E.W. Scripps Company (SSP) – A Political Firestorm

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

E.W. Scripps Company (SSP)

A Political Firestorm

The E.W. Scripps Co. (www.scripps.com) serves audiences and businesses through a growing portfolio of television, print and digital media brands. After approval of its acquisition of two Granite Broadcasting stations later this year, Scripps will own 21 local television stations as well as daily newspapers in 13 markets across the United States. It also runs an expanding collection of local and national digital journalism and information businesses including digital video news service Newsy. Scripps also produces television programming, runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and serves as the longtime steward of one of the nation’s largest, most successful and longest-running educational programs, Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1879, Scripps is focused on the stories of tomorrow.

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

    Q3 exceeds expectations. Local Media revenues, boosted by better Political and Core advertising, lead the company to over achieve expectations. Total company revenues were $493.7 million versus our $458.9 million estimate. Political advertising was a strong $96.4 million versus our $82.0 million estimate. Core advertising was 15.6% better than our estimate, $151.5 million versus $131.0 million. National Media revenues were 4.1% above expectations, as well.

    Cash flow stronger than expected.  Cash flow, as measured by adjusted EBITDA, was $145.9 million, versus our estimate of $119.4 million. The results reflected expenses that were largely in line, given the strict cost control measures. As such, the stronger revenues fell to the bottom line. Given better than expected high margin Political advertising, management increased its free cash flow guidance …



This 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. 

Cumulus Media Inc. (CMLS) – Improving Revenue Trends Nice Liquidity

Friday, November 06, 2020

Cumulus Media Inc. (CMLS)

Improving Revenue Trends; Nice Liquidity

CUMULUS MEDIA, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMLS) is a leading audio-first media and entertainment company delivering premium content to over a quarter billion people every month — wherever and whenever they want it. CUMULUS MEDIA engages listeners with high-quality local programming through 428 owned-and-operated stations across 87 markets; delivers nationally-syndicated sports, news, talk, and entertainment programming from iconic brands including the NFL, the NCAA, the Masters, the Olympics, the GRAMMYS, the American Country Music Awards, and many other world-class partners across nearly 8,000 affiliated stations through Westwood One, the largest audio network in America; and inspires listeners through its rapidly growing network of original podcasts that are smart, entertaining and thought-provoking. CUMULUS MEDIA provides advertisers with local impact and national reach through on-air, digital, mobile, and voice-activated media solutions, as well as access to integrated digital marketing services, powerful influencers, and live event experiences. CUMULUS MEDIA is the only audio media company to provide marketers with local and national advertising performance guarantees.

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

    Overachieves Q3 expectations. Total company revenues of $196.4 million was slightly above our $193.0 million estimate, but below consensus. Cash flow, as measured by adj. EBITDA, was $20.3 million, significantly better than our $10.2 million estimate, reflecting cost cutting actions.

    Revenue outlook still cautious.  Management indicated that Q4 revenue pacings, while improving sequentially, are down in the mid teen range, in spite of a heavy influx of Political advertising. Political advertising is expected to be a record $12.5 million in Q4. We are tweaking slightly lower our Q4 revenue estimate from $240.0 million to $235.0 million to be more conservative …



This 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. 

Entravision Communications Corporation (EVC) – An Ugly Duckling Digital Biz Turns Into A Swan Price Target Raised

Friday, November 06, 2020

Entravision Communications Corporation (EVC)

An Ugly Duckling Digital Biz Turns Into A Swan; Price Target Raised

Entravision Communications Corporation is a diversified Spanish-language media company utilizing a combination of television and radio operations to reach Hispanic consumers across the United States, as well as the border markets of Mexico. Entravision owns and/or operates 53 primary television stations and is the largest affiliate group of both the top-ranked Univision television network and Univision’s TeleFutura network, with television stations in 20 of the nation’s top 50 Hispanic markets. The Company also operates one of the nation’s largest groups of primarily Spanish-language radio stations, consisting of 48 owned and operated radio stations.

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

    Q3 Beats Expectations. Revenues were 11% higher than our estimate, $62.9 million versus our estimate of $56.9 million, on the strength of Political advertising. Full year 2020 Political advertising set to be a record $28 million, well above $16.6 million in 2012. Q4 cash flow exceeded expectations, $16.4 million versus our $10.4 million estimate.

