Tuesday, March 02, 2021
E.W. Scripps Company (SSP)
Several Surprising Comments On The Investor Call
The E.W. Scripps Co. (www.scripps.com) serves audiences and businesses through a growing portfolio of television, print and digital media brands. After approval of its acquisition of two Granite Broadcasting stations later this year, Scripps will own 21 local television stations as well as daily newspapers in 13 markets across the United States. It also runs an expanding collection of local and national digital journalism and information businesses including digital video news service Newsy. Scripps also produces television programming, runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and serves as the longtime steward of one of the nation’s largest, most successful and longest-running educational programs, Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1879, Scripps is focused on the stories of tomorrow.
Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.
Q4 results in line with expectations. Total company revenues of $591.1 million were in line with our $588.3 million estimate. Cash flow, as measured by Adj. EBITDA, was $206.6 million, in line with our $205.8 million estimate. Notably, Local core advertising was slightly better than expected, while Katz was slightly lower than expected.
Improving core advertising trends. Management indicated that March core advertising is pacing up mid single digits. This is considered to be strong given that the year earlier advertising did not fall off significantly until Q2. It indicates that advertising is building and is very encouraging heading into the second quarter against the year earlier advertising impact from the Pandemic …
This research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).
*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision.
