Business
Sinclair Reports Third Quarter 2025 Financial Results
BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sinclair, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI), the "Company" or "Sinclair," today reported financial results for the three and nine months ended
About this update from Sinclair, Inc.
BALTIMORE --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sinclair, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI), the "Company" or "Sinclair," today reported financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2025 . Highlights: Met or exceeded guidance on all key financial metrics Adjusted EBITDA of $100 million Core advertising revenue grew by $20 million year-over-year on an as reported basis Redeemed, in full, $89 million of Sinclair Television Group ("STG") 5.125% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2027 on October 6, 2025 . CEO Comment: "Sinclair delivered a strong third quarter, achieving the high end of guidance for advertising and distribution revenue, while media expenses and Adjusted EBITDA beat expectations. We expect to see continued improvement in core advertising trends in the fourth quarter and a sequential increase in distribution revenue. Our progress on partner station transactions continues, with eleven option exercises closed and additional deals pending FCC approval, and more transactions planned, representing at least $30 million in incremental annualized EBITDA once finalized. Looking ahead, we anticipate record mid-term political revenue in the upcoming cycle, and are encouraged by recent regulatory developments that should lead to much-needed industry consolidation and significant synergies for investors." Recent Company Developments: Content and Distribution: Tennis channel signed extensions with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for Davis Cup (through 2028) and Billie Jean King Cup (through 2027). Year-to-date, Sinclair's newsrooms have won a total of 227 journalism awards, including 25 RTDNA regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. Community: In July, Sinclair Cares ran a campaign partnering with the American Cancer Society to raise awareness and support free rides to medical treatments, helping recruit over 600 volunteer drivers for their Road to Recovery program. Investment Portfolio: Sinclair Ventures, LLC (Ventures) made approximately $6 million in minority investments as required by outstanding funding commitments and received distributions of approximately $2 million . Station Portfolio Optimization: As of November 1st , we have closed on 11 partner station acquisitions 10 more option exercises are pending FCC approval and 2 more have been approved and await final closing Expect to file several additional partner station acquisitions with the FCC pending the reopening of the Federal government Closed on 1 station swap, a 4-market sale of stations, acquired non-licensed assets in 2 markets and acquired the NBC affiliation in 1 market Transactions: In October, STG redeemed, in full, $89 million of its 5.125% Senior Unsecured Notes due 2027 (the "2027 Notes") on October 6, 2025 . The Notes were called at 100% of their par value plus any accrued interest and outstanding fees and expenses. Financial Results: Three Months Ended September 30, 2025 Consolidated Financial Results: ($ in millions) Three Months Ended Percent Change September 30 , 2025 September 30 , 2024 June 30 , 2025 YOY QTQ Total revenue $ 773 $ 917 $ 784 (16)% (1)% Media revenue 765 908 777 (16)% (2)% Advertising revenue 321 433 322 (26)% —% Distribution revenue 422 434 434 (3)% (3)% Net (loss) income attributable to the Company (1 ) 94 (64 ) (101)% (98)% Adjusted EBITDA 100 249 103 (60)% (3)% Segment financial information is included in the following tables for the periods presented. The Local Media segment consists primarily of broadcast television stations, which the Company owns, operates or to which the Company provides services, and includes multicast networks and original content. The Local Media segment assets are owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, LLC (SBG). The Tennis segment consists primarily of Tennis Channel, a cable network which includes coverage of most of tennis' top tournaments and original professional sport and tennis