CoreCivic is a diversified, government-solutions company with the scale and experience needed to solve tough government challenges in flexible, cost-effective ways. We provide a broad range of solutions to government partners that serve the public good through high-quality corrections and detention management, a network of residential and non-residential alternatives to incarceration to help address America’s recidivism crisis, and government real estate solutions. We are the nation’s largest owner of partnership correctional, detention and residential reentry facilities, and believe we are the largest private owner of real estate used by government agencies in the United States. We have been a flexible and dependable partner for government for nearly 40 years. Our employees are driven by a deep sense of service, high standards of professionalism and a responsibility to help government better the public good. Learn more at www.corecivic.com.
Joe Gomes, CFA, Managing Director, Equity Research Analyst, Generalist , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Joshua Zoepfel, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.
3Q24 Results. CoreCivic’s financial results for the third quarter of 2024 demonstrated the Company’s continued strong operating momentum. Increased occupancy and higher per diems drove the increased revenue in the quarter. While ICE populations were relatively stable in the quarter, management did note populations have increased by 5% since the beginning of October. Operating margin increased compared with the prior-year quarter through continued cost management and strong demand for CXW’s services.
Opportunity. Obviously, with the coming change in the President, most industry observers expect to see a step change in the use of services provided by the industry. There also is significant opportunity at the state and local levels being driven by increasing jail populations, forecasts for prison population’s to rise over the next five years, ongoing staffing issues, and an aging physical stock.
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This Company Sponsored Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).
*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision.
Townsquare is a community-focused digital media and digital marketing solutions company with market leading local radio stations, principally focused outside the top 50 markets in the U.S. Our assets include a subscription digital marketing services business, Townsquare Interactive, providing website design, creation and hosting, search engine optimization, social media and online reputation management as well as other digital monthly services for approximately 26,800 SMBs; a robust digital advertising division, Townsquare IGNITE, a powerful combination of a) an owned and operated portfolio of more than 330 local news and entertainment websites and mobile apps along with a network of leading national music and entertainment brands, collecting valuable first party data, and b) a proprietary digital programmatic advertising technology stack with an in-house demand and data management platform; and a portfolio of 321 local terrestrial radio stations in 67 U.S. markets strategically situated outside the Top 50 markets in the United States. Our portfolio includes local media brands such as WYRK.com, WJON.com, and NJ101.5.com and premier national music brands such as XXLmag.com, TasteofCountry.com, UltimateClassicRock.com and Loudwire.com.
Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Equity Research Analyst, Digital, Media & Technology , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Jacob Mutchler, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.
In line quarter. Total company revenues of $115.3 million was roughly flat with the year earlier period and in line with our $115.0 million estimate. Q3 adj. EBITDA was $25.5 million versus our $26.5 million estimate. Notably, the results were in line with the company’s previous guidance.
Digital revenue accelerates. Total digital revenue swung positive in the latest quarter, up 1.1%, the first time since q2 2023. The revenue improvement was led by its Ignite business (up 4.7%) and a significant moderation in the revenue decline at Townsquare Ignite (down 5.8%, much better than down 12.9% in Q2). Management indicated that Ignite’s Q4 revenue growth should triple to near 15% and Interactive should swing positive.
Equity Research is available at no cost to Registered users of Channelchek. Not a Member? Click ‘Join’ to join the Channelchek Community. There is no cost to register, and we never collect credit card information.
This Company Sponsored Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).
*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision.
Saga Communications, Inc. is a broadcast company whose business is primarily devoted to acquiring, developing and operating radio stations. Saga currently owns or operates broadcast properties in 27 markets, including 79 FM and 33 AM radio stations. Saga’s strategy is to operate top billing radio stations in mid sized markets, defined as markets ranked (by market revenues) from 20 to 200. Saga’s radio stations employ a myriad of programming formats, including Active Rock, Adult Album Alternative, Adult Contemporary, Country, Classic Country, Classic Hits, Classic Rock, Contemporary Hits Radio, News/Talk, Oldies and Urban Contemporary. In operating its stations, Saga concentrates on the development of strong decentralized local management, which is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the stations in their market area and is compensated based on their financial performance as well as other performance factors that are deemed to effect the long-term ability of the stations to achieve financial objectives. Saga began operations in 1986 and became a publicly traded company in December 1992. The stock trades on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “SGA”.
Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Equity Research Analyst, Digital, Media & Technology , Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Jacob Mutchler, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.
Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.
Q3 results. The company reported Q3 revenue of $28.1 million and adj. EBITDA of $3.6 million, both of which were in line with our estimates of $28.7 million and $3.6 million, respectively. Notably, the company ended an unprofitable relationship with a digital services provider, which contributed to digital revenue growth slowing to 3.2% in Q3. While we anticipate this will make year-over-year digital revenue comparisons difficult in the short term, we believe the company’s digital segment offers a favorable growth outlook.
Q4 outlook. Management indicated that Q4 revenue is pacing down low to mid-single digits, highlighting a difficult advertising market that is feeling the effects of the high interest rate environment. Furthermore, operating expenses on a same station basis are guided to increase in the range of 3% – 5% over the prior year period. We anticipate this increase will largely be attributed to investments in the company’s digital growth initiatives.
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This Company Sponsored Research is provided by Noble Capital Markets, Inc., a FINRA and S.E.C. registered broker-dealer (B/D).
*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision.
Key Points: – Astrana will acquire Prospect Health to expand its U.S. provider network across four key states. – The transaction includes a $1,095 million bridge financing, backed by major financial institutions. – The acquisition aligns with Astrana’s mission to provide localized, high-quality healthcare, benefiting 1.7 million members.
Astrana Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASTH), a technology-driven healthcare provider, has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Prospect Health, a healthcare system with a robust network in California, Texas, Arizona, and Rhode Island. This acquisition is valued at $745 million and aims to expand Astrana’s reach across critical U.S. markets, enabling coordinated, high-quality care for approximately 1.7 million Americans. Expected to close by mid-2025, the transaction will mark a significant expansion for Astrana in the U.S. healthcare sector.
Astrana’s acquisition of Prospect Health includes an array of healthcare assets such as the Prospect Health Plan, medical groups in four states, a pharmacy (RightRx), and Foothill Regional Medical Center in California. Prospect currently serves around 610,000 members across Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and Commercial plans through its 3,000 primary care providers and 10,000 specialists. The acquisition will allow Astrana to strengthen its position as a leading U.S. healthcare delivery platform, focused on providing accessible, high-value care.
Astrana will fund the purchase with a combination of cash and a $1,095 million senior secured bridge commitment from Truist Bank and J.P. Morgan. The transaction includes an extended closing timeline, aiming for regulatory approvals and completion by mid-2025. The combined network will also bring substantial integration risks, given the complexity of merging operations across multiple states and entities. However, Astrana anticipates that its investment in infrastructure improvements will help ensure local, personalized care in each region.
CEO Brandon K. Sim noted that the acquisition represents a union of two organizations with a shared mission of patient-centric care. Prospect’s established presence in markets like Southern California will allow Astrana to expand beyond its current regions, particularly into Orange County, where Astrana has limited operations. This geographic expansion, coupled with Astrana’s technology-enabled healthcare model, will provide a scalable solution for accessible healthcare in diverse communities.
Astrana expects Prospect to generate approximately $1.2 billion in revenue, with adjusted EBITDA of around $81 million for 2024. This acquisition aligns with Astrana’s strategy to grow through value-based care and increase its reach across new markets while ensuring continuity of care for Prospect’s patients. According to CFO Tom Holloway, Astrana projects the transaction to be immediately accretive to earnings per share, excluding expected synergies, thus enhancing shareholder value over the long term.
Jim Brown, CEO of Prospect, expressed optimism about the partnership, highlighting shared cultural values and operational synergies between the companies. He emphasized that the acquisition will create a larger, more coordinated care network that offers improved access, quality, and efficiency for patients. The integrated healthcare system will enable Astrana to expand its end-to-end technology capabilities and support local healthcare infrastructure with continued investment in infrastructure and patient services.
PONTE VEDRA, Fla., Nov. 7, 2024 — Cadrenal Therapeutics, Inc., (Nasdaq: CVKD) (the “Company” or “Cadrenal”), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company developing tecarfarin, a new vitamin K antagonist (VKA) designed to provide safer and superior anticoagulation for patients with implanted cardiac devices or rare cardiovascular conditions, today provided a corporate update coinciding with the filing of its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2024.
Recent Highlights
In early September, Cadrenal leadership met with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss its tecarfarin Phase 3 clinical trial protocol in left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patients and is continuing these discussions.
Cadrenal advanced Abbott collaboration discussions regarding Cadrenal’s pivotal clinical trial in patients with the Abbott LVAD HeartMate 3, the only LVAD available in the U.S.
Also, in October 2024, Cadrenal joined the Corporate Council of the Anticoagulation Forum (AC Forum), the largest professional organization of anticoagulation specialists committed to advancing the quality and safety of chronic anticoagulation care globally. Through participation in the Corporate Council, Cadrenal will collaborate with the AC Forum as it works to educate and engage the organization’s 15,000 healthcare professional members to improve outcomes for patients on anticoagulants.
