Cumulus Notes 11.5% Earnings Decline In Q3 Report

Cumulus Media 2018 Mary BernerCumulus Media has announced its Q3 2025 earnings report for the quarter ending on September 30 noting a year-over-year decline of 11.5%.

Cumulus net revenue was $180.3 million for the quarter with digital revenue down 2.6% from last year at $39 million, although it would be up 8.4% if subtracting its eliminated relationships with Dan Bongino and the Daily Wire. Cumulus says its digital marketing services grew 34% and now represents 50% of total digital revenue following investments made in its digital sales organization, training, operational execution teams, product capabilities, partnerships, and marketing.

Cumulus ended the quarter with $90.4 million cash after a net loss of $20.4 million compared to $10.3 million in Q3 2024. The company noted it executed actions resulting in $7 million of annualized fixed cost reductions, bringing year-to-date savings to $20 million and total annualized fixed cost reductions since 2019 to $182 million, or over 30%.

Cumulus reported total debt of $722.2 million, total debt at maturity of $697.1 million, and net debt less total unamortized discount of $606.7 million at September 30, 2025, including total debt due in 2026 of $23.9 million.

Cumulus President/CEO Mary Berner said, “In an advertising environment that remained challenging for legacy media, we continued to outperform. We once again gained market share in total broadcast spot as well as in digital, where our market share gains reflected the strong growth of our digital marketing services business, which was up 34% in the quarter. Additionally, we remained highly focused on re-engineering the business, reducing annualized fixed costs by $7 million and accelerating our efforts to implement a wide array of AI initiatives to drive efficiencies and enhance growth. These results underscore our disciplined focus on optimizing performance in areas that we can control. While we do not expect the current headwinds to abate in the near-term, we remain confident in our ability to position the Company for long-term success through strong execution and by maximizing value from the Company’s underlying assets.”

Operating Summary (dollars in thousands, except percentages and per share data):

For the three months ended September 30, 2025, the Company reported net revenue of $180.3 million, a decrease of 11.5% from the three months ended September 30, 2024, net loss of $20.4 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $16.7 million.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2025, the Company reported net revenue of $553.6 million, a decrease of 9.0% from the nine months ended September 30, 2024, net loss of $65.6 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $42.5 million.

As ReportedThree Months Ended
September 30, 2025
Three Months Ended
September 30, 2024
% Change
Net revenue$180,255$203,598(11.5)%
Net loss$(20,407)$(10,321)(97.7)%
Adjusted EBITDA$16,653$24,051(30.8)%
Basic loss per share$(1.17)$(0.61)(91.8)%
Diluted loss per share$(1.17)$(0.61)(91.8)%
As ReportedNine Months Ended
September 30, 2025
Nine Months Ended
September 30, 2024
% Change
Net revenue$553,621$608,500(9.0)%
Net loss$(65,595)$(52,174)(25.7)%
Adjusted EBITDA$42,530$57,669(26.3)%
Basic loss per share$(3.78)$(3.10)(21.9)%
Diluted loss per share$(3.78)$(3.10)(21.9)%

Revenue Detail Summary (dollars in thousands):

As ReportedThree Months Ended
September 30, 2025
Three Months Ended
September 30, 2024
% Change
Broadcast radio revenue:
Spot$83,722$96,397(13.1)%
Network31,27142,564(26.5)%
Total broadcast radio revenue114,993138,961(17.2)%
Digital38,96240,020(2.6)%
Other26,30024,6176.8%
Net revenue$180,255$203,598(11.5)%
As ReportedNine Months Ended
September 30, 2025
Nine Months Ended
September 30, 2024
% Change
Broadcast radio revenue:
Spot$255,837$288,776(11.4)%
Network102,490126,032(18.7)%
Total broadcast radio revenue358,327414,808(13.6)%
Digital114,359113,8640.4%
Other80,93579,8281.4%
Net revenue$553,621$608,500(9.0)%

Balance Sheet Summary (dollars in thousands):

September 30, 2025December 31, 2024
Cash and cash equivalents$90,414$63,836
Term Loan due 2026 (2)$1,203$1,203
Senior Notes due 2026 (2)$22,697$22,697
Term Loan due 2029 (2) (3)$324,330$326,514
Senior Notes due 2029 (2) (3)$318,984$321,181
2020 Revolving credit facility$55,000$
Three Months Ended
September 30, 2025
Three Months Ended
September 30, 2024
Capital expenditures$4,394$3,328
Nine Months Ended
September 30, 2025
Nine Months Ended
September 30, 2024
Capital expenditures$15,462$15,881
(1)Adjusted EBITDA, total debt at maturity and net debt less total unamortized discount are not financial measures calculated or presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). For additional information, see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
(2)Excludes any debt issuance costs
(3)The exchange offer was accounted for as a debt modification resulting in a prospective yield adjustment and the carrying value was not changed. The $33.1 million difference between the principal amounts exchanged and the resulting principal amounts will be amortized to interest expense (thereby reducing interest expense) over the life of the debt. As of September 30, 2025, $12.5 million and $12.6 million of unamortized difference for the Term Loan due 2029 and the Senior Notes due 2029, respectively, remain.

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