Yahoo Finance

Richard Bressler

Thank you, Bob, and good afternoon. Our Q1 2025 consolidated revenue was up 1% year-over-year, above the guidance we provided of down low-single digits due to March coming in slightly better than we were expecting in both our Multiplatform and Digital segments.
Let me provide you with some additional granularity on our advertising revenue performance this quarter. As a reminder, we have no advertising category greater than about 5% of our total advertising revenue and no individual advertiser that is more than 2% of our total advertising revenue.
In the first quarter, our top five largest advertising categories in terms of total revenue were health care, financial services, homebuilding and improvement, entertainment and auto. In terms of gains and declines in absolute dollars, as you can see on slide 9, the four largest gains in the first quarter were professional services, tech and telco, beauty and fitness and education. And the four categories that declined the most were restaurants, auto, gambling and political.
Our consolidated direct operating expenses increased 4.4% for the quarter. This increase was primarily driven by higher variable content costs associated with the growth in our digital business, including higher podcast profit sharing expenses and third-party digital costs, partially offset by a decrease in employee compensation costs in connection with our monetization initiatives taken in 2024.
Our consolidated SG&A expenses decreased 1.1% for the quarter, driven primarily by our modernization initiatives, including decreased employee compensation costs, partially offset by an increase in employee health and benefit expenses, including the reestablishment of the 401(k) matching program during the first quarter of 2025 and additional bad debt expense.
We generated first quarter GAAP operating loss of $25.4 million compared to an operating loss of $34.7 million in the prior year quarter. We generated first quarter adjusted EBITDA of $105 million, flat to prior year and at the midpoint of our previously provided guidance range.
Before I turn to our segment performances, I wanted to spend a moment on the modernization initiative we announced on last quarter's call. As a reminder, these actions will generate net savings of $150 million in 2025 when compared to 2024, and our Q1 results included the benefit of $27 million of net savings. This quarter, we have included a slide in our investor presentation, slide 5, that provides a few different ways of identifying the cost savings, including by segment, function and type. Hopefully, this level of granularity is helpful as you update your models.
Turning now to the performance of our operating segments. And as a reminder, there are slides in the earnings presentation on our segment performances. In the first quarter, the Digital Audio Group's revenue was $277 million, up 16% year-over-year and above our guidance of up low-double digits. The Digital Audio Group's adjusted EBITDA was $87 million, up 27.8% year-over-year, and our Q1 margins were 31.4%, up from 28.5% in the prior year.
Within the Digital Audio Group, our podcasting revenues were $116 million, which grew 28% year-over-year and well above the guidance we provided of up high teens. Podcasting's strong Q1 performance with its high EBITDA flow-through helped expand the segment's Q1 adjusted EBITDA margin by nearly 300 basis points compared to prior year. Our first quarter non-podcasting digital revenue grew 8.7% year-over-year to $161 million.
The Multiplatform Group's revenue was $473 million, down 4.2% compared to the prior year and in line with our guidance of down mid-single digits. Excluding the impact of political revenue, our Multiplatform Group revenue was down 3.4%, adjusted EBITDA was $70 million, down 9.3% from $77 million in the prior year quarter. Multiplatform Group's adjusted EBITDA margins were 14.8% compared to 15.6% in the prior year quarter.
Turning to the Audio & Media Services Group. Revenue was $59 million, down 14.2% year-over-year, and adjusted EBITDA was $16 million, down 33.3% from $24 million in the prior year, and most of that decline was driven by Katz television. Excluding the impact of political, the Audio & Media Services Group revenue was down 11.8%.
At quarter end, our net debt was approximately $4.6 billion. Our total liquidity was $569 million, and our cash balance was $168 million. Our quarter ending net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio was 6.5 times. In the first quarter, our free cash flow was a negative $80.7 million, essentially flat to the negative $80.9 million in the prior year quarter. As a reminder, Q1 is our seasonal low point for free cash flow in the year, and we expect to generate positive free cash flow in each of the remaining quarters in 2025.
With Bob's comments on the advertising marketplace as a backdrop, let me now turn to our second quarter guidance. We expect to generate second quarter adjusted EBITDA in the range of $140 million to $160 million compared to $150 million in the prior year. We expect our consolidated Q2 2025 revenue to be down low-single digits compared to prior year. Our April pacing was down 2% compared to prior year and down 1.4%, excluding the impact of political.
Turning to the individual segments for Q2. We expect the Digital Audio Group's revenue to be up low-double digits with podcasting revenue expected to grow in the low 20s. We expect the Multiplatform Group's revenue to be down mid- to high-single digits. And we expect the Audio & Media Services Group revenue to be down approximately 5% due primarily to the impact of political advertising.
The full year guidance we issued last quarter did not contemplate the current macro volatility we are all seeing. Therefore, for us to hit our full year guidance, we will need some positive movement in the macro and improvement to the uncertainty in the back half of the year to avoid the possible negative impact on the advertising marketplace for audio.
Now we will turn it over to the operator to take your questions. Thank you.