    Completes Cisneros acquisition.  The company closed on its 51% interest in Cisneros in October. The digital advertising rep firm provides girth and attractive growth in its Digital segment. Management indicated that the business will make positive EBITDA contributions in Q4 …



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. 

Gray Television Inc. (GTN) – Georgia Is On Its Mind For an Extraordinary Political Year

Friday, November 06, 2020

Gray Television Inc. (GTN)

Georgia Is On Its Mind For an Extraordinary Political Year

Gray Television, Inc. operates as a television broadcast company in the United States. As of April 6, 2010, it operated 36 television stations in 30 markets, including 17 affiliated with CBS Inc.; 10 affiliated with the National Broadcasting Company, Inc.; 8 affiliated with the American Broadcasting Company (ABC); and 1 affiliated with FOX Entertainment Group, Inc. (FOX). The company also operated 39 digital second channels comprising 1 affiliated with ABC, 4 affiliated with FOX, 7 affiliated with CW Network, LLC, 18 affiliated with Twentieth Television, Inc., 2 affiliated with Universal Sports Network, and 7 local news/weather channels. Gray Television, Inc. was founded in 1897 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

    Beats Q3 expectations. Revenues beat even the most recent company update, fueled by record Political advertising, $128 million in the latest quarter. As a result of this high margin advertising, cash flow, as measured by adjusted EBITDA, exceeded expectations, $261 million versus our $197 million estimate.

    Extraordinary Political year.  The company once again raised its Political expectations, from $300 million to north of $380 million for 2020. Notably, management believes that the Senate run-off in Georgia could further boost Political advertising into December and early 2021 …



This 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. 

Tribune Publishing Company (TPCO) – Raising Estimates And Our Price Target

Thursday, November 05, 2020

Tribune Publishing Company (TPCO)

Raising Estimates And Our Price Target

Tribune Publishing Co is a print and online media company that publishes various newspapers and websites. It creates and distribute content across its media portfolio, offering integrated marketing, media, and business services to consumers and advertisers, including digital solutions and advertising opportunities. The company manages its business as two distinct segments, M and X. Segment M is comprised of the company’s media groups excluding their digital revenues and related digital expenses, except digital subscription revenues when bundled with a print subscription. Segment X includes the company’s digital revenues and related digital expenses from local Tribune websites, third party websites, mobile applications, digital only subscriptions, Tribune Content Agency and BestReviews.

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

    Beats Q3 expectations. The company beats our cash flow (as measured by Adjusted EBITDA) estimate, $27.2 million versus our estimate of $15.7 million on in line revenues of $188.6 million.

    Strong expense reductions.  The pandemic highlighted the ability of the company to have a flexible, home-based workforce, which eliminated the need for expensive office space. For instance, over 1/2 of the company’s papers no longer have office based newsrooms, a significant savings. We believe that there are additional costs to cut …



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. 

How to Invest in Esports

 

What Investors Should Consider Before Investing in the Esports Industry

 

Stocks of esports companies are benefitting from rising investor attention. The dramatic growth of esports as a spectator sport, entertainment, and even a gaming outlet makes the attention they’re getting justified.

Recent statistics on electronic sports (sometimes written e-sports or esports) show the events attract more than 500 million viewers worldwide. For those less familiar, esports is defined as organized video gaming. The games may consist of individual or multiplayer teams. Participants train and compete against other players or teams in an organized contest under standard agreed upon rules. The competitions attract large audiences both at the venue and across social media sites such as Twitch.tv. A reported 1.8 billion hours of esports, were watched in 2019, this is a 125% increase from hours reported the previous year. The trend has been positively impacted by the closure of traditional gambling outlets and sports in 2020.

Like any fledgling market with fast-growing revenue, there’s a rush of companies vying for a slice.  Coverage of other people playing video games has demonstrated that it has tremendous and growing pull and is able to find an increasing number of followers —the audience is expanding rapidly and appears to have far more potential to the upside.

 

How Do Esports Profit?