Cadrenal and its pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) completed the operational readiness activities necessary to supply active pharmaceutical ingredients and clinical trial materials in accordance with current good manufacturing principles (cGMP).
On October 24, 2024, Cadrenal announced that it successfully raised approximately $5.1 million through its at-the-market facility (ATM).
On November 1, 2024, Cadrenal announced the exercise of warrants generating gross proceeds of approximately $4.7 million.
Recent financing transactions totaling $9.8 million increased its cash balance to approximately $11.3 million and strengthened its balance sheet. The net proceeds provide Cadrenal with additional working capital as it advances tecarfarin toward a pivotal Phase 3 trial.
Q3 2024 operating expenses were $2.5 million, including $0.3 million of non-cash expenses.
Cash used in operating activities totaled $2.2 million during Q3 2024.
Cash and cash equivalent balance of $11.3 million as of November 7, 2024.
“Momentum is building from our achievement of several critical milestones toward beginning a pivotal clinical trial to evaluate tecarfarin’s superiority to warfarin in LVAD patients,” said Quang X. Pham, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Cadrenal Therapeutics. “These accomplishments span finance, operations, partner relations, and clinical development and enhance our ability to execute our strategic plan going into 2025.
“Efficiently raising nearly $10 million in recent weeks bolsters funds for operational and clinical development needs. At the same time, we are progressing our dialogue with the FDA and Abbott and moving ahead with our CDMO to manufacture tecarfarin for our Phase 3 trial,” continued Pham.
Tecarfarin is the only anticoagulant in development worldwide for patients with implanted cardiac devices and other rare cardiovascular conditions. The oral and reversible drug has been uniquely designed to overcome many of the challenges patients experience with warfarin and to fill a need unmet by direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) that are contraindicated or not recommended by leading cardiology associations for these individuals. If approved, tecarfarin may be a safer and more effective chronic anticoagulant for LVAD patients in the U.S.
In addition, tecarfarin may prove valuable for other patients where warfarin is not providing recommended anticoagulation because of genetic warfarin resistance or renal impairment making warfarin metabolism difficult. These include individuals with end-stage renal disease and atrial fibrillation or those with mechanical heart valves and hard-to-control anticoagulation, as determined by International Normalized Ratio (INR) measurements of how long it takes the blood to clot.
ABOUT CADRENAL THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Cadrenal Therapeutics is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company developing tecarfarin, a new vitamin K antagonist (VKA) designed to offer safer, more effective chronic anticoagulation for patients with implanted cardiac devices or rare cardiovascular conditions. Tecarfarin is anticipated to result in fewer adverse events such as strokes, heart attacks, bleeds, and deaths than warfarin, the most commonly used anticoagulant for these patients, despite its prevalent adverse events, drug-to-drug interactions, and frequent dosing changes. Cadrenal is focused on evaluating tecarfarin’s superiority to warfarin in these patients where DOACs are not recommended in the treatment guidelines of leading cardiology associations. Tecarfarin received an orphan drug designation for advanced heart failure patients with implanted LVADs as well as both orphan drug and fast-track status for end-stage kidney disease patients with atrial fibrillation. Cadrenal is opportunistically planning pivotal clinical trials and pursuing clinical and commercial partnerships to advance tecarfarin. The company’s plans also include studying tecarfarin in patients with mechanical heart valves experiencing anticoagulation difficulties. Visit www.cadrenal.com to learn more.
About Tecarfarin
Tecarfarin is a Phase 3-ready drug candidate that Cadrenal is developing to overcome many of warfarin’s challenges and fill the need for a safer and more effective VKA chronic anticoagulant. Tecarfarin is anticipated to improve outcomes and result in fewer major events for warfarin-dependent patients. Extensive data indicates that the efficacy of tecarfarin, metabolized via a different pathway than warfarin, is not affected by drug-drug interactions and kidney impairment, which are common in these patients. Phase 2/3 clinical trials show that tecarfarin may offer enhanced stability and time in therapeutic range (TTR) that inversely correlate with major events. Tecarfarin is the only new anticoagulant being developed for patients with implanted cardiac devices or rare cardiovascular conditions. Treatment with tecarfarin aims to improve anticoagulation for these underserved patients and their healthcare providers who face difficulties in managing warfarin’s wide variability and risk of gastrointestinal bleeds.
Safe Harbor Statement
Any statements contained in this press release about future expectations, plans, and prospects, as well as any other statements regarding matters that are not historical facts, may constitute “forward-looking statements.” These statements include statements regarding our planned pivotal trial to evaluate tecarfarin’s effectiveness for LVAD patients, the success of the Company’s collaborative efforts with Abbott, tecarfarin potentially being a safer and more effective chronic anticoagulant for patients with LVADs, tecarfarin filling a need unmet by DOACs that are contraindicated or not recommended, the commencement of trials to evaluate tecarfarin’s superiority to warfarin in LVAD patients and potentially bring the Company’s better anticoagulation solution to those in need, and tecarfarin proving valuable for other patients where warfarin is not providing recommended anticoagulation because of genetic warfarin resistance or renal impairment making warfarin metabolism difficult. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including the ability of tecarfarin to improve anticoagulation treatment in patients, the ability of the Company to advance tecarfarin with patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs), the collaborative efforts with Abbott being successful and those with AFib and ESKD, the collaboration with Abbott being successful and the other risk factors described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, and the Company’s subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including subsequent periodic reports on Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and, except as required by federal securities laws, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
For more information, please contact:
Cadrenal Therapeutics: Matthew Szot, CFO 858-337-0766 press@cadrenal.com
Investors: Lytham Partners, LLC Robert Blum, Managing Partner 602-889-9700 CVKD@lythampartners.com
GROSSE POINTE FARMS, Mich., Nov. 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Saga Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq – SGA) (the “Company” or “Saga”) today reported that net revenue decreased 3.5% to $28.1 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2024 compared to $29.1 million for the same period last year. Station operating expense increased 3.1% for the quarter to $23.5 million compared to the same period last year. For the quarter, operating income was $1.6 million compared to $3.5 million for the same quarter last year and station operating income (a non-GAAP financial measure) decreased 21.2% to $6.0 million. Capital expenditures were $625 thousand for the quarter compared to $760 thousand for the same period last year. We had net income of $1.3 million for the quarter compared to net income of $2.7 million for the third quarter last year. Diluted earnings per share were $0.20 in the third quarter of 2024.
On a same station basis for the three months ended September 30, 2024 net revenue decreased 5.8% to $27.5 million and station operating expense decreased 0.3% to $22.7 million while operating income decreased 49.7% to $1.8 million.
Net revenue decreased 2.5% to $81.5 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2024 compared to $83.6 million for the same period last year. Station operating expense increased 4.7% for the nine-month period to $70.0 million compared to the same period last year. For the nine-month period, operating income was $1.4 million compared to $8.7 million and station operating income (a non-GAAP financial measure) decreased 25.2% to $15.2 million. Capital expenditures for the nine-months were $3.2 million compared to $3.4 million for the same period last year. Net income was $2.2 million for the nine-month period compared to $7.0 million for the same period last year. Diluted earnings per share were $0.35 in the nine-months of 2024.
On a same station basis for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 net revenue decreased 3.6% to $80.6 million from last year and station operating expense increased 3.2% to $69.0 million while operating income decreased 83.4% to $1.4 million.
The Company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share on October 18, 2024. The aggregate amount of the quarterly dividend was approximately $1.6 million. To date Saga has paid over $133 million in dividends to shareholders since the first special dividend was paid in 2012. The Company intends to pay regular quarterly cash dividends in the future. Consistent with its strategic objective of maintaining a strong balance sheet and with returning value to our shareholders, the Board of Directors will also continue to consider declaring special cash dividends, variable dividends and stock buybacks in the future.
The Company’s balance sheet reflects $28.7 million in cash and short-term investments as of September 30, 2024 and $28.0 million as of November 4, 2024. The Company currently has $5.0 million drawn against its $50.0 million revolving credit facility. The Company expects to spend approximately $4.0 – $4.5 million for capital expenditures during 2024.
Saga’s 2024 Third Quarter conference call will be held on Thursday, November 7, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time. The dial-in number for the call is (973) 528-0008. Enter conference code 674708. A recording and transcript of the call will be posted to the Company’s website as soon as it is available after the call.
The Company requests that all parties that have a question that they would like to submit to the Company please email the inquiry by 10:00 a.m. Eastern time on November 7, 2024 to SagaIR@sagacom.com. The Company will discuss, during the limited period of the conference call, those inquiries it deems of general relevance and interest. Only inquiries made in compliance with the foregoing directions will be discussed during the call.
