Gray Media announced its Q3 2025 financial results, reporting $749 million in revenue during their November 7 earnings call. The leadership emphasized the company's strategic positioning in a dynamically changing regulatory landscape. Executive Chairman and CEO Hilton Howell described the industry as operating in "the wild, wild west" of regulatory uncertainty.
The company surpassed its expense guidance by $17 million, primarily due to cost reductions across its television stations. Adjusted EBITDA reached $162 million for the quarter. Political advertising revenue exceeded expectations for an off-cycle year, hitting $8 million.
Howell addressed the unprecedented regulatory ambiguity impacting broadcasters, stating, “for the first time in the history of our business, we are really operating in the wild, wild west. No one knows what the rules actually are.”
Gray Media plans to expand into six new markets by acquiring top-ranked local news stations and creating 11 new Big Four duopolies. Chief Legal and Development Officer Kevin Latek highlighted that Gray remains “laser-focused” on previously announced transactions while closely monitoring FCC proceedings expected to clarify regulatory restrictions by the end of the year.
“We think there are other opportunities to do transactions like the ones we’ve done here, which is, say, sub-$200 million deleveraging deals that improve our portfolio and our balance sheet,” Latek added.
Despite acknowledging “a lot of big opportunities to grow,” Howell stressed a cautious approach to expansion. He emphasized the company’s commitment to its 10,000 employees, stating that Gray “does not believe that Gray actually has to do anything” to maintain its current trajectory. However, he also noted: “If we get an opportunity at the right price to get much bigger, we’re not going to run from it.”
The company’s political advertising underperformed historical patterns in the first three quarters, with a fourth-quarter guidance of $7 million to $8 million, significantly lower than the typical $20 million to $30 million generated before a political year. President and Co-CEO Patrick LaPlatney reported that core advertising finished down 3% in the third quarter, showing an improvement from the 4% decline in the first half. The company anticipates flat to low single-digit growth in the fourth quarter. “We’re really optimistic about 2026,” LaPlatney said, pointing to “very encouraging” early first-quarter numbers.
Automotive advertising remained weak, showing a high single-digit decline, while legal services continued double-digit growth, becoming a top-five category. Financial services saw high single-digit increases, and digital revenue experienced healthy growth. The ongoing YouTube TV carriage dispute affecting its ABC stations poses a challenge for the company. LaPlatney expressed his dissatisfaction with the situation, stating: “Obviously, we prefer to have a voice in the MVPD negotiations for our stations. We don’t.”
Regarding retransmission consent, CFO Jeff Gignac reported that network affiliation expenses decreased by 9%, while retransmission revenue fell by 6% in the third quarter. The company expects net retransmission revenue to decline slightly in the fourth quarter, mainly due to WANF's conversion to independent status. “You’re seeing the quarters flatten out,” Gignac said, referring to net retransmission trends. “Ideally, it can turn positive, and we’re hopeful.”
Chief Operating Officer McNamara Breland reported positive results from WANF’s August 16 conversion to independent status in Atlanta. The station added 25.5 hours of news and local programming. “Viewers are responding. We’re seeing gains in mornings and key demos and in prime access,” Breland said.
Gray Media completed refinancing transactions in July that extended its maturity profile through 2033, addressing all material maturities through December 2028 with a less than 25 basis points impact on overall debt costs. The company finished the quarter with over $900 million in liquidity and a total leverage ratio of 5.77x. The company reduced its full-year 2025 capital expenditure guidance by $15 million, setting a range of $70 million to $75 million. The board declared a $0.08 per share quarterly dividend, consistent with previous quarters.