Esports companies are primarily licensing companies, they sell access to branded events similar to other sports business models. This could include broadcast licensing deals, merchandise, live-event tickets, sponsorships, advertising, and clothing. Companies have also sold rights to operate esports teams and officiate organized leagues.  

As with many young industries gaining popularity, there is only so much room at the top. So, although this segment within sports entertainment is growing, investor evaluation of the individual companies and their prospects is highly recommended.

What to Look For

When evaluating if esports is a fit for your portfolio and what stock or stocks provide the best risk/return opportunity, start with the basics you look for in other industries and companies.

Measure trends – Data for a number of esports companies including GMBL,
GAME:CA,
MLLLF, and others can be found under the COMPANY Data section in Channelchek. This could serve as a good place to find key ratios, charts, insider activity, and other statistical trends.

Company strength relative to peers –  Every company has advantages and disadvantages relative to the others. Brand recognition, contractual agreements, unsettled legal disputes, and sheer size, to name a few. Learn about the competing companies. This is especially important when a market segment is new and the future looks positive for the segment there is always a swarm of companies elbowing their way in. There are usually fewer over time as survivors benefit from outcompeting other entrants. Familiarize yourself with the companies you may be interested in by catching up with the news on the tickers. The COMPANY Data section of Channelchek is also a source for news feeds on many of the stocks.

Management Effectiveness – Most investors don’t have the luxury of sitting down with management and understanding the merits of their strategy and ability to implement. Detailed information can still be garnered from the explosion of online conferences and roadshows, many of these can be accessed on “replay” on YouTube and other video sites. Professional research should not be overlooked when evaluating management. Up-to-date research and analysis by FINRA licensed analysts can be invaluable for understanding management and the well-being of a particular company. If research isn’t available on all the companies you’re comparing, it helps to read reports  that are available to best understand what a Wall Street professional looks for in this segment. A current example is Esports Entertainment Group (GMBL) covered by Noble Capital Markets.

Take-Away

The popularity of watching online and in-person (most venue events are on hiatus due to COVID-19) professionals play video games is on the rise. This segment of the sports licensing, gaming, and broadcasting industry is in its infancy and yet to be fully defined. Infancy is when the potential for reward is usually greatest, but at the same time risk of loss can also be high.  Know as much as you can before deciding to be involved and in which companies. Read what true research analysts think, predictions on where the segment is headed vary greatly. However, most expectations point to increased popularity and acceptance. Esports and gaming video content already have a large audience, the opportunity to further expand into more mainstream acceptance and becoming even more lucrative while other sports entertainment is struggling, make it an interesting business to evaluate, and perhaps weave into a diverse portfolio.

 

Suggested Reading:

Fintech Pirates are Looting Unsuspecting Trading Accounts

Workcations Add a New Class of Traveler

The Biggest COVID Winners are in the Business of Making Winners

Each event in our popular Virtual Road Shows Series has a maximum capacity of 100 investors online. To take part, listen to and perhaps get your questions answered, see which virtual investor meeting intrigues you here.

 

Sources:

Channelchek: Company Data

A Stake in fast Growing Esports

Which Media Companies Will Profit From Election Ad Spending?

 

The Industry that Benefits from a Close Election

 

Front-running the market by predicting election results and then further speculating on the industries that would benefit from those results, is valid. However, this strategy has many moving parts, and there is much uncertainty. Investors may want to alternatively look at what is going on right now and instead ask: Is there an industry that benefits more from an election that is too-close-to-call? Is there an industry prospering from the election contest itself?

Throwing Money Around

Over $7 billion has been spent on political advertising so far this cycle. This is equivalent to handing $21.50 to every man, woman, and child in the United States. Relative to past elections, $7 billion represents an 80% increase over the previous record-breaking cycle of 2018.  Most of the spending is on local TV spots (60%).  The data company Advertising Analytics provides real-time media intelligence in the advertising space. They’ve broken down where and how the campaigns are spending their money throughout the country.

 

Markets With the Most Political Ad Spending 2019-2020

 

 

It’s no surprise that a bulk of the spending is in the so-called battleground or swing states where the race outcomes are more difficult to predict as political leanings are relatively balanced.

