iHeartMedia closed its 2024 earnings reports with a mixed financial picture, reporting higher net income and growth in digital and political ad revenue, but also declines in some core revenue segments that caused the company to fall short of analyst expectations.
For the final quarter of 2024, iHeart’s net income jumped to $31.93 million, nearly doubling from $13.98 million in the prior year. Consolidated revenue improved by 4.8% to $1.118 billion, though it fell just short of analysts’ projections, which had averaged $1.17 billion. A significant contributor to the revenue boost was the influx of political ad dollars, totaling $82.67 million.
Without political revenue, consolidated revenue dipped to $1.036 billion from $1.054 billion.
During its earnings call, CEO Bob Pittman and President, COO, and CFO Rich Bressler praised the company’s digital segments, particularly the strength of its podcasting arm. The company’s Digital Audio Group reported $339 million in revenue in Q4, up 6.7% from the previous year, with podcast revenue climbing 5.7%. Full-year podcast revenue surpassed $1.1 billion.
The Multiplatform Group, which includes broadcast radio, networks, and events, generated $684 million in Q4 revenue, flat from the prior year. However, excluding political ad dollars, revenue declined by 5.5%. Specifically, broadcast revenue rose 1.8% to $493.3 million from $484.67 million.
The Audio & Media Services Group saw the most significant percentage increase, with revenue jumping 44.7% to $98 million, largely driven by political advertising. Without political revenue, the segment declined by 1.6%.
Bressler acknowledged that Q4 political ad revenue came in lower than expected, partly due to changes in Democratic candidates that led to a pause in spending.
Looking ahead, the company expects full-year 2025 revenue to be roughly flat with a projected slight Q1 decline. Bressler addressed the company’s outlook, saying, “Although the year began with optimism, many companies are now focusing on how potential tariffs, inflation, and higher interest rates may impact their businesses, introducing an element of uncertainty.”
Pittman emphasized the company’s focus on programmatic ad buying, calling it an essential part of the future of radio monetization. “Programmatic is part of it. It’s also automated buying,” he said. “It might be actually live conversations, but they can execute it through an automated platform and begin to have it sit side by side with the other digital options.” Pittman noted that while the rollout is happening now, the company expects to see meaningful revenue growth from programmatic sales in 2025 and beyond.