Saga utilizes certain financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to assess its financial performance. The attached Selected Supplemental Financial Data tables disclose “actual”, “same station”, and “proforma” financial information as well as the Company’s reconciliation of non-GAAP measures: GAAP operating income to station operating income, GAAP net income to trailing twelve-month consolidated EBITDA and actual operating results to same station operating results as well as other financial data. The actual financial information reflects our historical financial results and include the results of operations for stations that we did not own for the entire comparable period. The same station financial information reflects only the results of operations for stations that we owned for the entire comparable period. The proforma financial information assume all acquisitions in 2024 occurred as of January 1, 2023. Such non-GAAP measures include same station financial information, pro forma financial information, station operating income, trailing 12-month consolidated EBITDA, and leverage ratio. These non-GAAP measures are generally recognized by the broadcasting industry as measures of performance and are used by Saga to assess its financial performance including, but not limited to, evaluating individual station and market-level performance, evaluating overall operations, as a primary measure for incentive-based compensation of executives and other members of management and as a measure of financial position. Saga’s management believes these non-GAAP measures are used by analysts who report on the industry and by investors to provide meaningful comparisons between broadcasting groups, as well as an indicator of their market value. These measures are not measures of liquidity or of performance in accordance with GAAP and should be viewed as a supplement to and not as a substitute for the results of operations presented on a GAAP basis including net operating revenue, operating income, and net income. Reconciliations for all the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure are attached in the Selected Supplemental Financial Data tables.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based upon current expectations and involve certain risks and uncertainties. Words such as “will,” “may,” “believes,” “intends,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “guidance,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The material risks facing our business are described in the reports Saga periodically files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including, in particular, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K. Readers should note that forward-looking statements may be impacted by several factors, including global, national, and local economic changes and changes in the radio broadcast industry in general as well as Saga’s actual performance. Actual results may vary materially from those described herein and Saga undertakes no obligation to update any information contained herein that constitutes a forward-looking statement.
Saga is a media company whose business is devoted to acquiring, developing and operating broadcast properties with a growing focus on opportunities complimentary to our core radio business including digital, e-commerce and non-traditional revenue initiatives. Saga owns or operates broadcast properties in 28 markets, including 82 FM, 32 AM radio stations and 79 metro signals. For additional information, contact us at (313) 886-7070 or visit our website at www.sagacom.com.
November 7, 2024 – Limassol, Cyprus – GDEV Inc. (NASDAQ: GDEV), an international gaming and entertainment company (“GDEV” or the “Company”), announces that it plans to release its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Thursday, November 14, 2024.
GDEV plans to host a conference call and webcast to discuss its results at 09:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time the same day. The press release, as well as supplementary slides will be available at gdev.inc.
To participate in the conference call, please use this link. To listen to the audio webcast please follow this link.
ABOUT GDEV GDEV is a gaming and entertainment holding company, focused on development and growth of its franchise portfolio across various genres and platforms. With a diverse range of subsidiaries including Nexters and Cubic Games, among others, GDEV strives to create games that will inspire and engage millions of players for years to come. Its franchises, such as Hero Wars, Island Hoppers, Pixel Gun 3D and others have accumulated over 550 million installs and $2.5 bln of bookings worldwide. For more information, please visit www.gdev.inc
CONTACTS: Investor Relations Roman Safiyulin | Chief Corporate Development Officer investor@gdev.inc
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Certain statements in this press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Such statements are based on current expectations that are subject to risks and uncertainties. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on the Company’s current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Company. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those that the Company has anticipated. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the Company’s control) or other assumptions. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s 2023 Annual Report on Form 20-F, filed by the Company on April 29, 2024, and other documents filed by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the Company’s assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
Digital Represents 52% of September YTD Total Net Revenue Ignite’s Digital Advertising Revenue Growth Accelerates in Q3 Repurchased $25 Million of Debt ($36M through October) and $24 Million of Equity in September YTD Period
PURCHASE, N.Y., Nov. 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Townsquare Media, Inc. (NYSE: TSQ) (“Townsquare”, the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) announced today its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2024.
“I am pleased to share that Townsquare’s net revenue returned to year-over-year growth, driven by sequential improvement across each of our three business segments, due to our local focus and our unique and differentiated digital platform, as well as the benefit from political revenue. Third quarter net revenue increased +0.2% year-over-year and Adjusted EBITDA decreased -6.3% year-over-year, both meeting guidance and reflecting a sequential improvement from the first and second quarter. In addition, net income improved $47.8 million year-over-year, in large part due to a reduction in non-cash impairment charges,” commented Bill Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of Townsquare Media, Inc. “Our return to net revenue growth in the third quarter coincided with our return to total Digital net revenue growth, which increased by +1% year-over-year. In particular, Townsquare Interactive’s sequential revenue growth improved to +3% quarter-over-quarter, and Digital Advertising net revenue increased +5% year-over-year, an acceleration from the +1% revenue growth rates in the first six months of 2024. In total, Digital represented more than half of Townsquare’s net revenue in the first nine months of the year, a true point of differentiation from others in local media, as we have evolved from a local broadcast radio company that was founded in 2010, to a Digital First Local Media Company with a world class team and a unique and differentiated strategy, assets, platforms and solutions.”
Mr. Wilson continued, “We have executed and delivered on what we said we would do, while simultaneously building value for our shareholders through dividend payments, debt reduction and share repurchases. In the first nine months of the year, we have repurchased and retired $25 million of our bonds at a discount to par ($36 million through October), and repurchased $24 million of equity, or 2.3 million shares, including the accretive share repurchase of 1.5 million shares from Madison Square Garden. At the same time, we have maintained our high yielding dividend and a strong cash balance, which was $22 million at the end of the third quarter, and net leverage remained below 4.9x. We are gearing up for our upcoming refinancing, and we look forward to sharing that outcome with our investors when we next report.”
The Company announced today that its Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.1975 per share. The dividend will be payable on February 1, 2025 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on January 21, 2025. As of yesterday’s closing price that reflects a dividend yield of approximately 8%.
Segment Reporting We have three reportable operating segments, Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions, Digital Advertising and Broadcast Advertising. The Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions segment includes our subscription digital marketing solutions business, Townsquare Interactive. The Digital Advertising segment, marketed externally as Townsquare Ignite, includes digital advertising on our owned and operated digital properties, our first party data digital management platform and our digital programmatic advertising platform. The Broadcast Advertising segment includes our local, regional, and national advertising products and solutions delivered via terrestrial radio broadcast, and other miscellaneous revenue that is associated with our broadcast advertising platform. The remainder of our business is reported in the Other category, which includes our live events business.
Third Quarter Results*
As compared to the third quarter of 2023:
Net revenue increased 0.2%, and decreased 2.5% excluding political
Net income increased $47.8 million
Adjusted EBITDA decreased 6.3%
Total Digital net revenue increased 1.1%
Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions (“Townsquare Interactive”) net revenue decreased 5.8%
Digital Advertising net revenue increased 4.7%
Total Digital Adjusted Operating Income decreased 8.9%
Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions Adjusted Operating Income decreased 11.0%
Digital Advertising Adjusted Operating Income decreased 7.9%
Broadcast Advertising net revenue increased 0.3%, and decreased 5.3% excluding political
Net Income per diluted share was $0.63 and Adjusted Net Income per diluted share was $0.35
Repurchased an aggregate $11.0 million of our 2026 Senior Secured Notes below par
Repurchased 0.1 million shares of the Company’s common stock at an average price of $11.32
Year-to-Date Highlights*
As compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2023:
Net revenue decreased 1.8%, and 3.3% excluding political
Net loss decreased $5.2 million
Adjusted EBITDA decreased 8.0%
Total Digital net revenue decreased 2.6%
Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions net revenue decreased 11.5%
Digital Advertising net revenue increased 2.4%
Total Digital Adjusted Operating Income decreased 17.0%
Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions Adjusted Operating Income decreased 10.3%
Digital Advertising Adjusted Operating Income decreased 20.2%
Broadcast Advertising net revenue decreased 0.3%, and 3.4%, excluding political
Repurchased an aggregate $24.7 million of our 2026 Senior Secured Notes below par
Repurchased 2.3 million shares of the Company’s common stock at an average price of $10.31
Repurchased and retired 3.2 million options expiring in July 2024 for a net purchase price of $3.60 per option
*See below for discussion of non-GAAP measures.
Guidance For the fourth quarter of 2024, net revenue is expected to be between $114.8 million and $118.8 million, and Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $30.8 million and $31.8 million.
For the full year 2024, net revenue is expected to be between $448 million and $452 million, and Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $100 million and $101 million, both within our original guidance ranges.
Quarter Ended September 30, 2024 Compared to the Quarter Ended September 30, 2023
Net Revenue Net revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2024 increased $0.2 million, or 0.2%, to $115.3 million as compared to $115.1 million in the same period in 2023. Digital Advertising net revenue increased $1.9 million, or 4.7%, as compared to the same period in 2023, and Broadcast Advertising net revenue increased $0.2 million, or 0.3%, as compared to the same period in 2023. These increases were partially offset by a decrease in Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions net revenue of $1.2 million, or 5.8%, and a $0.6 million, or 37.3%, decrease in Other net revenue as compared to the same period in 2023. Excluding political revenue of $3.7 million and $0.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively, net revenue decreased $2.9 million, or 2.5%, to $111.6 million. Broadcast Advertising net revenue decreased $2.8 million, or 5.3%, to $50.8 million, and Digital Advertising net revenue increased $1.8 million, or 4.6%, to $40.7 million.
