National CineMedia, Inc.

Second quarter total revenue was $58.4 million, up 12.7% year over year. Total advertising revenue was $54.4 million, up 14.3% from $47.6 million. Adjusted OIBDA was $2.1 million, up 3x year over year. Attendance increased 19.3% year over year. Local revenue increased 48.4% to $9.5 million, national advertising revenue was about $45 million, and programmatic revenue grew 45% year over year. Operating loss was approximately $12.8 million, and unlevered free cash flow was negative $2.1 million, a 70% improvement versus the prior year. Year to date, revenue was $92.4 million versus $86.6 million last year, and adjusted OIBDA was negative $8.5 million versus negative $8.3 million. NCM ended the quarter with approximately $46.1 million of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and marketable securities, and total debt of approximately $12 million. Guidance was not provided because of the pending Captivate transaction.

Tom Lesinski framed Captivate as the next step in building a market-defining premium video and digital out-of-home platform. He emphasized the strategic fit: overlapping premium audiences, more reach across where consumers live, work, and play, and a stronger local and programmatic offering. His tone was constructive and confident, pointing to a strong box office backdrop, a growing local business, and what he called a transformative growth strategy.

Ronnie Ng said Q2 was broadly in line with expectations despite June film-mix headwinds and FIFA World Cup-related ad budget pressure. He cited $58.4 million of revenue, $2.1 million of adjusted OIBDA, $9.5 million of local revenue, $45 million of national revenue, and $46.1 million of cash versus about $12 million of debt. He also said the operational transformation has produced $2.7 million of savings year to date and that NCM remains on track for about $11 million in annualized run-rate cost savings, with up to $6 million by the end of 2026. On Captivate, he highlighted 2025 revenue of about $64 million, adjusted EBITDA of $19.3 million, a 30% EBITDA margin, only about $3 million of annual capex, at least $3.5 million of annual run-rate cost synergies within year 1, and expected net leverage of about 3.9x at close.

Analysts focused on why NCM is buying Captivate now, how the $275 million price maps to EBITDA, leverage tolerance, and whether the company would give Q3 guidance. Management said the deal is a complementary extension of NCM’s core, that the 10x multiple includes the expected $3.5 million of cost savings and the outlook for full-year 2026, and that leverage should be meaningfully below 5x before synergies and delever over 2 to 3 years. When asked about growth, management pointed to normalized return-to-office demand, 40% revenue growth and more than 50% EBITDA growth over the last 2 years, plus room to expand residential, commercial penetration, and cross-selling. They declined to provide Q3 guidance because the deal timing could leave partial-period consolidation in the quarter.