These are some of the most noteworthy statistics that have been reported:

  • Political TV advertisement spending is primarily local. Currently, there has been $247 million spent on national TV ads (including cable). This is a drop in the bucket of the $5.1 billion spent locally ($4.1b broadcast and $1b cable).
  • Presidential advertising this cycle, as compared to other offices, is three times what it had been. $2.63B compared to $855M in the previous cycle.
  • Senate advertising this cycle tallies to $1.67B as compared to $989M in the previous cycle.
  • House seat election advertising is a bit lower than the previous cycle at $950M as compared to $1.03B.
  • Local broadcast TV still makes up most of the political advertising. Including other mediums, it is at 60%.
  • The second and third largest categories are digital and cable at a combined 18%.
  • As far as Digital spending, direct response advertising (fundraising and list-building) made up 73%, television-style digital persuasion ads made up 23%

 

The stakes are high. Between a very emotional presidential race, an effort by the Democrats to win a majority in the Senate along with the Presidency, and the Republicans’ desire for more seats in the House, it seems likely the pace of spending will remain well above average.

Is There Opportunity?

There is an enormous amount of money being spent on these contests. The stakes are high. And perhaps should be paid attention to. Many investors are closing out 2020, looking to see which pharmaceutical company will come through with a viable entrant in the battle against COVID, and others are benefitting from positions in tech companies. Other investors are placing their bets with infrastructure stocks, green energy, and other so-called “Biden-stocks.” On the “Trump-stock” side, investors may be looking at finance companies or industries that compete directly with China. However, the entire contest itself may be worth consideration.  In an industry report dated October 12, 2020, Noble Capital Markets Senior Media Analyst Michael Kupinski wrote: “Some companies have provided positive updated revenues/guidance, but the stocks have had little reaction. We ponder if investors are focused on the outcome of the upcoming elections and not on the positive, current fundamental developments.”  With so much distracting investors, it may be that the media and broadcast stocks have been largely overlooked.

Using conjecture on what the future will bring to a sector is risky and can provide more rewards than going with the known. Investing in media companies that had a rough time at the beginning of 2020 is not as “sexy” as buying a breakthrough drug company or owning high flying tech stocks, but we already know that we have a gangbuster election cycle. Those companies with markets concentrated in swing states and hotly contested House and Senate races have done well and may bring in much more revenue in the coming week leading to election day.

Take-Away

For most media companies, additional revenue is very impactful to the bottom line; compared to other industries, the variable costs to earn an extra dollar is minimal. It has been an exceedingly long election cycle. Early voting may have caused campaigns to turn up the spending early; they are likely to stay turned up all the way. By the time the last vote is cast, almost $8 billion dollars will have been spent trying to buy a single pull of the lever from each of us.

Paul Hoffman

Managing Editor, Channelchek

 

Suggested Reading:

Quarterly Review: Has The Market Already Factored In The Elections?

Is the TV Rollup Strategy Over?

Do Analysts Price Targets Matter?

 

Each event in our popular Virtual Road Shows Series has a maximum capacity of 100 investors online. To take part, listen to and perhaps get your questions answered, see which virtual investor meeting intrigues you here.

 

 Sources:

Kantar Estimates 2020 Election Ads Will Cost $7 Billion

https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/357135/us-ad-spending-lags-gdp-heading-in-coming-out-o.html

https://www.kiplinger.com/investing/stocks/stocks-to-buy/601170/best-stocks-to-buy-president-donald-trump

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2020/07/29/where-to-invest-ahead-of-a-trump-2020-win-or-a-biden-victory/#6673d47e19b0

Financials, industrials, and oil and gas all outperformed the S&P 500 after Trump won in November 2016. 

Travelzoo (TZOO) – Moving Along The Road To Recovery

Thursday, October 22, 2020

Travelzoo (TZOO)

Moving Along The Road To Recovery

Travelzoo is a US-based company which acts as a publisher of travel and entertainment offers. The company informs a varied number of members in Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America, as well as millions of website users, about the best travel, entertainment and local deals available from various companies. It provides travel, entertainment, and local businesses in a flexible manner to the various customer. The company operates in three geographic segments namely Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America. Travelzoo derives its revenue through advertising fees including listing fees paid by travel, entertainment, and local businesses to advertise their offers on company’s media properties. Most of the company’s revenue is derived from the North America.