Net Income (Loss) For the three months ended September 30, 2024, we reported net income of $11.3 million, an increase of $47.8 million as compared to a net loss of $36.5 million in the same period last year. The increase was primarily due to a $29.0 million decrease in non-cash impairment charges, partially offset by a $2.5 million increase in direct operating expenses and a $22.6 million decrease in the income tax provision due to the valuation allowance for interest expense carryforwards and an increase in certain non-deductible compensation costs. Adjusted Net Income decreased $2.2 million as compared to the same period last year.
Adjusted EBITDA Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended September 30, 2024 decreased $1.7 million, or 6.3%, to $25.5 million, as compared to $27.2 million in the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA (Excluding Political) decreased $4.3 million, or 16.3%, to $22.3 million, as compared to $26.6 million in the same period last year.
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2024 Compared to the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2023
Net Revenue Net revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, decreased $6.3 million, or 1.8%, to $333.2 million as compared to $339.4 million in the same period in 2023. Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions net revenue decreased $7.2 million, or 11.5%, Other net revenue decreased $1.3 million, or 15.3%, and Broadcast Advertising net revenue decreased $0.4 million, or 0.3%, as compared to the same period in 2023. These declines were partially offset by a $2.7 million, or 2.4%, increase in Digital Advertising net revenue as compared to the same period in 2023. Excluding political revenue of $6.2 million and $1.2 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively, net revenue decreased $11.3 million, or 3.3% to $327.0 million, Broadcast Advertising net revenue decreased $5.1 million, or 3.4%, to $147.6 million, and Digital Advertising net revenue increased $2.5 million, or 2.2%, to $116.2 million.
Net Loss For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, we reported a net loss of $36.0 million, a decrease of $5.2 million as compared to a net loss of $41.1 million in the same period last year. The decrease was due to a $29.4 million decrease in non-cash impairment charges, partially offset by increases in stock-based compensation and transaction and business realignment costs, the decrease in net revenue and a $4.5 million increase in the income tax provision was driven by the valuation allowance for interest expense carryforwards and an increase in certain non-deductible compensation costs. Adjusted Net Income decreased $9.7 million as compared to the same period last year.
Adjusted EBITDA Adjusted EBITDA for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 decreased $6.0 million, or 8.0% to $69.2 million, as compared to $75.2 million in the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA (Excluding Political) decreased $10.3 million, or 13.8%, to $63.9 million, as compared to $74.2 million in the same period last year.
Liquidity and Capital Resources As of September 30, 2024, we had a total of $21.8 million of cash and cash equivalents and $478.9 million of outstanding indebtedness, representing 5.10x and 4.86x gross and net leverage, respectively, based on Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended September 30, 2024, of $94.0 million.
The table below presents a summary, as of November 1, 2024, of our outstanding common stock (net of treasury shares).
Security
Number Outstanding
Description
Class A common stock
14,231,917
One vote per share.
Class B common stock
815,296
10 votes per share.1
Class C common stock
500,000
No votes.1
Total
15,547,213
1 Each share converts into one share of Class A common stock upon transfer or at the option of the holder, subject to certain conditions, including compliance with FCC rules.
Conference Call Townsquare Media, Inc. will host a conference call to discuss certain third quarter 2024 financial results and 2024 guidance on Thursday, November 7, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference call dial-in number is 1-800-717-1738 (U.S. & Canada) or 1-646-307-1865 (International) and the conference ID is “Townsquare”. A live webcast of the conference call will also be available on the investor relations page of the Company’s website at www.townsquaremedia.com.
A replay of the conference call will be available through November 14, 2024. To access the replay, please dial 1-844-512-2921 (U.S. and Canada) or 1-412-317-6671 (International) and enter confirmation code 1142541. A web-based archive of the conference call will also be available at the above website.
About Townsquare Media, Inc. Townsquare is a community-focused digital media and digital marketing solutions company with market leading local radio stations, principally focused outside the top 50 markets in the U.S. Our assets include a subscription digital marketing services business, Townsquare Interactive, providing website design, creation and hosting, search engine optimization, social media and online reputation management as well as other digital monthly services for SMBs; a robust digital advertising division, Townsquare Ignite, a powerful combination of a) an owned and operated portfolio of more than 400 local news and entertainment websites and mobile apps along with a network of leading national music and entertainment brands, collecting valuable first party data and b) a proprietary digital programmatic advertising technology stack with an in-house demand and data management platform; and a portfolio of 349 local terrestrial radio stations in 74 U.S. markets strategically situated outside the Top 50 markets in the United States. Our portfolio includes local media brands such as WYRK.com, WJON.com and NJ101.5.com, and premier national music brands such as XXLmag.com, TasteofCountry.com, UltimateClassicRock.com, and Loudwire.com. For more information, please visit www.townsquaremedia.com, www.townsquareinteractive.com and www.townsquareignite.com.
Forward-Looking Statements Except for the historical information contained in this press release, the matters addressed are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements often discuss our current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “potential,” “project,” “projection,” “plan,” “intend,” “seek,” “believe,” “may,” “could,” “would,” “will,” “should,” “can,” “can have,” “likely,” the negatives thereof and other words and terms. Actual events or results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors. While it is impossible to identify all such factors, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated by us include the impact of general economic conditions in the United States, or in the specific markets in which we currently do business including supply chain disruptions, inflation, labor shortages and the effect on advertising activity, industry conditions, including existing competition and future competitive technologies, the popularity of radio as a broadcasting and advertising medium, cancellations, disruptions or postponements of advertising schedules in response to national or world events, our ability to develop and maintain digital technologies and hire and retain technical and sales talent, our dependence on key personnel, our capital expenditure requirements, our continued ability to identify suitable acquisition targets, and consummate and integrate any future acquisitions, legislative or regulatory requirements, risks and uncertainties relating to our leverage and changes in interest rates, our ability to obtain financing at times, in amounts and at rates considered appropriate by us, our ability to access the capital markets as and when needed and on terms that we consider favorable to us and other factors discussed in this section entitled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this report and under “Risk Factors” in our 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the SEC on March 15, 2024, as well as other risks discussed from time to time in our filings with the SEC. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to predict or control. In addition, as a result of these and other factors, our past financial performance should not be relied on as an indication of future performance. The cautionary statements referred to in this section also should be considered in connection with any subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements that may be issued by us or persons acting on our behalf. The forward-looking statements included in this report are made only as of the date hereof or as of the date specified herein. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Definitions In this press release, we refer to Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA (Excluding Political), Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income Per Share which are financial measures that have not been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”).
We define Adjusted Operating Income by Segment as operating income by segment before the deduction of depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, corporate expenses, transaction costs, business realignment costs, impairments and net loss (gain) on sale and retirement of assets. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income before the deduction of income taxes, interest expense, net, gain on repurchases of debt, transaction and business realignment costs, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, impairments, net loss (gain) on sale and retirement of assets and other expense (income) net. We define Adjusted EBITDA (Excluding Political) as Adjusted EBITDA less political net revenue, net of a fifteen percent deduction to account for estimated national representative firm fees, music licensing fees and sales commissions expense. Adjusted Net Income is defined as net income before the deduction of transaction and business realignment costs, impairments, gains on sale of investments, change in fair value of investment, net loss (gain) on sale and retirement of assets, gain on repurchases of debt, gain on sale of digital assets, gain on insurance recoveries and net income attributable to non-controlling interest, net of income taxes stated at the Company’s applicable statutory effective tax rate. Adjusted Net Income Per Share is defined as Adjusted Net Income divided by the weighted average shares outstanding. We define Net Leverage as our total outstanding indebtedness, net of our total cash balance as of September 30, 2024, divided by our Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended September 30, 2024. These measures do not represent, and should not be considered as alternatives to or superior to, financial results and measures determined or calculated in accordance with GAAP. In addition, these non-GAAP measures are not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. You should be aware that in the future we may incur expenses or charges that are the same as or similar to some of the adjustments in the presentation, and we do not infer that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. In addition, these non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly-named measures reported by other companies.
We use Adjusted Operating Income by Segment to evaluate the operating performance of our business segments. We use Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (Excluding Political) to facilitate company-to-company operating performance comparisons by backing out potential differences caused by variations in capital structures (affecting interest expense), taxation and the age and book depreciation of facilities and equipment (affecting relative depreciation expense), which may vary for different companies for reasons unrelated to operating performance, and to facilitate year over year comparisons, by backing out the impact of political revenue which varies depending on the election cycle and may be unrelated to operating performance. We use Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income Per Share to assess total company operating performance on a consistent basis. We use Net Leverage to measure the Company’s ability to handle its debt burden. We believe that these measures, when considered together with our GAAP financial results, provide management and investors with a more complete understanding of our business operating results, including underlying trends, by excluding the effects of transaction costs, net loss (gain) on sale and retirement of assets, business realignment costs and certain impairments. Further, while discretionary bonuses for members of management are not determined with reference to specific targets, our board of directors may consider Adjusted Operating Income by Segment, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA (Excluding Political), Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Net Income Per Share, and Net Leverage when determining discretionary bonuses.
