Neutral	$53.94M	-1.17	-53.47%	―	83.96%	-73.70%
BBGI	40 Underperform	$8.86M	-1.02	-5.90%	―	-7.78%	-369.53%

Cumulus Media Corporate Events

Cumulus Media appoints Carol Flaton to board

On January 14–15, 2026, Cumulus Media announced that longtime director Joan Hogan Gillman resigned from its Board of Directors and was succeeded by Carol Flaton, with both changes effective January 15, 2026. Flaton, an independent director under SEC rules, brings more than 30 years of experience in financial services, investment banking, and governance, including senior roles at AlixPartners and Lazard and board service at multiple companies such as QVC Group, and will receive $40,000 per month in cash compensation for her board role; the move is positioned to strengthen Cumulus Media’s board-level financial expertise and oversight as the company continues executing its strategic plan, while the Board publicly acknowledged Gillman’s eight years of contributions.

The most recent analyst rating on (CMLS) stock is a Hold with a $0.10 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Cumulus Media stock, see the CMLS Stock Forecast page.