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

    Exceeds Q3 expectations. We believe that the company posted one of the best Q3 results in the travel industry, with revenues up a strong 96% from Q2 revenues and a swing toward positive cash flow. Q3 revenues of $10.9 million was above our $9.9 million estimate. In addition, Q3 cash flow from continuing operations, or adjusted EBITDA, was better than expected at a positive $1.17 million versus our loss estimate of $1.53 million.

    Strong voucher sales.  The company’s cash position increased to a significant $51.7 million as of Sept. 30, nearly double the $26.7 million as of June 30, 2020, reflecting strong voucher sales. While redemptions of vouchers are likely to step up in coming quarters, we believe that the company’s cash position could increase to $60 million or even $70 million by the end of the fourth quarter based on …



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. 

Release – Travelzoo (TZOO) – Reports Third Quarter 2020 Results

Travelzoo Reports Third Quarter 2020 Results

 

NEW YORK, October 21, 2020 – Travelzoo® (NASDAQ: TZOO):

  • Consolidated revenue of $13.8 million, down 42% from $23.8 million year-over-year
  • Net loss of $1.2 million
  • Non-GAAP consolidated operating profit of $1.2 million
  • Earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.10) attributable to Travelzoo from continuing operations

Travelzoo, a global Internet media company that publishes exclusive offers and experiences for members, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2020. Consolidated revenue was $13.8 million, down 42% from $23.8 million year-over-year. Revenue increased by 97% from $7.0 million in Q2 2020. Reported revenue excludes revenue from discontinued operations in Asia Pacific. Travelzoo’s reported revenue consists of advertising revenues and commissions, derived from and generated in connection with purchases made by Travelzoo members.

The reported net loss attributable to Travelzoo from continuing operations was $1.1 million for Q3 2020. At the consolidated level, including minority interests, the reported net loss from continuing operations was $1.2 million. EPS from continuing operations was ($0.10), down from $0.21 in the prior-year period.

Non-GAAP operating profit was $1.2 million. The calculation of non-GAAP operating profit excludes amortization of intangibles ($0.3 million), stock option expenses ($1.2 million), and severance-related expenses ($0.9 million). See section “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below.

“A strong improvement in our business is evident compared to Q2. We are seeing irresistibly priced deals coming to the market, and Travelzoo, as the most trusted media brand publishing and recommending travel deals, is telling its members about the very best deals”, said Holger Bartel, Global CEO.

Cash Position

As of September 30, 2020, consolidated cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash were $51.7 million. In April 2020 and May 2020, Travelzoo received low-interest government loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) of $3.1 million and $535,000, respectively. No further applications for loans have been made since then and the company does not anticipate requiring any further loans.

Travelzoo North America

North America business segment revenue decreased 40% year-over-year to $9.1 million. North America business segment revenue increased by 118% from $4.2 million in Q2 2020. Operating loss for Q3 was $696,000, or (8%) of revenue, compared to an operating profit of $2.6 million, or 17% of revenue in the prior-year period.

Travelzoo Europe

Europe business segment revenue decreased 57% year-over-year to $3.7 million. In constant currencies, revenue decreased 62% year-over-year. Europe business segment revenue increased by 97% from $1.9 million in Q2 2020. Operating loss for Q3 was $757,000, or (21%) of revenue, compared to an operating profit of $815,000, or 10% of revenue in the prior-year period.

Jack’s Flight Club

On January 13, 2020, Travelzoo acquired 60% of Jack’s Flight Club, a subscription service. In Q3 2020, the Jack’s Flight Club business segment generated $1.1 million in revenue from subscriptions with operating profit of $731,000. After consolidation with Travelzoo, Jack’s Flight Club’s net income was $312,000, with $187,000 attributable to Travelzoo as a result of recording $333,000 of amortization of intangible assets related to the acquisition and a haircut of revenue (derived from deferred revenue sold prior to acquisition) of $148,000 due to purchase accounting in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Members and Subscribers