Following the sale of European staffing operations, Q3 revenue down 7.1% year-over-year; nearly flat on an organic basis
Q3 operating earnings of $2.6 million; $11.7 million on an adjusted basis, down 24.5%
Q3 adjusted EBITDA margin increased 20 basis points to 2.5%
Company expects sale of European staffing operations, acquisition of Motion Recruitment Partners, LLC (“MRP”), ongoing transformation actions to contribute to continued year-over-year EBITDA margin expansion in Q4 2024
TROY, Mich., Nov. 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Kelly (Nasdaq: KELYA, KELYB), a leading specialty talent solutions provider, today announced results for the third quarter of 2024.
Peter Quigley, president and chief executive officer, announced revenue for the third quarter of 2024 totaled $1.04 billion, a 7.1% decrease compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023 resulting primarily from the sale of the company’s European staffing operations on January 2, 2024, partially offset by the May 2024 acquisition of MRP. Excluding the impact of the sale of the European staffing operations and the recent acquisition of MRP, revenue was down 0.2% on an organic basis, reflecting a stabilization of year-over-year revenues for the second consecutive quarter despite the continued impact of customers’ more guarded approach to hiring, initiating new projects, and backfilling open roles. MRP revenue added 11.2% to reported Q3 year-over-year revenue growth.
Kelly reported operating earnings in the third quarter of 2024 of $2.6 million, compared to earnings of $0.1 million reported in the third quarter of 2023. Adjusted earnings were $11.7 million in the third quarter of 2024. The $9.1 million increase from reported earnings includes costs related to MRP integration and further aligning processes and technology across the Company, as well as charges related to the acquisition of MRP and the sale of our European staffing operations. The acquisition of MRP added $2.0 million of earnings from operations in the third quarter of 2024. Adjusted earnings in the third quarter of 2023 were $15.5 million. The $15.4 million increase from reported earnings included transformation-related charges. The European staffing operations produced $0.8 million of earnings from operations on an adjusted basis in the third quarter of 2023.
Earnings per share in the third quarter of 2024 were $0.02 compared to earnings per share of $0.18 in the third quarter of 2023. Included in earnings per share in the third quarter of 2024 are costs related to MRP integration and further aligning processes and technology across the Company as well as charges related to the acquisition of MRP and the sale of our European staffing operations, net of tax, of $0.18. Included in the earnings per share in the third quarter of 2023 were $0.32 per share of transformation-related restructuring charges, net of tax. On an adjusted basis, earnings per share were $0.21 in the third quarter of 2024 compared to $0.50 per share in the corresponding quarter of 2023.
“In the third quarter, we remained focused on what we can control as uncertain macroeconomic market conditions persisted, and once again delivered stable year-over-year organic revenue that outpaced the market,” said Quigley. “Contributing to this trend is continued double-digit revenue growth in Education, our ongoing expansion into the market for higher-margin outcome-based solutions in SETT and P&I, and sequential stability in MSP and RPO revenue in OCG. We expect to build on our momentum as we close the year, propelled by our growth and efficiency initiatives which are positioning Kelly to capitalize when staffing demand rebounds and continue delivering above-market performance.”
Kelly also reported that on November 5, its board of directors declared a dividend of $0.075 per share. The dividend is payable on December 4, 2024, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on November 20, 2024.
In conjunction with its third-quarter earnings release, Kelly has published a financial presentation on the Investor Relations page of its public website and will host a conference call at 9 a.m. ET on November 7 to review the results and answer questions. The call may be accessed in one of the following ways:
Via the telephone (877) 692-8955 (toll free) or (234) 720-6979 (caller paid) Enter access code 5728672 After the prompt, please enter “#”
A recording of the conference call will be available after 1:30 p.m. ET on November 7, 2024, at (866) 207-1041 (toll-free) and (402) 970-0847 (caller-paid). The access code is 9480328#. The recording will also be available at kellyservices.com during this period.
This release contains statements that are forward looking in nature and, accordingly, are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Kelly’s financial expectations, are forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in this release include, but are not limited to, (i) changing market and economic conditions, (ii) disruption in the labor market and weakened demand for human capital resulting from technological advances, loss of large corporate customers and government contractor requirements, (iii) the impact of laws and regulations (including federal, state and international tax laws), (iv) unexpected changes in claim trends on workers’ compensation, unemployment, disability and medical benefit plans, (v) litigation and other legal liabilities (including tax liabilities) in excess of our estimates, (vi) our ability to achieve our business’s anticipated growth strategies, (vii) our future business development, results of operations and financial condition, (viii) damage to our brands, (ix) dependency on third parties for the execution of critical functions, (x) conducting business in foreign countries, including foreign currency fluctuations, (xi) availability of temporary workers with appropriate skills required by customers, (xii) cyberattacks or other breaches of network or information technology security, and (xiii) other risks, uncertainties and factors discussed in this release and in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “target,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release and we undertake no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company’s expectations.
About Kelly®
Kelly Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: KELYA, KELYB) helps companies recruit and manage skilled workers and helps job seekers find great work. Since inventing the staffing industry in 1946, we have become experts in the many industries and local and global markets we serve. With a network of suppliers and partners around the world, we connect more than 500,000 people with work every year. Our suite of outsourcing and consulting services ensures companies have the people they need, when and where they are needed most. Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, we empower businesses and individuals to access limitless opportunities in industries such as science, engineering, technology, education, manufacturing, retail, finance, and energy. Revenue in 2023 was $4.8 billion. Learn more at kellyservices.com.
BOCA RATON, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Nov. 7, 2024– The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE: GEO) (“GEO”), a leading provider of contracted support services for secure facilities, processing centers, and reentry centers, as well as enhanced in-custody rehabilitation, post-release support, and electronic monitoring programs, reported today its financial results for the third quarter and first nine months of 2024.
Third Quarter 2024 Highlights
Total revenues of $603.1 million
Net Income Attributable to GEO of $0.19 per diluted share
Adjusted Net Income of $0.21 per diluted share
Adjusted EBITDA of $118.6 million
For the third quarter 2024, we reported net income attributable to GEO of $26.3 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, compared to net income attributable to GEO of $24.5 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, for the third quarter 2023. Third quarter 2024 results reflect costs associated with the extinguishment of debt of $2.9 million, pre-tax, $0.4 million in transaction fees, pre-tax, and $0.5 million in close-out expenses, pre-tax. Excluding the costs associated with the extinguishment of debt and other unusual and/or nonrecurring items, we reported adjusted net income for the third quarter 2024 of $29.1 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, compared to $23.6 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, for the third quarter 2023.
We reported total revenues for the third quarter 2024 of $603.1 million compared to $602.8 million for the third quarter 2023. We reported third quarter 2024 Adjusted EBITDA of $118.6 million, compared to $118.7 million for the third quarter 2023.
Third quarter 2024 results reflect lower-than-expected revenues in our Electronic Monitoring and Supervision Services segment, primarily due to the decline in participant counts under the federal government’s Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (“ISAP”). Participant counts under ISAP averaged approximately 177,000 individuals during the third quarter 2024, compared to average ISAP participant counts of approximately 184,000 during the second quarter 2024.
George C. Zoley, Executive Chairman of GEO, said, “While our third quarter results were below our expectations due to lower-than-expected revenues in our Electronic Monitoring and Supervision Services segment, we believe we have several potential sources of upside to our current quarterly run rate, with possible future growth opportunities across our diversified services platform. We have 18,000 available beds across contracted and idle secure services facilities, which if fully activated, would provide significant potential upside to our financial performance. We also believe we have the necessary resources to materially scale up the service levels in our ISAP and air and ground transportation contracts.”
“As we evaluate and pursue future growth opportunities, we remain focused on the disciplined allocation of capital to further reduce our debt, deleverage our balance sheet, and position our company to evaluate options to return capital to shareholders in the future,” Zoley added.
First Nine Months 2024 Highlights
Total revenues of $1.82 billion
Net Income Attributable to GEO of $0.11 per diluted share, reflects costs associated with the extinguishment of debt of $85.3 million, pre-tax
Adjusted Net Income of $0.63 per diluted share
Adjusted EBITDA of $355.5 million
For the first nine months of 2024, we reported net income attributable to GEO of $16.5 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, compared to net income attributable to GEO of $82.1 million, or $0.55 per diluted share, for the first nine months of 2023. Results for the first nine months of 2024 reflect costs associated with the extinguishment of debt of $85.3 million, pre-tax.
Excluding the costs associated with the extinguishment of debt and other unusual and/or nonrecurring items, we reported adjusted net income for the first nine months of 2024 of $82.8 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, compared to $79.8 million, or $0.65 per diluted share, for the first nine months of 2023.
We reported total revenues for the first nine months of 2024 of $1.82 billion compared to $1.80 billion for the first nine months of 2023. We reported Adjusted EBITDA for the first nine months of 2024 of $355.5 million, compared to $378.6 million for the first nine months of 2023.
