Scripps Q2 2026 earnings: $1.1 billion impairment magnifies operating pressure

Scripps (NASDAQ: SSP) reported Q2 2026 revenue of $490.4 million, down 9.2% year over year, and a diluted loss of $12.68 per share versus $0.59 a year earlier. A $1.14 billion non-cash impairment accounted for most of the GAAP loss, while adjusted EBITDA fell to $55.2 million as weakness in Scripps Networks outweighed political advertising growth and companywide cost reductions.

Core Earnings Data

Revenue declined by $49.7 million as lower Local Media distribution and core advertising revenue combined with a sharper contraction at Scripps Networks. Segment, shared services and corporate expenses fell about 3.5%, but the reduction was not enough to offset the revenue decline.

The quarter’s GAAP results were dominated by a $1.14 billion impairment of Scripps Networks goodwill and intangible assets. Together with $35.8 million of restructuring costs and a $9.3 million gain related to the Gray Media station swap, identified items increased the loss attributable to shareholders by $11.83 per share.

The impairment itself represented $11.61 of the per-share loss and did not require a cash payment. Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes the impairment and other specified items, nevertheless shows that underlying operating performance also weakened.

Business and Segment Performance

Local Media benefited from record second-quarter political advertising and lower programming and employee costs. However, retransmission blackouts during contract negotiations with Comcast and DirecTV reduced distribution revenue by $26.7 million, accounting for most of that revenue category’s $32.1 million decline.

Scripps Networks was the larger operating drag. Its revenue decline reflected the Court TV sale, weak national and direct-response advertising, lower legacy linear viewing, advertiser spending shifting toward streaming and digital, and changes in Nielsen’s audience measurement methodology.

Local Media expenses declined 6.5%, allowing segment profit to remain flat despite lower reported revenue. Its segment profit margin therefore improved to about 17.6% from 16.7%.

Because station transactions and the Court TV sale affected reported comparisons, Scripps also supplied adjusted combined figures. On that basis, Local Media revenue fell only 1.2% while segment profit increased 8.6%. Scripps Networks revenue declined 13.4%, expenses rose 3.7%, and segment profit fell to $25.5 million from $57.2 million, confirming that the Networks weakness extended beyond the disposal’s accounting effect.

Profitability and Balance Sheet

Adjusted EBITDA margin contracted to about 11.3% from 16.5% a year earlier. This decline is important because it excludes the non-cash impairment and shows that expense savings did not fully absorb the pressure on advertising and distribution revenue.

Scripps ended June with $13.0 million of cash and cash equivalents and $2.49 billion of total debt, compared with $27.9 million of cash and $2.59 billion of debt at the end of 2025. The company made $60.6 million of term-loan principal prepayments during the first half of 2026. Second-quarter capital expenditures increased to $16.8 million from $12.6 million.

Undeclared and unpaid cumulative preferred dividends reached $150 million as of June 30, with the 9% dividend rate compounding quarterly. Under the Berkshire Hathaway preferred investment terms, Scripps cannot pay common dividends or repurchase common shares until all preferred shares have been redeemed.

Guidance

Third-quarter guidance indicates a significant divergence between the two main segments. Scripps expects Local Media revenue to increase about 20% against the adjusted combined comparison, while Networks revenue is projected to remain under pressure.

The Q3 segment comparisons use adjusted combined 2025 results. Management also expects to have implemented about $100 million of annual run-rate savings by the end of 2026. The impact of 268 announced job reductions, representing about 6% of the workforce, is expected to begin contributing to third-quarter expense improvement.

New local sports agreements with the Detroit Pistons and Nashville Predators are scheduled to begin contributing to Local Media core revenue in the fall. These initiatives support the company’s revenue strategy, although Scripps did not quantify their expected contribution.

Recent Insider Transactions

Over the latest six-month period in the supplied data, insiders reported 44 purchases totaling 3,992,090 shares and one sale totaling 326,675 shares, resulting in net purchases of 3,665,415 shares. The most recent transactions with an explicitly reported direction and value are shown below; they should be viewed as disclosures rather than evidence of insiders’ outlook.

Risks Investors Need to Watch

• Networks advertising and audience pressure: Weak national advertising, lower direct-response demand, declining linear viewing and measurement changes contributed to a 54.4% drop in reported Networks segment profit. Continued pressure would constrain adjusted EBITDA.
• Retransmission negotiations: Temporary station blackouts reduced Q2 distribution revenue by $26.7 million. Future disruptions could affect both distribution fees and core advertising revenue.
• High leverage and limited liquidity: Scripps held $13.0 million of cash against $2.49 billion of debt, while cumulative unpaid preferred dividends totaled $150 million. These obligations limit capital-allocation flexibility.
• Transformation execution: Cost reductions are central to the targeted $125 million-$150 million of enterprise EBITDA growth by 2028. Restructuring costs reached $35.8 million in Q2, and the timing and effectiveness of expected savings remain important.
• Political advertising cyclicality: Political revenue provided a meaningful Q2 offset, but comparisons vary substantially between election and non-election periods.

Summary

Scripps’ Q2 2026 GAAP loss was primarily caused by the non-cash Networks impairment, but the decline in adjusted EBITDA shows that operating pressure was also material. Local Media protected profit through political advertising and lower expenses despite retransmission disruption, while Networks remained the main source of revenue and profit weakness. The next key indicators are whether the projected Q3 Local Media growth and transformation savings materialize, and whether advertising and audience trends at Scripps Networks begin to stabilize.