As of September 30, 2020, we had 30.5 million members worldwide. In Europe, the unduplicated number of Travelzoo members was 8.9 million as of September 30, 2020, down 3% from September 30, 2019. In North America, the unduplicated number of Travelzoo members was 16.5 million as of September 30, 2020, down 7% from September 30, 2019. Jack’s Flight Club had 1.7 million subscribers as of September 30, 2020, up 9% from September 30, 2019. In June 2020, Travelzoo sold its subsidiary in Japan, Travelzoo Japan K.K., to Mr. Hajime Suzuki. In connection with the sale, Travelzoo and Travelzoo Japan K.K. entered into a royalty-bearing licensing agreement for the exclusive use of Travelzoo members in Japan. In August 2020, Travelzoo sold its Singapore subsidiary to Mr. Julian Rembrandt and entered into a royalty-bearing licensing agreement for, among other things, the exclusive use of Travelzoo’s members in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Under the licensing agreements, Travelzoo’s existing members in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore will continue to be owned by Travelzoo as the licensor.

Discontinued Operations

As announced in a press release on March 10, 2020, Travelzoo decided to exit its Asia Pacific business which in 2019 reduced EPS by $0.60. The Asia Pacific business was classified as discontinued operations at March 31, 2020. Prior periods have been reclassified to conform with the current presentation. Certain reclassifications have been made for current and prior periods between the continued operations and the discontinued operations in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Income Taxes

Income tax benefit was $244,000 in Q3 2020, compared to an income tax expense of $860,000 in the prior-year period.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Management calculates non-GAAP operating income when evaluating the financial performance of the business. Travelzoo’s calculation of non-GAAP operating income, also called “non-GAAP operating profit” in this press release and today’s earnings conference call, excludes the following items: impairment of intangibles and goodwill, amortization of intangibles, stock option expenses, severance-related expenses. This press release includes a table which reconciles GAAP operating income to the calculation of non-GAAP operating income. Non-GAAP operating income is not required by, or presented in accordance with, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”). This information should be considered as supplemental in nature and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. In addition, these non-GAAP financial measures may not be the same as similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

Looking Ahead

We currently see a trend of recovery of our revenue. We have been able to reduce our operating expenses significantly. As a result of recovery of revenue and substantially lower operating expenses, we currently expect to achieve for Q4 a result close to break-even or a profit.

Conference Call

Travelzoo will host a conference call to discuss third quarter results today at 11:00 a.m. ET. Please visit http://ir.travelzoo.com/events-presentations to

  • download the management presentation (PDF format) to be discussed in the conference call; and year-over-year
  • access the webcast.

About Travelzoo

Travelzoo® provides our 30 million members insider deals and one-of-a-kind experiences personally reviewed by one of our deal experts around the globe. We have our finger on the pulse of outstanding travel, entertainment, and lifestyle experiences. For over 20 years we have worked in partnership with more than 5,000 top travel suppliers—our long-standing relationships give Travelzoo members access to irresistible deals.

Certain statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, expectations, prospects and intentions, markets in which we participate and other statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts. When used in this press release, the words “expect”, “predict”, “project”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “intend”, “plan”, “seek” and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Because these forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including changes in our plans, objectives, expectations, prospects and intentions and other factors discussed in our filings with the SEC. We cannot guarantee any future levels of activity, performance or achievements. Travelzoo undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.

Travelzoo and Top 20 are registered trademarks of Travelzoo.

 

 

 

 

E.W. Scripps Company (SSP) – A Legacy Of Creating Value

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

E.W. Scripps Company (SSP)

A Legacy Of Creating Value

The E.W. Scripps Co. (www.scripps.com) serves audiences and businesses through a growing portfolio of television, print and digital media brands. After approval of its acquisition of two Granite Broadcasting stations later this year, Scripps will own 21 local television stations as well as daily newspapers in 13 markets across the United States. It also runs an expanding collection of local and national digital journalism and information businesses including digital video news service Newsy. Scripps also produces television programming, runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and serves as the longtime steward of one of the nation’s largest, most successful and longest-running educational programs, Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1879, Scripps is focused on the stories of tomorrow.

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

    C-Suite Interview. This reports highlights a recent C-Suite interview with Adam Symson, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Lisa Knutson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, of E.W. Scripps. Among the topics that were discussed included debt levels, Retransmission revenue, the new broadcast TV standard, and regulations in the industry, among others. We believe that the informative interview provides insights on its operating strategy and enforces our constructive view of the company.