Question and Answer Session

Operator

(Operator Instructions) Stephen Laszczyk, Goldman Sachs.

Stephen Laszczyk

Maybe two, if I could. Rich, just on the ad market, I know you mentioned the lack of visibility that's out there in the moment. I'm curious if you could perhaps just add in a little bit of color to what you're seeing out there at the moment in conversations you're having with your ad partners. I'd be curious to what extent they pulled back after the tariff announcements over the last couple of weeks to what extent you might be starting to see them reengage over the last couple of days here, especially post this morning. And I'm curious to what extent -- or what do you think we need to get visibility to return to the ad market here over the next couple of weeks and months.

Robert Pittman

Well, I think the news like today is certainly helpful. And I think if you go back and look at the data point we had in for Premier Networks, which is really our national advertising, we were up over 2% for the quarter. I think that's sort of an indication that the bigger advertisers are hanging in there and taking this in stride. I think the risk has been in the small and medium-sized businesses, which were, I think, a little more subject to any sort of bad news. And again, I think improving news like today helps that, and we feel better about it.

Richard Bressler

Yes. No, I wouldn't have anything to add to that. And I think just in terms of what you're seeing, I mean, we gave you the pacing numbers where we are through April. And again, you might -- as I remind -- we always remind all of ourselves every day of pacing is just a point in time. And just to remember, when we gave guidance in Q1, we said that we were up 5% in January, down about 7% in February in terms of pacing at that point in time or finishing January.
We said we'd be down low-single digits in revenue for Q1, and we were up 1% as you saw what we reported today. So that's why it's a data point. But again, it's just a point in time.

Stephen Laszczyk

And then, Bob, maybe a higher-level question for you. I think you called out market share today in and around 40% of the industry. I think investors think of you as a market share gainer, but I would just be curious if you could speak a little bit more about the state of the terrestrial radio industry today? And maybe what gives you confidence that you can take that market share from 40% today to something north of that over the next couple of years?

Robert Pittman

Yes. I think -- look, I think the fundamental issue with Broadcast Radio is we've got more listeners than we did 10 years ago that the audience side of Broadcast Radio is just fine. This is a monetization issue that Broadcast Radio is facing. It's making the transformation from being a business that was sold as spots. And today, it's moving to electronic and digital platforms.
And I think we're making that transformation. Our ad tech stack is moving along as expected. Programmatic certainly beginning to emerge for Broadcast Radio as well.
And I think probably the biggest argument for the share gain is that given our size, what you're finding, I think, especially with the larger advertising partners is they want fewer partners, not more partners. And I think we are -- certainly would have to be partner number one. And what other partners they have in radio, I don't know, but I think that's probably beneficial to us as the industry consolidates.

Richard Bressler

Yes. And Stephen, it's Rich. I might just add just two very quick points. One of -- as you look forward, if you kind of go back over the last, whatever, eight, nine, 10, 11 years, we've consistently taken share in broadcast from Miller Kaplan standpoint. So I think hopefully, if it gets everybody comfort as they look forward, they get from a credibility standpoint, we've taken share going back.
And number two, we have heard a feedback, which was very good about, okay, you've talked about audience more, can you give us data points in terms of broadcast? And that's what we shared with you today that Bob just articulated with respect to Premier Networks.

