Key Points
- Q2 Net revenue: $1.99 billion (+62.2% year-over)
- Distribution revenue: $1.12 billion (+52.3%)
- Advertising revenue: $862 million (+81.5%)
- Political advertising revenue: $147 million, compared with $9 million
- Other revenue: $15 million (-28.6%)
- Income from operations: $362 million (+70%)
- Net income: $113 million (+24.2%)
- Net income attributable to Nexstar: $120 million (+23.7%)
- Cash on hand: $218 million
- Total debt: $11.74 billion
- Read more Q2 2026 media earnings coverage | Nexstar coverage
Nexstar Media Group says it is already experiencing financial windfalls related to its March acquisition of TEGNA, despite an ongoing antitrust lawsuit that currently precludes the broadcasters from completing their consolidation and requiring them to maintain separate operations for now.
During the company’s second financial quarter (Q2) of the year, Nexstar said it earned $1.99 billion in overall revenue, an increase of 62.2 percent compared to last quarter. TEGNA’s portion of its operations contributed $697 million in incremental revenue, the broadcaster said. With TEGNA excluded, Nexstar’s revenue would have been $1.29 billion, up slightly from $1.23 billion during the year-ago period.
Revenue from fees charged to cable, satellite and streaming operators rose more than 52 percent to $1.12 billion, including $362 million in fees collected from TEGNA. Nexstar said its distribution revenue benefited from higher fees charged to pay TV companies and their customers, offset slightly by ongoing churn in the pay TV industry, which eats away at per-subscriber fees.
Advertising revenue increased more than 81 percent to $862 million, including $331 million from TEGNA. Political advertising totaled $147 million, compared with $9 million a year earlier, while Nexstar’s legacy stations generated a $75 million increase in political revenue.
Core, non-political advertising was partially pressured by political campaigns crowding out available commercial inventory. Advertising also benefited from highly rated FIFA World Cup matches carried by Nexstar’s Fox affiliates and continued streaming advertising growth in its legacy local markets, the company affirmed.
The company recorded $53 million in transaction, one-time and restructuring expenses, largely connected to the TEGNA acquisition and related financing. Interest expense nearly doubled to $190 million.
Stock Price
In prepared remarks, Nexstar’s founder and CEO Perry Sook said some of its properties, including NewsNation and the CW Network, continued to experience year-over growth as the broadcaster continues to evolve these properties to meet the wants and desires of viewers.
NewsNation remained the fastest-growing, ad-supported cable network in prime-time and total-day viewers, Sook said, citing data from Nielsen. The network typically ranks behind Fox News, CNN and MS Now (formerly MSNBC) in total-day viewers, though its prime-time programming has increased over the years, attracting tens of thousands of viewers on any given night.
The CW Network accelerated its commitment to sports broadcasting by inking new distribution deals with ESPN and The Roku Channel during Q2. Both platforms will offer some or all of CW Network’s sports programming through their respective services. ESPN’s deal with the CW Network went online earlier this month.
“Looking forward, we are well positioned for strong free cash flow generation in the second half of 2026 and we remain confident that the case challenging our acquisition of TEGNA is without merit and we will continue to vigorously defend it,” Sook said.