    Historic high debt levels.  Management provided thoughts on the company’s historic high debt levels following recent and planned acquisitions, its path to bring debt levels down, and its comfort level with leverage. Based on our estimates, the company’s debt will be …



This 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. 

Entravision Communications Corporation (EVC) – Accelerates Its Digital Advertising Transition

Friday, October 16, 2020

Entravision Communications Corporation (EVC)

Accelerates Its Digital Advertising Transition

Entravision Communications Corporation is a diversified Spanish-language media company utilizing a combination of television and radio operations to reach Hispanic consumers across the United States, as well as the border markets of Mexico. Entravision owns and/or operates 53 primary television stations and is the largest affiliate group of both the top-ranked Univision television network and Univision’s TeleFutura network, with television stations in 20 of the nation’s top 50 Hispanic markets. The Company also operates one of the nation’s largest groups of primarily Spanish-language radio stations, consisting of 48 owned and operated radio stations.

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

    Purchases 51% interest in Cisneros Interactive. The company paid $29 million for a 51% stake in the growing digital advertising rep firm based in Miami. There is a put call provision to purchase the remaining portion of the company it does not own in 2024 based on certain financial metrics. Based on the put call provision, the purchase price represents an attractive 6.3 times estimated 2023 operating cash flow of $9.5 million. The company is expected to provide more data points in its upcoming quarterly conference call on November 5th.

    A nice fit.  Cisneros is an advertising rep firm for Facebook, Spotify and LinkedIn in Latin American countries. These companies pay Cisneros a commission on advertising sales, a business that has been growing in both revenues and cash flow even during the current pandemic. Cisneros will dovetail nicely with Entravision’s current infrastructure in Latin America, In addition, we believe that …



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. 

Industry Report – Media – Quarterly Review: Has The Market Already Factored In The Elections?

Monday, October 12, 2020

Digital, Media & Entertainment Industry Report

Quarterly Review: Has The Market Already Factored In The Elections?

Michael Kupinski, DOR, Senior Research Analyst, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to end of report for Analyst Certification & Disclosures

Overview: The fog of the elections.  Some companies have provided positive updated revenues/guidance, but the stocks have had little reaction. We ponder if investors are focused on the outcome of the upcoming elections and not on the positive, current fundamental developments.

Television: Ion provides a positive boost.  The Television stocks slightly underperformed the general market in the latest quarter, although E.W. Scripps had a great quarter, up 30.7%. Scripps surprised the investment community by making a $2.65 billion acquisition of Ion Media, in the midst of a pandemic. The shake-up in the wake of that acquisition leaves us to take a closer look at Gray Television.

Radio: Positive updates provided little investor interest.  The Noble Radio Index was the worse performing in the media sector, down 6.2% in the latest quarter. Notably, investors brushed off some positive, updated revenue numbers by Urban One and Townsquare Media. The Townsquare update, in particular, implies that it will solidly beat Q3 expectations. We highlight this sector as among our favored play for the upcoming quarter.

Publishing: Can the momentum continue?  The Tribune shares outperformed the general market and most of its peers in the third quarter, up 16.7% versus 8.5% for the general market. We believe that the outperformance of the industry in the quarter, in general, and that of Tribune, in particular, has investors possibly rethinking their view of the industry.

Digital/Entertainment: Gaming is hot.  Gaming and esports have garnered attention of Wall Street with an active number of deals. In this broad sector, we highlight the recent initiation of Travelzoo, a unique way to play the advertising recovery in the travel industry. In addition, we highlight the strong performance of 1800Flowers.com. The stock was up 144% in the quarter, benefiting from the surge in online retail. We recently raised our price target on the FLWS shares.

Overview

The Fog Of The Elections

Most media stock indices were in line to slightly outperforming the general market in the third quarter, save the Radio stocks, as the following figure illustrates. The overall media performance is disappointing given that media stocks tend to outperform the general market in the early stage of an economic recovery. The media indices are market cap weighted. What is notable regarding the media performance is that there was a disparity between larger cap and smaller cap companies. For instance, the average media stock was down in the quarter. 

