Cumulus Media Inc. has announced its third-quarter 2025 earnings results on Thursday prior to the opening of U.S. markets, reporting net revenue of $180.3 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2025—reflecting a sharp 11.5% year-over-year decline from $203.7 million in Q3 2024.
The revenue drop was primarily driven by persistent weakness in the broadcast radio and network segments amid a challenging advertising environment for legacy media, including soft national spot demand and lower political ad spending compared to the prior year (Q3 2024 political revenue: $6.4 million). Total digital revenue edged down 2.6% to $39.0 million (22% of total revenue), though digital marketing services—a key growth area—surged 34% year-over-year and now comprise 50% of digital revenue.
Adjusted EBITDA fell 31% to $16.7 million from $24.2 million, reflecting revenue pressure and higher operating costs, while the company posted a net loss of $20.4 million (or $1.17 per share), wider than the $10.3 million loss in Q3 2024.
President & CEO Mary G. Berner stated: "In an advertising environment that remained challenging for legacy media, we continued to outperform. We once again gained market share in total broadcast spot as well as in digital, where our market share gains reflected the strong growth of our digital marketing services business, which was up 34% in the quarter."