Operator

Sebastiano Petti, JPMorgan.

Sebastiano Petti

Podcasting in the first quarter coming through better than expected. Second quarter guide, Rich talks about or you're guiding to a continued acceleration in the 20% range plus. Help us think about what's underlying that. Obviously, you guys have been a leader in podcasting for quite some time, but we hear the narrative about consumption moving to video and video podcasting, YouTube now a larger player in the market. So any color around what's driving that and how you guys continue to accelerate that top line?
And then one other kind of more thematic broader kind of question. I think, Bob, you said healthy for the market to consolidate. Maybe thinking about consolidation from a different angle. There is a bit -- a fair bit of focus on broadcast deregulation in the local TV space. How might radio be impacted if there is a loosening up of ownership rules?
Does that change how you guys view yourself as a buyer or seller of assets?

Robert Pittman

Well, let me start with live podcasting. I think it starts with the fact that we've got the podcast people want to listen to. We've got a large podcast audience and it's growing. If you look at Podtrac, which measures podcast listening, not only do we do extraordinarily well overall, pretty substantial lead over the second largest podcast publisher, but we've also got it diversified across all 19 categories of podcast listening, it's measured by Podtrac. So I think it starts with that.
And second, when you get into how are people looking at podcasting, the vast majority want to listen to podcast. Are there some people that would prefer to watch a podcast? Well, I think at that point, it's not really so much a podcast as much as it is a video show. And certainly, there's -- that goes on look at the success of YouTube, but I don't think that's the podcasting business per se. I mean, I understand that YouTube would like to take some of that podcasting revenue, and I don't blame them.
But I think, again, the consumer is spoken. And so although we look at it and watch it carefully, I think we're in exactly the right position and feel very good about it.

Richard Bressler

Yes. Sebastiano, just on your first question, just maybe pick up on what Bob articulated. And just as a reminder, from a strategic standpoint, a number of years ago, which obviously turned out to be an important decision for us, we didn't go behind the paywall. We want to make sure all our podcasts were available anywhere. We carry everybody else's podcast. We just want to get the biggest inventory, and we want to monetize most efficiently.
And Bob talked about within our company, we've got approximately 1,000 sellers on the ground that are selling everything anywhere, anytime, and that includes podcasts. So you really have a 1,000-person ad sales force spread out across the United States in our 150-plus offices selling. We've talked about our ad tech that we've built up over the years, the ability to place ads and monitor them and to report on them across all of our platforms.
So again, when you look at -- this is not just something we started three or four days ago or three or four months ago or three or four years ago. And I think you're seeing the cumulative effect. And quite frankly, I think most importantly, with all the capabilities we have is the demand that we have out there. And if you see it, the efficiency and the effectiveness podcast. And I know we've said this before, is bigger advertisers or our biggest advertisers have only recently over the last couple of years, really started to discover with podcasting.
And the reason why that's so important is bigger advertisers spend bigger dollars there.

Robert Pittman

And look, I want to add one other point is -- and we've talked about it before, but it's worth repeating here that podcasting is probably radio on demand, just like Netflix is probably TV on demand. It's an adjacent business to radio. So we have a natural advantage here, not only have an advantage in terms of creation and knowing how to do it and having the resources to do it, but we also have this incredible promotional vehicle called Broadcast Radio, where we're able to advertise these podcasts, promote them, talk about them to an audience that is very audio-centric anyway and understands what we're doing here. So again, I think that is the sort of natural advantage for us.

Richard Bressler

Yes. And by the way, just on your second question, I think something with respect to regulation, whether it's any of the licensed industries. I guess you're asking about SEC license industry. Obviously, none of us have (inaudible) and we're all reading the same press. But from our standpoint, we already reached 90% plus of the country, nine of 10 Americans.
Bob highlighted our greatest -- in terms of our strength is that our broadcast listening is high than it was 10 years ago out there. So we've got a great footprint within the US. I don't see anything of that, that will affect our operating strategy at all.

Operator

Aaron Watts, Deutsche Bank.

