iHeartMedia (IHRT)
NASDAQ:IHRT
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iHeartMedia
(NASDAQ:IHRT)
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Rating:48Neutral
Price Target:
$2.50
▼(-23.78% Downside)
Action:ReiteratedDate:03/03/26
IHRT scores lower primarily due to a stressed financial profile (high leverage, negative equity, and persistent net losses with limited recent free cash flow). The earnings call provides a meaningful offset via upbeat 2026 EBITDA/FCF guidance and defined cost-savings and digital growth drivers, but technicals remain weak and valuation signals are constrained by negative earnings.
Positive Factors
High‑margin Digital Audio & Podcasts
iHeart’s digital audio and podcast operations show durable structural strength: high revenue growth and EBITDA margins (~34%) indicate scalable ad inventory, improving monetization and margin contribution that can sustainably offset lower‑margin legacy radio over the medium term.
Negative Factors
Very high leverage and negative equity
A large debt burden and negative shareholder equity materially reduce financial flexibility, raise refinancing risk, and make the company sensitive to interest cost and macro shocks. This structural leverage constraint limits strategic optionality and increases vulnerability to earnings volatility.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
High‑margin Digital Audio & Podcasts
iHeart’s digital audio and podcast operations show durable structural strength: high revenue growth and EBITDA margins (~34%) indicate scalable ad inventory, improving monetization and margin contribution that can sustainably offset lower‑margin legacy radio over the medium term.
Read all positive factors
iHeartMedia (IHRT) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$485.21M
Dividend YieldN/A
Average Volume (3M)915.35K
Price to Earnings (P/E)―
Beta (1Y)1.75
Revenue Growth1.39%
EPS Growth61.75%
CountryUS
Employees8,080
SectorCommunication Services
Sector Strength97
IndustryBroadcasting
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)-0.27
Shares Outstanding129,552,140
10 Day Avg. Volume768,817
30 Day Avg. Volume915,354
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio0.03
Price to Book (P/B)-0.35
Price to Sales (P/S)0.17
P/FCF Ratio59.17
Enterprise Value/Market Cap12.31
Enterprise Value/Revenue1.54
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit3.16
Enterprise Value/Ebitda9.31
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$3.13Price Target Upside-4.57% Downside
Rating ConsensusModerate Sell
Number of Analyst Covering4
EPS Forecast (FY)0.45
Revenue Forecast (FY)$4.07B
iHeartMedia Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
iHeartMedia, Inc. operates as a media and entertainment company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Multiplatform Group, Digital Audio Group, and Audio & Media Services Group. The Multiplatform Group segment offers broadcast radio stati...
How the Company Makes Money
iHeartMedia primarily makes money by selling advertising and sponsorship inventory across its audio platforms. Its core revenue stream is radio advertising: the company sells local and national ad spots on its owned-and-operated broadcast stations...
iHeartMedia Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Mar 02, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Apr 30, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call emphasizes strong momentum in Digital Audio and podcasting (double-digit revenue and EBITDA growth, improving margins), meaningful programmatic and partnership progress, improved free cash flow and a concrete cost-savings plan. Offsetting these positives are near-term profitability pressure in the Multiplatform and Audio & Media Services segments (largely driven by tough political-year comps), high net leverage and interest expense, and some timing-related EBITDA volatility from noncash programmatic investments. Management provided constructive 2026 guidance (targeting ~$800M EBITDA, ~$200M FCF, and ~50% programmatic growth) and clear cost-savings targets, signaling confidence in recovery and margin expansion over the year.Positive Updates
Consolidated Revenue Growth (Ex-Political)
Consolidated revenue of $1.1B in Q4, up 0.8% year-over-year; excluding the impact of political revenue, consolidated revenue was up 7.7%.
Negative Updates
Q4 Adjusted EBITDA Decline
Q4 consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $220M (midpoint of guidance) vs $246M prior year (down $26M, ~10.6%); prior-year quarter benefited from approximately $80M of political revenue, making comps challenging.