Financial Guidance
Today, we updated our financial guidance for the fourth quarter and full year 2024. While participant counts under ISAP have been increasing subsequent to the end of the third quarter 2024 to approximately 182,500 currently, and while it is possible ISAP participant counts and utilization of ICE processing center beds may further increase this year, we have updated our fourth quarter 2024 guidance to be largely consistent with our third quarter 2024 results. We expect fourth quarter 2024 Net Income Attributable to GEO to be in a range of $0.19 to $0.22 per diluted share on quarterly revenues of $600 million to $610 million. We expect fourth quarter 2024 Adjusted EBITDA to be in a range of $114 million to $124 million.
For the full year 2024, we expect Net Income Attributable to GEO to be in a range of $0.30 to $0.34 per diluted share, which reflects costs associated with the extinguishment of debt of $87 million, pre-tax. Excluding the costs associated with the extinguishment of debt and other unusual and/or nonrecurring items, we expect full year 2024 Adjusted Net Income to be in a range of $0.80 to $0.84 per diluted share, on annual revenues of approximately $2.42 billion and reflecting an effective tax rate of approximately 23 percent, inclusive of known discrete items. We expect our full year 2024 Adjusted EBITDA to be between $470 million and $480 million.
Recent Developments
On October 4, 2024, we announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) exercised the first five-year option period extending the contract for the GEO-owned 1,940-bed Adelanto ICE Processing Center in California (the “Adelanto Center”) through December 19, 2029. ICE and GEO entered into a 15-year contract on December 19, 2019, for the provision of secure residential housing and support care services at the Adelanto Center, consisting of a five-year base period followed by two five-year option periods. The Adelanto Center employs approximately 350 employees.
Balance Sheet
At the end of the third quarter 2024, our net debt totaled approximately $1.69 billion, and our net leverage was approximately 3.5 times Adjusted EBITDA. We ended the third quarter 2024 with approximately $71 million in cash and cash equivalents and approximately $280 million in total available liquidity.
Conference Call Information
We have scheduled a conference call and webcast for today at 11:00 AM (Eastern Time) to discuss our third quarter 2024 financial results as well as our outlook. The call-in number for the U.S. is 1-877-250-1553 and the international call-in number is 1-412-542-4145. In addition, a live audio webcast of the conference call may be accessed on the Webcasts section under the News, Events and Reports tab of GEO’s investor relations webpage at investors.geogroup.com. A replay of the webcast will be available on the website for one year. A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available through November 14, 2024, at 1-877-344-7529 (U.S.) and 1-412-317-0088 (International). The participant passcode for the telephonic replay is 7169822.
About The GEO Group
The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE: GEO) is a leading diversified government service provider, specializing in design, financing, development, and support services for secure facilities, processing centers, and community reentry centers in the United States, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. GEO’s diversified services include enhanced in-custody rehabilitation and post-release support through the award-winning GEO Continuum of Care®, secure transportation, electronic monitoring, community-based programs, and correctional health and mental health care. GEO’s worldwide operations include the ownership and/or delivery of support services for 99 facilities totaling approximately 80,000 beds, including idle facilities and projects under development, with a workforce of up to approximately 18,000 employees.
Reconciliation Tables and Supplemental Information
GEO has made available Supplemental Information which contains reconciliation tables of Net Income Attributable to GEO to Adjusted Net Income, and Net Income to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, along with supplemental financial and operational information on GEO’s business and other important operating metrics. The reconciliation tables are also presented herein. Please see the section below titled “Note to Reconciliation Tables and Supplemental Disclosure – Important Information on GEO’s Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for information on how GEO defines these supplemental Non-GAAP financial measures and reconciles them to the most directly comparable GAAP measures. GEO’s Reconciliation Tables can be found herein and in GEO’s Supplemental Information available on GEO’s investor webpage at investors.geogroup.com.
Note to Reconciliation Tables and Supplemental Disclosure – Important Information on GEO’s Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Adjusted Net Income, EBITDA, and Adjusted EBITDA are non-GAAP financial measures that are presented as supplemental disclosures. GEO has presented herein certain forward-looking statements about GEO’s future financial performance that include non-GAAP financial measures, including Net Debt, Net Leverage, and Adjusted EBITDA. The determination of the amounts that are included or excluded from these non-GAAP financial measures is a matter of management judgment and depends upon, among other factors, the nature of the underlying expense or income amounts recognized in a given period.
While we have provided a high level reconciliation for the guidance ranges for full year 2024, we are unable to present a more detailed quantitative reconciliation of the forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP financial measures because management cannot reliably predict all of the necessary components of such GAAP measures. The quantitative reconciliation of the forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures will be provided for completed annual and quarterly periods, as applicable, calculated in a consistent manner with the quantitative reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures previously reported for completed annual and quarterly periods.
Net Debt is defined as gross principal debt less cash from restricted subsidiaries. Net Leverage is defined as Net Debt divided by Adjusted EBITDA.
EBITDA is defined as net income adjusted by adding provisions/(benefit) for income tax, interest expense, net of interest income, and depreciation and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA adjusted for (gain)/loss on asset divestitures/impairment, pre-tax, net loss attributable to non-controlling interests, stock-based compensation expenses, pre-tax, start-up expenses, pre-tax, ATM equity program expenses, pre-tax, transaction fees, pre-tax, close-out expenses, pre-tax, other non-cash revenue and expenses, pre-tax, and certain other adjustments as defined from time to time.
Given the nature of our business as a real estate owner and operator, we believe that EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are helpful to investors as measures of our operational performance because they provide an indication of our ability to incur and service debt, to satisfy general operating expenses, to make capital expenditures, and to fund other cash needs or reinvest cash into our business.
We believe that by removing the impact of our asset base (primarily depreciation and amortization) and excluding certain non-cash charges, amounts spent on interest and taxes, and certain other charges that are highly variable from year to year, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provide our investors with performance measures that reflect the impact to operations from trends in occupancy rates, per diem rates and operating costs, providing a perspective not immediately apparent from net income.
The adjustments we make to derive the non-GAAP measures of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA exclude items which may cause short-term fluctuations in income from continuing operations and which we do not consider to be the fundamental attributes or primary drivers of our business plan and they do not affect our overall long-term operating performance.
EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA provide disclosure on the same basis as that used by our management and provide consistency in our financial reporting, facilitate internal and external comparisons of our historical operating performance and our business units and provide continuity to investors for comparability purposes.
Adjusted Net Income is defined as net income/(loss) attributable to GEO adjusted for certain items which by their nature are not comparable from period to period or that tend to obscure GEO’s actual operating performance, including for the periods presented (gain)/loss on asset divestitures/impairment, pre-tax, loss on the extinguishment of debt, pre-tax, start-up expenses, pre-tax, transaction fees, pre-tax, ATM equity program expenses, pre-tax, close-out expenses, pre-tax, discrete tax benefit, and tax effect of adjustments to net income attributable to GEO.
Safe-Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and future performance of GEO that involve risks and uncertainties that could materially and adversely affect actual results, including statements regarding GEO’s financial guidance for the full year and fourth quarter of 2024, statements regarding GEO’s focus on reducing net debt, deleveraging its balance sheet, positioning itself to explore options to return capital to shareholders in the future, and pursuing a disciplined allocation of capital to enhance long-term value for shareholders, executing on GEO’s strategic priorities, pursuing quality growth opportunities, and the upside this could have on GEO’s quarterly run-rate, and GEO’s ability to scale up the delivery of diversified services to support the future needs of its government agency partners. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “estimate,” or “continue” or the negative of such words and similar expressions. Risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary from current expectations and forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to: (1) GEO’s ability to meet its financial guidance for 2024 given the various risks to which its business is exposed; (2) GEO’s ability to deleverage and repay, refinance or otherwise address its debt maturities in an amount and on terms commercially acceptable to GEO, and on the timeline it expects or at all; (3) GEO’s ability to identify and successfully complete any potential sales of company-owned assets and businesses or potential acquisitions of assets or businesses on commercially advantageous terms on a timely basis, or at all; (4) changes in federal and state government policy, orders, directives, legislation and regulations that affect public-private partnerships with respect to secure, correctional and detention facilities, processing centers and reentry centers, including the timing and scope of implementation of President Biden’s Executive Order directing the U.S. Attorney General not to renew the U.S. Department of Justice contracts with privately operated criminal detention facilities; (5) changes in federal immigration policy; (6) public and political opposition to the use of public-private partnerships with respect to secure correctional and detention facilities, processing centers and reentry centers; (7) any continuing impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on GEO and GEO’s ability to mitigate the risks associated with COVID-19; (8) GEO’s ability to sustain or improve company-wide occupancy rates at its facilities; (9) fluctuations in GEO’s operating results, including as a result of contract terminations, contract renegotiations, changes in occupancy levels and increases in GEO’s operating costs; (10) general economic and market conditions, including changes to governmental budgets and its impact on new contract terms, contract renewals, renegotiations, per diem rates, fixed payment provisions, and occupancy levels; (11) GEO’s ability to address inflationary pressures related to labor related expenses and other operating costs; (12) GEO’s ability to timely open facilities as planned, profitably manage such facilities and successfully integrate such facilities into GEO’s operations without substantial costs; (13) GEO’s ability to win management contracts for which it has submitted proposals and to retain existing management contracts; (14) risks associated with GEO’s ability to control operating costs associated with contract start-ups; (15) GEO’s ability to successfully pursue growth opportunities and continue to create shareholder value; (16) GEO’s ability to obtain financing or access the capital markets in the future on acceptable terms or at all; and (17) other factors contained in GEO’s Securities and Exchange Commission periodic filings, including its Form 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K reports, many of which are difficult to predict and outside of GEO’s control.
