Nexstar reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2025 on Thursday, revealing that advertising revenue for the July-September period fell 23.5% year-on-year.
Additionally, Nexstar said its CW network’s losses narrowed 24% year-over-year.
Nexstar said ad sales for the entire third quarter were $476 million, down $146 million from the third quarter of 2024. Political ad revenue decreased $145 million to $10 million, which Nexstar attributed to the current election cycle.
Wall Street expects earnings per share (EPS) of $1.83 on revenue of $1.2 billion, according to analyst consensus data provided by LSEG. Nexstar reported diluted EPS of $2.14 on revenue of $1.2 billion. Net revenue decreased 12.3%, which Netflix attributed primarily to lower political advertising sales.
“In the third quarter, we took a major step in shaping the future of Nexstar by entering into a definitive agreement to acquire TEGNA Inc. for $6.2 billion in a highly growth-oriented transaction,” Nexstar founder, chairman and CEO Perry Sook said in a letter to shareholders. “Operationally, our core business is performing well, and with stable distribution, non-political advertising revenue, and strong expense controls that have resulted in year-over-year operating expense reductions, we continue to advance our network’s growth strategy, once again making NewsNation the fastest-growing cable network in the quarter and… The CW achieved six consecutive quarters of primetime viewership growth and reduced its losses by 24% year-over-year. Looking forward, we are focused on completing future distribution renewals and closing on acquisitions, including the acquisition of TEGNA Inc., all of which we expect to drive shareholder value. ”
