Gray Television Projects Higher Political Ad Revenues Amid Election Year - Read Why

Gray Television, Inc. GTN shares are trading higher after reporting first-quarter results.

The company reported quarterly earnings per share of 79 cents, beating the analyst consensus of 18 cents. 

The company reported quarterly revenues of $823 million, missing the street view of $824.985 million.

The first quarter of 2024 produced strong core advertising results, including $372 million in core advertising revenue, an increase of $15 million or 4% compared to 2023.

Gray Television also benefited from continued strong advertiser demand for local content, including numerous professional sporting events on stations, from the Super Bowl to local packages of NBA games.

In the first quarter, the company earned approximately $18 million of net revenue from the broadcast of the Super Bowl on its 54 CBS channels, compared to an aggregate of $6 million of net revenue relating to the broadcast of the Super Bowl on the 27 FOX channels during the first quarter of 2023.

Quartrly adjusted EBITDA was $197 million, an increase of 21% from the first quarter of 2023.

The company exited the quarter with cash and equivalents worth $134 million.

On May 6, 2024, the company authorized to use up to $250 million of available liquidity to repurchase its outstanding indebtedness through December 31, 2025.

Outlook: Gray Television expects second-quarter revenue of $828 million-$846 million versus the $853.5 million estimate.

“Consistent with expectations, we are currently guiding for political advertising revenue in the second quarter of 2024 to range between 55% and 72% higher than the second quarter of 2020,” the company said.

Price Action: GTN shares are trading higher by 4.95% to $6.99 at last check Tuesday.