lifestyle shows; the Tennis Channel International subscription and streaming service; Tennis Channel streaming service; TennisChannel 2, a 24-hours a day free ad-supported streaming television channel; and Tennis.com . Other includes non-broadcast digital solutions such as Digital Remedy, technical services, and other non-media investments. Three months ended September 30, 2025 Local Media Tennis Other Corporate and Eliminations Consolidated ($ in millions) Distribution revenue $ 370 $ 52 $ — $ — $ 422 Core advertising revenue 269 14 38 (6 ) 315 Political advertising revenue 6 — — — 6 Other media revenue 22 1 — (1 ) 22 Media revenue $ 667 $ 67 $ 38 $ (7 ) $ 765 Non-media revenue — — 10 (2 ) 8 Total revenue $ 667 $ 67 $ 48 $ (9 ) $ 773 Media programming and production expenses $ 378 $ 35 $ — $ — $ 413 Media selling, general and administrative expenses 165 15 30 (7 ) 203 Non-media expenses 2 — 12 (2 ) 12 Amortization of program costs 21 — — — 21 Corporate general and administrative expenses 21 1 2 16 40 Stock-based compensation 9 — — 2 11 Non-recurring and unusual transaction, implementation, legal, regulatory and other costs 3 — 2 — 5 Interest expense (net)(a) 81 — (5 ) — 76 Capital expenditures 21 1 — — 22 Distributions to the noncontrolling interests 3 — — — 3 Cash distributions from investments — — 2 — 2 Net cash taxes paid 3 Net income 1 Operating income 27 11 14 6 58 Adjusted EBITDA(b) 92 16 6 (14 ) 100 Note: Certain amounts may not summarize to totals due to rounding differences. (a) Interest expense (net) excludes deferred financing costs, original issue discount amortization, and other non-cash interest expense, and is net of interest income. (b) Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, and non-recurring and unusual transaction, implementation, legal, regulatory and other costs, as well as certain non-cash items such as stock-based compensation expense and other gains and losses less amortization of program costs. Refer to the reconciliation at the end of this press release and the Company’s website. Three months ended September 30, 2024 Local Media Tennis Other Corporate and Eliminations Consolidated ($ in millions) Distribution revenue $ 383 $ 51 $ — $ — $ 434 Core advertising revenue 283 8 9 (5 ) 295 Political advertising revenue 138 — — — 138 Other media revenue 41 1 — (1 ) 41 Media revenue $ 845 $ 60 $ 9 $ (6 ) $ 908 Non-media revenue — — 10 (1 ) 9 Total revenue $ 845 $ 60 $ 19 $ (7 ) $ 917 Media programming and production expenses $ 384 $ 30 $ — $ — $ 414 Media selling, general and administrative expenses 188 13 6 (6 ) 201 Non-media expenses 2 — 12 — 14 Amortization of program costs 18 — — — 18 Corporate general and administrative expenses 24 1 1 15 41 Stock-based compensation 8 — — 3 11 Non-recurring and unusual transaction, implementation, legal, regulatory and other costs 7 — 2 — 9 Interest expense (net)(a) 74 — (5 ) — 69 Capital expenditures 17 — — — 17 Distributions to the noncontrolling interests 3 — — — 3 Cash distributions from investments — — 2 — 2 Net cash taxes paid 1 Net income 96 Operating income (loss) 182 11 1 (15 ) 179 Adjusted EBITDA(b) 244 16 2 (13 ) 249 Note: Certain amounts may not summarize to totals due to rounding differences. (a) Interest expense (net) excludes deferred financing costs, original issue discount amortization, and other non-cash interest expense, and is net of interest income. (b) Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, and non-recurring and unusual transaction, implementation, legal, regulatory and other costs, as well as certain non-cash items such as stock-based compensation expense and other gains and losses less amortization of program costs. Refer to the reconciliation at the end of this press release and the Company’s website. Consolidated Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights: Total Company debt was $4,101 million , all of which is indebtedness of STG. Cash and cash equivalents was $526 million , of which $122 million was SBG cash and $404 million was Ventures cash. In addition the Company has $650 million of available borrowing capacity under its revolver, bringing available liquidity to $1.2 billion . STG Credit Agreement Leverage Metrics1 First Out First Lien Leverage Ratio – 1.9x (Covenant – 3.5x2) Total Leverage Ratio – 6.0x (Covenant –