Aaron Watts

I appreciate the expanded slide deck. I've got two, if I may. First, on the costs. Was the $27 million of cost savings you mentioned for first quarter run rate or actual impact in the quarter? And how should we think about the cadence of the balance of the savings coming through the rest of the year?
Any lumpiness on the way to $150 million at year-end?

Richard Bressler

Aaron, thanks for that, and thank you for the comment on the slides. So the $27 million you shouldn't think about as run rate. Again, if you think about our cost and costs kind of supporting revenue that you'd expect them to kind of the case speed along with the business. But I think at a high level, if you thought about them $27 million in Q2 and then $40 million per quarter in each of the next three quarters, that would be kind of -- to think about those costs, and that comes basically to the $150 million.

Aaron Watts

Okay. That's helpful. And Rich, should the revenue environment slow? I know that's not what we're hoping for, but if it happened, are there additional cost rationalization opportunities that could be identified?

Richard Bressler

Yes. I think digital, one is we did -- in the deck, as you point out, I think it's slide 5, that goes through some more details on cost. I think what's important about that slide is that people look at it and look at the number of levers that Bob and I and the rest of the management team can focus on. And I think also Bob mentioned in his opening remarks that we've repeatedly, I think, since we've been here, shown the ability to be -- look at opportunities.
By the way, a big part of that is just constantly looking at taking advantage of AI technologies, making things more efficient for both the medium and the long term, leveraging new technologies. And at the same time, make sure we've been talking about podcasting, make sure we continue to feed our winners and continue to feed our growth opportunities. And I think that balance is why you're seeing just as a tangible example, what you're seeing in podcasting revenue growth.

Aaron Watts

If I could squeeze one last one in, and again, appreciate the time. Nielsen updated its ratings methodology recently. I'm curious your early observations on that and whether the new way of looking at listenership is resonating with advertisers.

Robert Pittman

Well, I think the most important thing is that -- and we're excited about it is that Nielsen is making a priority to try and capture all the listening that's really happening. Not only is that important in terms of which shows us more listeners. But as advertisers do these econometric models, the media mix models, what's important is that when they see a signal of a purchase, a buy, they look back and see what caused it.
If Nielsen is under measuring our listening, they don't show that person, makes it worse. We don't get credit and someone else gets credit for what we did. So I think it's a step forward with Nielsen in terms of let's make Nielsen more representative and more accurate for us to use not only in terms of pricing and selling our products, but also in terms of the value for these media mix models.

Operator

Patrick Sholl, Barrington Research.

Patrick Sholl

I was just curious if you could talk a little bit on the adoption of transacting programmatically, if there's any sort of difference across categories and how that contributed to the Premier Networks' revenue trends.

Robert Pittman

I don't think at this point, it was material in terms of the performance of Premier. I think that was probably more of an indication of how the big national advertisers that are buying national footprint look versus the SMBs. But we continue to make great progress. As you know, we've already pretty much got our digital inventory up and running on most of the important platforms for Programmatic and seeing some revenue coming in there. The big push for us is to get our broadcast inventory up on these as well.
And I think we're making good progress there.

Richard Bressler

Yes. And I think we announced last quarter in addition to be in Magnite about getting our broadcast, just to be clear, inventory to DV360 and Yahoo, and we can continue to work with the other DSPs and recognize in terms of where the advertising marketplace is going, and we're adapting to that.

Patrick Sholl

And then maybe just one last on podcasting. On the growth in the quarter, I guess, how much of that comes from just increased rates on the impressions you're delivering versus growing the amount of impressions?

Richard Bressler

It's both -- we don't -- it's both. I would say if you think about it, just apples-to-apples year-over-year that there's nothing unusual at any one-time item in the numbers. It's just both coming from both volume and from rates on both. But remember, we've got such a wide purview in terms of the number of podcasts we have, the number of downloads from our biggest downloads to smaller downloads out there. And we have -- as I'll repeat it, we have 1,000 people selling it every single day out there selling podcasts along with the rest of our products. So it's a combination of both.
Just I'll pause for a second, make sure there are no other questions. And if there's not, thank you very much on behalf of Bob, myself, the rest of the management team. And we, along with Mike McGuinness and the team are available for any follow-up questions. Thank you all.

Operator

And this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.