Entercom Stock Soars After Exceptional 3Q Earnings

Entercom Communications Corp.’s stock price jumped by almost 18% Friday after third quarter earnings exceeded analyst estimates for the first time in over a year.

Accoridng to The Phildelaphia Business Journal, the company reported a profit of $38.2 million, or 28 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 24 cents per share and representing a 3.4% increase from the same period last year. Operating income ticked up to $79.5 million from $78.7 million.

Rich Schmaeling

Revenue increased 2% to $386.1 million, beating the consensus estimate of $382.9 million. Minus political advertising — which has declined from 2018 due to the lack of midterm elections — revenue increased by 3%.

Entercom CFO Rich Schmaeling said he anticipates fourth quarter revenue increasing by 2% to 4%. He added that the nation’s second-largest radio station operator should see both topline and bottom line revenue growth in 2020 based on the continued prominence of Radio.com, sports betting becoming legal in more states and a jump in political advertising during a presidential election year.

Wall Street seemed pleased with Entercom’s performance, as the stock jumped by as much as 17.8% in Friday trading to $4.43 — up from Thursday’s closing price of $3.69.

The response was a marked change from the 37% decline in Entercom’s stock price after second quarter earnings fell well short of analyst estimates.

For some context, Entercom’s stock was trading at above $10 a share until May 2018, when investors were caught off guard by the company reporting a $14 million first quarter 2018 loss. Despite revenue increasing this year, the stock’s price continued to decline as the investment community became wary of the company’s slower than expected revenue growth and high debt load.