Nexstar Media Group (NXST) Q2 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved record Q2 2026 results: $2B revenue, $633M adjusted EBITDA, and $238M free cash flow, more than doubling year-over-year, driven by the TEGNA acquisition, strong political and sports advertising, and operational efficiencies.

• Completed the TEGNA merger on March 19, 2026, expanding operational scale to cover approximately 80% of U.S. TV households.

• Net income rose 24.2% to $113M, with adjusted EBITDA up 62.7% to $633M.

• Returned $57M to shareholders via dividends and repaid $409M in debt during the quarter.

• Expanded reach and content through new distribution partnerships, ATSC 3.0 deployment in top 20 DMAs, and significant audience growth for NewsNation and The CW.

Financial highlights

• Net revenue rose 62.2% year-over-year to $1.99B, with $697M from TEGNA and higher legacy advertising/distribution.

• Distribution revenue up 52.3% to $1.1B; advertising revenue up 81.5% to $862M, with $147M in political ads.

• Adjusted EBITDA reached $633M (31.8% margin), up $244M from Q2 2025; adjusted free cash flow more than doubled to $238M.

• CapEx was $45M; net interest expense $190M, both up due to TEGNA acquisition.

• Net income margin decreased to 5.7% from 7.4% due to one-time TEGNA transaction expenses and higher interest.

Outlook and guidance

• Non-political advertising expected to decline mid-single digits in Q3, but improve sequentially from Q2.

• Strong political ad revenue anticipated for the remainder of 2026, with internal targets raised.

• The CW on track for Q4 profitability, with full-year losses improving by over 30%.

• Projected Q3 CapEx ~$50M; cash taxes ~$65M; interest expense ~$185M.

• Management anticipates sufficient liquidity and compliance with debt covenants for at least the next 12 months.