Cumulus Media Inc.

Q2 total revenue declined 9.2% year over year, or 5% excluding political and the Daily Wire/Dan Bongino comparison impact. EBITDA for the quarter was $22.4 million. Digital revenue was up 20% ex comparison items, and digital marketing services revenue rose 38% year over year; management said that business is pacing up more than 35% in Q3 and should surpass a $100 million run rate early next year. Total expenses fell by approximately $16 million year over year, including about $10 million of fixed-cost reductions, and the company executed $5 million of annualized fixed cost reductions in the quarter. Cash ended at $97 million, debt at maturity was $697 million, net debt was $600 million excluding the $27 million principal debt reduction from the 2024 exchange offer, and second-quarter capex was $5.5 million. For Q3, management said total revenue is pacing down low double digits, or down approximately mid-single digits excluding political and excluding Daily Wire net of the Bongino impact; full-year capex is now expected to be below the prior $22.5 million guide.

Mary Berner framed the quarter as a difficult macro backdrop but said the company continued to outperform peers in areas it controls, especially ratings share, local digital marketing services, and cost discipline. She emphasized 11 straight quarters of ratings share growth in PPM markets, 38% DMS growth, and progress using AI and business reengineering to create efficiencies and future growth options. Her tone was cautious on near-term broadcast demand but confident that Cumulus can keep outperforming and building value from its core assets.

Frank Lopez-Balboa focused on the financial bridge between weak broadcast revenue and strong digital execution. He quantified the quarter with revenue down 9.2%, EBITDA of $22.4 million, expenses down about $16 million year over year, and $5 million of annualized fixed-cost cuts in Q2, bringing total fixed-cost reductions since 2019 to $175 million. On the balance sheet, he highlighted $97 million of cash, $697 million of debt at maturity, $600 million of net debt excluding the $27 million exchange-offer principal reduction, a $55 million ABL draw, capex of $5.5 million, and expected noncore asset sales of nearly $14 million by year-end.

Analysts focused on whether lower interest rates could improve national advertising, but management said they are not seeing pacing improvement yet and that national advertising remains lumpy. They also asked about exposure to declining referral/search traffic; Mary Berner said search is a very small part of digital, though it could affect ROI somewhat, and she said the team continually fine-tunes campaigns. On podcasting, management said growth is being driven by new shows, audience gains across audio and video, and multi-platform ad packaging, with examples including Shawn Ryan Show and The Benny Show. On costs, management said the recent reductions help, but incremental savings should be more modest going forward given the large base already removed.