Cost Management and Higher Occupancy Continue To Drive Positive Financial Performance Raises Full Year Financial Guidance
BRENTWOOD, Tenn., Nov. 06, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CoreCivic, Inc. (NYSE: CXW) (CoreCivic or the Company) announced today its third quarter 2024 financial results.
Financial Highlights – Third Quarter 2024
Total revenue of $491.6 million, an increase of 2%
Net income of $21.1 million, an increase of 52%
Adjusted net income of $22.4 million, an increase of 44%
Diluted earnings per share of $0.19; Adjusted Diluted EPS of $0.20
Normalized FFO per diluted share of $0.43, an increase of 23%
Adjusted EBITDA of $83.3 million, an increase of 11%
Damon T. Hininger, CoreCivic’s President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “CoreCivic’s financial results for the third quarter of 2024 demonstrate our continued strong operating momentum. We achieved notable improvement in our operating margin compared with the prior year quarter through our continued cost management diligence and the strong demand for our essential services, evidenced by the increase in our compensated occupancy to 75.2% in the current quarter from 72.0% in the prior year. Operating margins are particularly impacted by occupancy considering operating leverage in our business.”
“Beyond our solid quarterly financial results,” Hininger added, “CoreCivic’s balance sheet remains strong, and we are pleased with the continued execution of our capital strategy, ending the quarter with leverage, measured as net debt to Adjusted EBITDA, at 2.2x for the trailing twelve months – placing us below our target leverage range of 2.25x to 2.75x that we established in August 2020. As we look forward to opportunities in 2025 and beyond, CoreCivic is ready to respond quickly and flexibly to our governmental partner’s needs due to our talented and experienced teams, healthy balance sheet and readily available and modern bed capacity.”
Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results Compared With Third Quarter 2023
Net income in the third quarter of 2024 was $21.1 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, compared with net income in the third quarter of 2023 of $13.9 million, or $0.12 per diluted share. When adjusted for special items, Adjusted net income for the third quarter of 2024 improved to $22.4 million, or $0.20 per diluted share (Adjusted Diluted EPS), compared with Adjusted net income in the third quarter of 2023 of $15.6 million, or $0.14 per diluted share. Special items for each period are presented in detail in the calculation of Adjusted Diluted EPS in the Supplemental Financial Information following the financial statements presented herein.
The increased adjusted earnings per share amounts resulted from modestly higher revenue, driven by higher populations and per diem rates at our facilities serving state and local populations, combined with cost containment efforts, lower interest expense and a decrease in shares of our common stock outstanding as a result of our share repurchase program. These earnings increases were achieved despite being partially offset by the expiration of our lease with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) at our California City Correctional Center on March 31, 2024, which accounted for a $0.05 per share reduction during the third quarter, as well as the previously disclosed early termination of our contract with U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the South Texas Family Residential Center effective August 9, 2024. Third quarter 2024 financial results at the South Texas facility were favorably impacted by the accelerated recognition of the remaining deferred revenue of $5.7 million, and due to the rapid ramp-down in detainee populations in July, resulting in the elimination of most operating expenses, though we continued to generate full fixed contractual revenue through the termination date, resulting in a minimal impact on per share results for the third quarter of 2024 compared with the third quarter of 2023.
Operating leverage stemming from improving facility occupancy combined with cost management initiatives continue to yield positive financial results and operating performance. In particular, expenses related to labor attraction and retention, such as registry nursing and temporary labor resources, including associated travel expenses, overtime and incentives, declined meaningfully from the prior year quarter, as well as sequentially.
Revenue from ICE, our largest government partner, decreased 3.4% compared with the third quarter of 2023 and by 7.5% compared with the second quarter of 2024. This decline in revenue from ICE primarily reflects the termination of our ICE contract at the South Texas Family Residential Facility effective August 9, 2024. Excluding the South Texas facility, our revenue with ICE increased 10.9% compared with the third quarter of the prior year and increased 4.6% compared with the prior quarter. During the third quarter of 2024, revenue from ICE was $139.7 million compared to $144.6 million during the third quarter of 2023 and $151.0 million during the second quarter of 2024.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was $81.4 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared with $72.8 million in the third quarter of 2023. Adjusted EBITDA, which excludes special items, was $83.3 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared with $75.2 million in the third quarter of 2023. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA was attributable to an increase in occupancy, combined with a general reduction in temporary staffing incentives and related labor costs, partially offset by the expiration of the lease with the CDCR at the California City facility.
Funds From Operations (FFO) for the third quarter of 2024 was $47.1 million, compared with $38.5 million in the third quarter of 2023. Normalized FFO, which excludes special items, increased to $47.6 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2024, compared with $40.5 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2023, representing an increase in Normalized FFO per share of 23%. Normalized FFO was impacted by the same factors that affected Adjusted EBITDA, further improved by a reduction in interest expense resulting from our debt reduction strategy that is not reflected in Adjusted EBITDA, as well as a 3% reduction in weighted average shares outstanding compared with the prior year quarter. Adjusted Net Income, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, FFO, and Normalized FFO, and, where appropriate, their corresponding per share amounts, are measures calculated and presented on the basis of methodologies other than in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Please refer to the Supplemental Financial Information and the note following the financial statements herein for further discussion and reconciliations of these measures to net income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure.
Capital Strategy
Share Repurchases. Our Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program authorizing the Company to repurchase up to $350.0 million of our common stock, including an additional $125.0 million approved on May 16, 2024. During 2024, we have repurchased 4.0 million shares of common stock under the share repurchase program at an aggregate purchase price of $59.5 million, although we did not repurchase any shares during the third quarter of 2024. Since the share repurchase program was authorized in May 2022, through September 30, 2024, we have repurchased a total of 14.1 million shares at an aggregate price of $172.1 million, or $12.20 per share, excluding fees, commissions and other costs related to the repurchases.
As of September 30, 2024, we had $177.9 million remaining under the share repurchase program. Additional repurchases of common stock will be made in accordance with applicable securities laws and may be made at management’s discretion within parameters set by the Board of Directors from time to time in the open market, through privately negotiated transactions, or otherwise. The share repurchase program has no time limit and does not obligate us to purchase any particular amount of our common stock. The authorization for the share repurchase program may be terminated, suspended, increased or decreased by our Board of Directors in its discretion at any time. As a result of ICE’s discontinued use of the South Texas Family Residential Center and the impact such discontinuation will have on our leverage ratios, we intend to prioritize the use of our free cash flow to further reduce our debt, although we may exercise discretion in repurchasing additional shares of our common stock in accordance with the repurchase program.
2024 Financial Guidance
Based on current business conditions, we are providing the following updates to our financial guidance for the full year 2024:
New Guidance Full Year 2024
Prior Guidance Full Year 2024
Net income
$55.5 million to $61.5 million
$42.0 million to $50.4 million
Adjusted Net Income
$78.0 million to $84.0 million
$65.6 million to $73.6 million
Diluted EPS
$0.49 to $0.55
$0.37 to $0.45
Adjusted Diluted EPS
$0.69 to $0.75
$0.58 to $0.66
FFO per diluted share
$1.39 to $1.45
$1.28 to $1.36
Normalized FFO per diluted share
$1.59 to $1.65
$1.48 to $1.56
EBITDA
$284.3 million to $288.3 million
$268.0 million to $274.6 million
Adjusted EBITDA
$317.0 million to $321.0 million
$302.4 million to $308.4 million
During 2024, we expect to invest $70.0 million to $76.0 million in capital expenditures, consisting of $30.0 million to $31.0 million in maintenance capital expenditures on real estate assets, $32.0 million to $35.0 million for maintenance capital expenditures on other assets and information technology, and $8.0 million to $10.0 million for other capital investments, including costs to prepare an idle facility for activation in the possible event an opportunity presents. These amounts are unchanged from our prior guidance.
Supplemental Financial Information and Investor Presentations
We have made available on our website supplemental financial information and other data for the third quarter of 2024. Interested parties may access this information through our website at http://ir.corecivic.com/ under “Financial Information” of the Investors section. We do not undertake any obligation and disclaim any duties to update any of the information disclosed in this report.
Management may meet with investors from time to time during the fourth quarter of 2024. Written materials used in the investor presentations will also be available on our website beginning on or about November 26, 2024. Interested parties may access this information through our website at http://ir.corecivic.com/ under “Events & Presentations” of the Investors section.
Conference Call, Webcast and Replay Information
We will host a webcast conference call at 8:30 a.m. central time (9:30 a.m. eastern time) on Thursday, November 7, 2024, which will be accessible through the Company’s website at www.corecivic.com under the “Events & Presentations” section of the “Investors” page. To participate via telephone and join the call live, please register in advance here https://registrations.events/direct/NTM123920992. Upon registration, telephone participants will receive a confirmation email detailing how to join the conference call, including the dial-in number and a unique passcode.
