iHeartMedia, the largest radio broadcaster in the U.S., reported its Q4 2025 earnings Monday afternoon, showing modest overall revenue growth driven by strong digital and podcast performance, despite a drop in political advertising from the prior election year.
Consolidated revenue reached $1.127 billion, up 0.8% year-over-year from $1.118 billion in Q4 2024. Excluding political revenue (which was significantly higher in 2024 due to the presidential election), revenue grew a robust 7.7%.
The Digital Audio Group (including podcasts and digital platforms) led the gains, with revenue of $387 million, up 14.1% year-over-year. Podcast revenue specifically surged 24.5% to $174 million, fueled by increased demand for digital advertising and more effective monetization through local sales efforts.
In contrast, the Multiplatform Group (traditional radio broadcasting) saw revenue of $665 million, down 2.8% (or up 2% excluding political impacts), reflecting softer broadcast advertising amid market uncertainty.
Audio & Media Services revenue fell 19.3%, also due to lower political ad spending at units like Katz Media.
The company generated positive free cash flow of $138 million (or $158 million including real estate sale proceeds), a significant improvement from negative in the prior period.
For the full year 2025, revenue was roughly flat at about $3.865 billion (up 3.6% ex-political), with digital audio up 14% and podcasts up 26%, while traditional multiplatform was down 4%. Consolidated adjusted EBITDA was $686 million, slightly down from 2024.
Looking ahead, iHeartMedia guided for 2026 consolidated adjusted EBITDA of approximately $800 million and expects $200 million in free cash flow, supported by ongoing cost savings, programmatic ad growth, podcast momentum, and a return to political ad cycles. Q1 2026 revenue is projected up in the high single digits, with adjusted EBITDA around $100 million.
The company highlighted progress in digital transformation despite challenges like high net debt (around $4.5 billion) and ongoing market pressures in traditional radio.
iHeartMedia's podcast revenue surged 24.5% year-over-year in Q4 2025 to $174 million (from $139.6 million in Q4 2024), significantly outpacing the company's guidance of mid-teens growth and driving much of the Digital Audio Group's 14.1% overall revenue increase.
The primary growth drivers, as detailed in the earnings release and call, include:
- Continued strong advertiser demand for podcasting — Advertisers increasingly prioritize podcasts due to their engaged audiences, targeted reach, and growing popularity as a medium.
- Expanded monetization through local sales efforts — iHeartMedia leveraged its large local sales force (present in 160+ markets) to capture more podcast ad dollars. In Q4 2025, approximately 47% of podcast revenue came from local sales, up dramatically from about 13% in Q4 2020. This hybrid national-local approach provides a unique competitive edge over pure-play podcast companies.
- Leading audience scale and market position — iHeartMedia maintained its #1 ranking in podcasting by downloads, unique listeners, revenue, and earnings (per Podtrac and Triton measurements), attracting more ad spend as the top publisher.
- Broader digital momentum — Increased podcast usage, expanded inventory opportunities, and overall growth in digital audio consumption supported higher ad rates and volumes.
CEO Bob Pittman and management highlighted these factors as key to podcast outperformance, with expectations for continued strong growth into 2026 driven by similar dynamics plus efficiency gains and programmatic enhancements in audio advertising.