Gray Television's Q1 Earnings Call: Our Top 5 Analyst Questions
Gray Television's first quarter results for 2025 were received positively by the market, as the company exceeded Wall Street's revenue and profit expectations despite a year-over-year sales decline. Management attributed the quarter's performance to stronger-than-anticipated political advertising, ongoing cost containment, and the growing contribution from local sports broadcasting. CEO Hilton Howell highlighted the impact of new local sports rights agreements, stating, 'the combination of our premier local news franchises with local sports make our local stations even more relevant and more valuable than ever.'
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Revenue: $782 million vs analyst estimates of $773.2 million (5% year-on-year decline, 1.1% beat)
Operating Margin: 11.8%, down from 15.1% in the same quarter last year
Market Capitalization: $476.1 million
While we enjoy listening to the management's commentary, our favorite part of earnings calls are the analyst questions. Those are unscripted and can often highlight topics that management teams would rather avoid or topics where the answer is complicated. Here is what has caught our attention.
Dan Kurnos (Benchmark): Asked about the company's strategic flexibility if deregulatory changes materialize. Chief Legal and Development Officer Kevin Latek indicated Gray Television is considering swaps and other transactions but awaits regulatory clarity before acting.
Aaron Watts (Deutsche Bank): Inquired whether advertising declines were due to cancellations or delayed bookings. President Pat LaPlatney clarified that hesitancy, not cancellations, was the issue, and pointed to growth in service categories and unexpected political revenue as positive signs.
Patrick Sholl (Wells Fargo): Questioned expectations for political advertising versus prior cycles. CEO Hilton Howell noted that this cycle has seen more substantial and earlier ad buys than previous midterms, but acknowledged political ad revenue is difficult to predict.
Craig Huber (Huber Research): Sought details on Assembly Studios' leasing progress and financial contribution. CEO Howell stated occupancy is about 75-80%, with additional upside possible, and CFO Gignac said returns will improve as more leases are signed and new phases of development are completed.
Alan Gould (Loop Capital): Asked about the impact of direct negotiations with virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMVPDs) on retransmission revenue. Latek responded that there is a significant difference in rates, but the net impact would depend on network agreements if regulations change.
In the coming quarters, the StockStory team will track (1) the pace of local sports rights adoption and the impact on station viewership and ad sales, (2) evidence of sustained political ad revenue during a non-election cycle, and (3) progress on cost containment translating into improved margins and deleveraging. Developments in industry regulation and the potential for market consolidation will also be important signals for Gray Television's future trajectory.
Gray Television currently trades at $4.55, up from $3.72 just before the earnings. Is there an opportunity in the stock?The answer lies in our full research report (it's free).
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