SSP earnings analysis
What we found in SSP's 10-Q: the parts that mattered, the offsets in the same document, and what the company said about what comes next.
Our reading of the filing · Free to read, no account needed
Scripps reported a weak second quarter, with revenue down 9.2% year over year to $490.4 million and diluted EPS of negative $12.68, driven primarily by a $1.1 billion Scripps Networks impairment. Local Media profit was resilient, but Scripps Networks revenue and profit fell 16.5% and 54.4%, respectively, amid weak national advertising, ratings pressure and subscriber-related distribution declines. Operating cash flow improved to $17.1 million year to date, but liquidity remains tight relative to $2.49 billion of net debt. Management’s transformation plan targets $125 million to $150 million of annualized EBITDA growth by 2028, though the near-term outlook is weighed down by restructuring costs and operating weakness.
The parts that mattered.
Pulled out of the filing itself, with the figures the company reported.
- Revenue fell, gross margin slightly improved sequentially
- Second-quarter revenue was $490.4 million, down $49.7 million or 9.2% from $540.1 million a year earlier and down from $517.0 million in Q1 2026. Gross margin was approximately 40.0%, versus 41.9% in Q2 2025 and 39.9% in Q1 2026.
- Large impairment drove severe EPS loss
- Reported diluted EPS was a loss of $12.68 versus a loss of $0.59 in Q2 2025 and a loss of $0.20 in Q1 2026. The quarterly loss included a $1.1 billion non-cash impairment charge for Scripps Networks goodwill and other intangible assets.
- Local Media profit remained resilient
- Local Media segment profit was $55.8 million, essentially unchanged from $55.8 million in Q2 2025, despite revenue declining 5.4% to $316.5 million. Six-month Local Media profit increased 13.0% to $102.5 million.
- Operating cash flow turned positive
- Operating cash flow improved to $17.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2026, from negative $13.9 million in the prior-year period. The improvement included a $70.1 million working-capital contribution, compared with a $48.9 million use in 2025.
- Asset sales supported liquidity and deleveraging
- The company generated $102.3 million of investing cash flow, including $126.7 million of proceeds from business sales, while capital expenditures were $19.7 million. Debt principal was reduced by $60.6 million during the first six months.
- Transformation plan offers quantified upside
- Management expects the enterprise transformation plan to deliver $125 million to $150 million of annualized EBITDA growth by 2028, including approximately $100 million by the end of 2026, through cost savings, revenue initiatives, artificial intelligence and automation.
And the other side of it.
The offsets in the same document — the things a summary that only listed the good news would have left out.
- Scripps Networks deterioration
- Scripps Networks revenue declined 16.5% to $171.9 million and segment profit fell 54.4% to $25.5 million. Management cited lower ratings, a Nielsen methodology change that reduced revenue by 9.2%, lower direct-response pricing that reduced revenue by 7.9%, and weak national advertising.
- Material asset impairment
- The company recorded a $1.1 billion non-cash impairment charge, including $966.7 million against Scripps Networks goodwill and $169 million against intangible assets. Total assets declined to $3.65 billion from $5.01 billion at December 31, 2025.
- High leverage and interest-rate exposure
- Liquidity remains constrained: unrestricted cash was $13.0 million, while total long-term debt had a net carrying value of $2.49 billion and $314 million was outstanding under the receivables securitization facility. A 100-basis-point increase in SOFR would increase annual interest expense by approximately $8.7 million.
- Distribution disruption and subscriber losses
- Local Media distribution revenue declined 16.7% to $160.5 million in Q2, including a $26.7 million impact from Comcast and DirecTV service blackouts. Management also reported mid-single-digit subscriber declines, partially offset by rate increases of 2.5%.
- Transformation carries execution costs
- Restructuring costs rose to $35.8 million from $0.6 million in Q2 2025 and included $13.7 million of outside consulting fees, $12.1 million of asset losses and $4.5 million of severance. Execution of the transformation plan could therefore require substantial near-term spending.
- No formal risk-factor update
- The filing states there were 0 material changes to the risk factors disclosed in the 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K. However, forward-looking results remain subject to the disclosed risks and uncertainties, and the filing identifies no newly added risk factor to offset the operating deterioration.
What they reported.
What the company itself reported, taken out of the document.
- Earnings per share
- $-12.68
- Gross margin
- 40.0%
- Operating margin
- -236.0%
- Segment
- Local Media revenue $316.5 million, down 5.4% year over year; segment profit $55.8 million, essentially flat year over year and up 13.0% year to date.
- Segment
- Scripps Networks revenue $171.9 million, down 16.5% year over year; segment profit $25.5 million, down 54.4%.
- Segment
- Other segment revenue $5.9 million, up 38.1% year over year; segment loss $4.5 million versus a $7.0 million loss.
What they said about what is next.
No numeric revenue or EPS guidance was provided. Management targets $125 million to $150 million of annualized enterprise EBITDA growth by 2028 and anticipates approximately $100 million of annualized EBITDA improvement by the end of 2026.
The filing reads worse than the one before it.
What came before.
- 10-Q · May 8, 2026
- The E.W. Scripps Company reported a slight decline in revenue but improved EPS for Q1 2026, with revenues of $516.9 million and a loss of $0.20 per share, beating estimates of a loss of $0.40. Performance was boosted by…
- 10-K · February 27, 2026
- Scripps reported 2025 operating revenues of $2,150,585,000, a 14.3% decline year-over-year driven by a $341 million drop in political advertising, producing a net loss of $100,877,000 for the year. Management completed…
- 10-Q · November 7, 2025
- Revenue declined to $525,854 for Q3 2025, driven by lower advertising vs. the year-ago quarter, compressing gross margin to 40.8% and operating margin to 7.1%; the company reported a net loss attributable to…
- 10-Q · August 8, 2025
- Scripps reported Q2 revenue of $540,080 (thousands), a modest sequential increase and a year-over-year decline, while operating income improved versus Q2 2024 but the company reported a larger net loss and negative…
This is our reading of a public filing, not the filing. Read the original on SEC.gov · Educational only. Nothing here is investment advice.
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