Read all updates
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Consolidated Revenue Growth (Ex-Political)
Consolidated revenue of $1.1B in Q4, up 0.8% year-over-year; excluding the impact of political revenue, consolidated revenue was up 7.7%.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
iHeart guided to Q1 2026 adjusted EBITDA of approximately $100 million and consolidated revenue up high single digits (January was up ~1% YoY, versus a tough Jan‑2025 comp of +5.5%). Q1 segment guidance: Digital Audio Group revenue up mid‑teens with podcast revenue up in the low‑20s, Multiplatform Group revenue up mid‑single digits, and Audio & Media Services revenue up high single digits. For full‑year 2026 they expect adjusted EBITDA of ≈$800 million and free cash flow of ≈$200 million, including ~ $200 million of programmatic revenue (up ~50% from $135M in 2025), ~$100 million of in‑year cost savings ( $50M previously announced + $50M new, benefitting beginning in Q2), interest expense of ≈$440M, cash taxes ~5% of adjusted EBITDA, capex ≈$90M, cash restructuring ≈$50M, working capital to be a source of cash (driven by upfront political receipts), and a year‑end net leverage target in the mid‑5s (vs. ~6.6x at year‑end 2025); management also expects the Multiplatform Group to return to EBITDA growth and continued podcast and programmatic momentum.iHeartMedia Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
34
Negative
Balance Sheet
18
Very Negative
Cash Flow
41
Neutral
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 3.86B | 3.85B | 3.75B | 3.91B | 3.56B |
| Gross Profit | 1.89B | 2.27B | 2.26B | 2.43B | 2.23B |
| EBITDA | 641.66M | 569.15M | 599.46M | 529.39M | 682.01M |
| Net Income | -472.87M | -1.01B | -1.10B | -264.66M | -159.20M |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 5.60B | 5.57B | 6.95B | 8.34B | 8.88B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 270.92M | 259.58M | 346.38M | 336.24M | 352.13M |
| Total Debt | 5.79B | 5.86B | 6.05B | 6.33B | 6.57B |
| Total Liabilities | 7.43B | 6.94B | 7.34B | 7.65B | 7.97B |
| Stockholders Equity | -1.83B | -1.38B | -394.15M | 674.90M | 907.36M |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 10.91M | -26.16M | 110.39M | 259.11M | 147.20M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 92.58M | 71.43M | 213.06M | 420.07M | 330.57M |
| Investing Cash Flow | -66.24M | 508.00K | -51.33M | -129.23M | -346.79M |
| Financing Cash Flow | -15.31M | -158.34M | -152.16M | -306.11M | -352.12M |
iHeartMedia Technical Analysis
Positive
3.28
Price Trends
3.13
Positive
3.60
Negative
3.04
Positive
Market Momentum
>-0.01
Negative
59.90
Neutral
94.54
Negative
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For IHRT, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 3.28 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 2.86, above the 50-day MA of 3.13, and above the 200-day MA of 3.04, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of >-0.01 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 59.90 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 94.54 is Negative, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for IHRT.
iHeartMedia Risk Analysis
iHeartMedia disclosed 30 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. iHeartMedia reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
iHeartMedia Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (60)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
60 Neutral | $48.67B | 4.58 | -11.27% | 4.14% | 2.83% | -41.78% | |
55 Neutral | $290.60M | -3.82 | -98.27% | 6.56% | -45.95% | -75.87% | |
52 Neutral | $353.44M | -3.48 | 1.81% | ― | -3.27% | 86.01% | |
52 Neutral | $75.99M | -8.92 | -6.46% | 8.81% | -0.77% | -93.46% | |
48 Neutral | $485.21M | -1.37 | 27.00% | ― | 1.39% | 61.75% | |
47 Neutral | $60.96M | -0.69 | -84.51% | ― | 83.96% | -73.70% | |
40 Underperform | $10.23M | -0.67 | -5.86% | ― | -7.78% | -369.53% |
* Communication Services Sector Average
IHRT
iHeartMedia
3.50
2.28
186.89%
BBGI
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5.67
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7.59%
SSP
E. W. Scripps Company Class A
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66.11%
EVC
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3.16
1.39
78.63%
SGA
Saga Communications
11.80
1.18
11.13%
MDIA
Mediaco Holding
0.75
-0.35
-31.65%
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.