Zinger Key Points
Nexstar's Q1 net revenue was in line with expectations, but advertising revenue declined due to market softness and lower political spending The company raised its quarterly dividend by 10% and repurchased $75 million in shares during the quarter. Get prepared for the Fed’s next move—live with Matt Maley on Wednesday, May 7 at 6 PM ET. Reserve your free spot now.Nexstar Media Group, Inc. NXST shares are trading higher on Thursday. The company reported first-quarter FY25 net revenue decrease of 3.9% year over year (Y/Y) to $1.234 billion, which align s with the consensus .
Nexstar Media Group owns a diverse portfolio of media brands, including national television networks like The CW and NewsNation and digital assets like The Hill and NewsNationNow.com.
Revenues from Advertising declined 10.2% Y/Y to $460 million due to a $32 million drop in political advertising and a $20 million reduction in non-political advertising revenue on the softness of the advertising markets.
Distribution revenue remained almost flat year over year at $762 million. This segment benefited from annual rate increases, higher vMVPD subscribers, and CW affiliation additions.
Also Read: Nexstar Stock Dips As Short Seller Warns Of “Kodak Moment”
Adjusted EBITDA fell 15.7% Y/Y to $381 million, and the margin contracted to 30.9% from 35.2% a year ago.
EPS was $3.37, down from $5.16 in the prior-year quarter, but it beat the consensus estimate of $3.35.
Adjusted free cash flow totaled $348 million, down from $389 million in the prior year quarter. As of March 31, 2025, cash stood at $253 million.
Dividend: The Board of Directors raised the quarterly cash dividend by 10% to $1.86 per share, payable on June 2, to shareholders of record as of May 19, 2025 .
Buyback: The company repurchased shares worth $75 million in the quarter.
Nexstar CEO Perry A. Sook said, “As the nation’s largest local broadcaster, we strategically use our scale to drive strong operating results and cash flow and facilitate organic growth initiatives as we further elevate The CW and NewsNation to top-tier networks.”
”For the balance of 2025, we remain focused on renewing distribution contracts representing approximately 60% of our subscriber base in total for the year, continuing our path towards profitability at The CW, preparing for the 2026 political cycle, and pursuing deregulation.”
Investors can gain exposure to the stock via Alpha Architect U.S. Quantitative Value ETF QVAL and WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Quality Growth Fund QSML .
Price Action: Nexstar shares are up 8.45% to $169.07 at the last check on Thursday.
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Loading... Loading... NXST Nexstar Media Group Inc $169.00 8.41%Stock Score Locked: Want to See it?
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Momentum 37.15 Growth 64.69 Quality 88.25 Value 42.63Price Trend
Short Medium Long Overview QSML WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Quality Growth Fund $24.46 1.68% QVAL Alpha Architect U.S. Quantitative Value ETF $42.94 2.19% Got Questions? Ask Which advertising companies might face challenges? How could Nexstar's dividend increase attract investors? What impact will political advertising shifts have on media stocks? Are there opportunities in local broadcasting due to deregulation? Which media ETFs could benefit from Nexstar's growth plans? How will distribution contract renewals affect revenues? What might be the long-term effects of Nexstar's buyback strategy? Could streaming services capitalize on Nexstar's challenges? What role will share repurchases play in stock valuation? How might Nexstar's cash flow management impact investor confidence? Powered By Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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