About CoreCivic
CoreCivic is a diversified, government-solutions company with the scale and experience needed to solve tough government challenges in flexible, cost-effective ways. We provide a broad range of solutions to government partners that serve the public good through high-quality corrections and detention management, a network of residential and non-residential alternatives to incarceration to help address America’s recidivism crisis, and government real estate solutions. We are the nation’s largest owner of partnership correctional, detention and residential reentry facilities, and one of the largest prison operators in the United States. We have been a flexible and dependable partner for government for over 40 years. Our employees are driven by a deep sense of service, high standards of professionalism and a responsibility to help government better the public good. Learn more at www.corecivic.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements as to our beliefs and expectations of the outcome of future events that are “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties associated with: (i) changes in government policy, legislation and regulations that affect utilization of the private sector for corrections, detention, and residential reentry services, in general, or our business, in particular, including, but not limited to, the continued utilization of our correctional and detention facilities by the federal government, including as a consequence of the United States Department of Justice not renewing contracts as a result of President Biden’s Executive Order on Reforming Our Incarceration System to Eliminate the Use of Privately Operated Criminal Detention Facilities, impacting utilization primarily by the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons and the United States Marshals Service, and the impact of any changes to immigration reform and sentencing laws (we do not, under longstanding policy, lobby for or against policies or legislation that would determine the basis for, or duration of, an individual’s incarceration or detention); (ii) our ability to obtain and maintain correctional, detention, and residential reentry facility management contracts because of reasons including, but not limited to, sufficient governmental appropriations, contract compliance, negative publicity and effects of inmate disturbances; (iii) changes in the privatization of the corrections and detention industry, the acceptance of our services, the timing of the opening of new facilities and the commencement of new management contracts (including the extent and pace at which new contracts are utilized), as well as our ability to utilize available beds; (iv) general economic and market conditions, including, but not limited to, the impact governmental budgets can have on our contract renewals and renegotiations, per diem rates, and occupancy; (v) fluctuations in our operating results because of, among other things, changes in occupancy levels; competition; contract renegotiations or terminations; inflation and other increases in costs of operations, including a rise in labor costs; fluctuations in interest rates and risks of operations; (vi) government budget uncertainty, the impact of the debt ceiling and the potential for government shutdowns and changing budget priorities; (vii) our ability to successfully identify and consummate future development and acquisition opportunities and realize projected returns resulting therefrom; (viii) our ability to have met and maintained qualification for taxation as a real estate investment trust, or REIT, for the years we elected REIT status; and (ix) the availability of debt and equity financing on terms that are favorable to us, or at all. Other factors that could cause operating and financial results to differ are described in the filings we make from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
We take no responsibility for updating the information contained in this press release following the date hereof to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof or the occurrence of unanticipated events or for any changes or modifications made to this press release or the information contained herein by any third-parties, including, but not limited to, any wire or internet services, except as may be required by law.
Key Points: – A 25 basis point rate cut is expected post-election to maintain market stability. – Powell may address Trump’s policies’ potential impact on inflation and Fed independence. – Trump’s win fuels speculation on replacing Powell with loyalists like Kevin Warsh.
The Federal Reserve is poised to implement a 25-basis point interest rate cut today, aiming to maintain stability and reduce economic uncertainty following Donald Trump’s recent election victory. This anticipated decision aligns with the Fed’s objective to keep the economy on track without provoking major market shifts, especially amid evolving political dynamics.
Analysts believe that the Fed’s decision reflects a cautious approach, choosing a modest cut over larger changes to convey a sense of steady confidence in its outlook. “They’d rather just cut, keep their heads down and not say anything all that new,” notes Luke Tilley, chief economist for Wilmington Trust. The Fed aims to avoid surprising investors, especially with markets already reacting to election outcomes and uncertain economic policies.
Despite today’s expected cut, Fed policymakers face an intricate economic landscape marked by robust economic indicators, persistent inflation, and fluctuating employment figures—some of which have been affected by weather and labor strikes. While consensus points toward a rate reduction, discussions may reveal differing opinions among policymakers, with some considering a pause, and others endorsing a gradual path for additional cuts. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is anticipated to forge agreement on a conservative approach, with the modest cut following September’s 50-basis point adjustment.
The election of Trump raises pertinent questions about the future of economic policy, as his plans may influence inflation, wage growth, and ultimately, the Fed’s long-term objectives. Trump’s economic agenda, which includes potential tariffs and restrictive immigration policies, could increase costs for businesses and push up consumer prices, posing challenges for the Fed in managing inflation down to its target level of 2%.
During today’s press conference, Powell will likely face questions on Trump’s policy stance, including its potential impacts on the national deficit, inflation, and employment. The Fed Chair may deflect on direct implications, stressing that the current rate cut reflects the Fed’s commitment to supporting the economy as inflation continues to moderate. This approach would emphasize the Fed’s independence in decision-making, ensuring that economic policy remains shielded from political influence.
Trump’s return to office brings renewed speculation over Powell’s future. Although Trump initially appointed Powell, he has indicated that he may prefer a change in leadership, particularly as Powell’s term concludes in 2026. Trump’s vocal criticism of Powell during his previous term focused on the Fed’s rate hikes, often calling for lower rates to boost the economy. A second term for Trump may see continued scrutiny on Fed policy, with potential contenders for Fed Chair including former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and former Trump advisor Kevin Hassett.
The question of Fed independence is once again at the forefront, with concerns that Trump’s interest in influencing rate decisions could erode the central bank’s autonomy. During his previous term, Trump made it clear that he favored policies that aligned with his growth-focused economic goals, going as far as to suggest negative interest rates. While Trump has since downplayed the idea of directly intervening in the Fed’s leadership, he has expressed a desire for a more hands-on role in monetary policy direction.
As the Fed adjusts to a post-election environment, Powell’s efforts to navigate between economic prudence and political pressures will shape its trajectory. The Fed’s emphasis on continuity and caution with today’s rate decision reflects its broader commitment to maintaining economic stability, even as the political landscape shifts around it. Investors and policymakers alike will be closely watching the Fed’s next moves, with rate decisions likely influencing market sentiment and economic policy debates in the months ahead.
CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– MAIA Biotechnology, Inc., (NYSE American: MAIA) (“MAIA”, the “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted immunotherapies for cancer, today announced that independent director Stan V. Smith, Ph.D. made an individual purchase of 100,000 shares of MAIA’s common stock, and warrants to purchase 100,000 shares, of MAIA’s common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $225,900 as part of the Company’s recent private placement of common stock and warrants announced by the Company on October 28, 2024, and which closed on November 1, 2024.
“As one of our original investors, Stan has participated in nearly every private placement financing round since our Company’s inception. We are grateful for his consistent participation in our financings and for his long-time service on our Board,” said Vlad Vitoc, M.D., Chairman and CEO of MAIA.
Stan Smith, Ph.D. commented, “As a private investor in MAIA, I believe the science behind the THIO franchise, coupling telomere targeting and immunogenicity, can be disruptive in the treatment markets for multiple difficult-to-treat cancer types.”
Dr. Smith is president of Smith Economics Group, Ltd. in Chicago, providing economic and financial consulting nationwide. Trained at the University of Chicago and specializing in litigation economics, Dr. Smith co-authored the first textbook on the subject of economic damages. Dr. Smith has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Chicago and at DePaul University College of Law where he created the first course in the United States in forensic economics.
Additional details on the private placement can be found in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 29, 2024, at www.sec.gov.
About MAIA Biotechnology, Inc.
MAIA is a targeted therapy, immuno-oncology company focused on the development and commercialization of potential first-in-class drugs with novel mechanisms of action that are intended to meaningfully improve and extend the lives of people with cancer. Our lead program is THIO, a potential first-in-class cancer telomere targeting agent in clinical development for the treatment of NSCLC patients with telomerase-positive cancer cells. For more information, please visit www.maiabiotech.com.
Forward Looking Statements
MAIA cautions that all statements, other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, levels or activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those anticipated by such statements. The use of words such as “may,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “project,” “intend,” “future,” “potential,” or “continue,” and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements. However, the absence of these words does not mean that statements are not forward-looking. For example, all statements we make regarding (i) the initiation, timing, cost, progress and results of our preclinical and clinical studies and our research and development programs, (ii) our ability to advance product candidates into, and successfully complete, clinical studies, (iii) the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals, (iv) our ability to develop, manufacture and commercialize our product candidates and to improve the manufacturing process, (v) the rate and degree of market acceptance of our product candidates, (vi) the size and growth potential of the markets for our product candidates and our ability to serve those markets, and (vii) our expectations regarding our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our product candidates, are forward looking. All forward-looking statements are based on current estimates, assumptions and expectations by our management that, although we believe to be reasonable, are inherently uncertain. Any forward-looking statement expressing an expectation or belief as to future events is expressed in good faith and believed to be reasonable at the time such forward-looking statement is made. However, these statements are not guarantees of future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties and other factors beyond our control that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it was made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In this release, unless the context requires otherwise, “MAIA,” “Company,” “we,” “our,” and “us” refers to MAIA Biotechnology, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
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