Off of a difficult (to say the least) second quarter, revenue trends are expected to sequentially improve in the third quarter, fueled by Political advertising and digital revenues. Investors have now realized, however, that the shape of the advertising recovery is not likely to be “V” shaped. Third quarter revenues, excluding Political, are expected to be down double-digits for many advertising driven mediums, in the range of 10% to 15% versus 30% to 40% experienced on average in the second quarter. For mediums that benefit from Political advertising, we believe that there likely will be some positive upside Q3 revenue and cash flow surprise potential. Political is coming in better than expected and some companies, discussed later in this report, gave updated third quarter and/or Political guidance. The question will be whether investors will brush off the potential revenue and cash flow upside surprise?

We believe that investors are heavily engaged in the outcome of the general elections and implications for the broader economy. Investors worry that a Biden win could imply that tax rates will go up, given his tax platform plans to rollback the Trump tax cuts. We are often asked, when should we lock in gains? Now? Or, after the election? That question is not of significant importance for most media investors. The only media sectors that investors may have gains over the course of the last year are Publishing and Digital Media stocks, up 13% and 19%, respectively. Television and Radio stocks are down 27% and 46% respectively. 

In addition, with many state economies not fully opened, investors are likely concerned about the sustainability of the economic recovery, especially without visibility of a Covid vaccine. Given these concerns, investors may have already discounted the potential revenue and cash flow upside in the third and fourth quarters from Political advertising. We highlight the fact that Townsquare Media’s (view report) stock did not significantly react to the company’s updated third quarter revenue guidance on September 21, which provided positive upside in revenue and implied positive cash flow expectations. The TSQ shares increased a modest 5% since that announcement. As such, while we believe that fundamentals are improving, it appears likely that the media stocks may be range bound until the elections are over, or that there is a developed timetable for a Covid vaccine, which may allow some normalcy to reopening the US economy. 

Tradition Media

Television

Ion Got Investors Positively Excited

The Television stocks slightly under-performed the general market in the last quarter, up 6.9% versus 8.5% for the market as measured by the S&P 500 Index. The best performing stocks in the index were ViacomCBS and E.W. Scripps, up 20.1% and 30.7% respectively. In the case of E.W. Scripps, the company announced a significant $2.65 billion acquisition of Ion Media, with the backing of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway. Notably, the acquisition will bring Scripps to the current ownership cap of 39% of US TV households. This takes another potential buyer of local TV stations out of the market, leaving Gray Television as among the few large broadcasters with the ability to add stations. Gray Television currently covers 24% of the nation’s TV households, with a significant runway to get to 39%. The question will be whether another inning of consolidation is in the offing with the mid tier broadcast groups, like Meredith and Graham Holdings. But, there is no mistaking, the industry is in the final innings of consolidation, unless there is relaxation of ownership rules. 

Such a prospect may come from the courts. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to examine the media ownership rules that the FCC directed to relax, but was blocked by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. The FCC would have ended or loosened ownership limits such as 1) the elimination of the newspaper/television cross ownership rule (which would allow a company to own a newspaper and television station in a single market), 2) the elimination of radio/television cross ownership, 3) the elimination of owning two of the top four stations in a market, and 4) allow a company to own two TV stations in a single market. The prospective appointment of another conservative on the bench, like Amy Coney Barrett, could significantly improve the chances that the FCC would win the appeal. 

For most investors, these rules don’t matter much. The Television industry is not likely to buy a newspaper or radio in an existing market. In many cases, public market values for television groups are double that of a publishing or radio company. Investors would frown on potentially lowering the stock valuation on such an acquisition. In addition, the history of broadcasters successfully integrating and operating a newspaper in market or even radio stations under grandfathered rules have not been that good. TV broadcasters would more likely seek to own two of the Big Four Network affiliates in market. This is where a broadcaster would get the biggest bang for the buck and investors would cheer. Those opportunities will be few and far between given the recent consolidation. Consequently, we view the prospective rule ownership changes as ho hum from a TV perspective. It would be far more beneficial to the TV stocks to see the ownership cap lifted from the current 39%. There does not seem to be any political will or leadership to push for that change. 

Consequently, we believe that management’s will turn their attention to seek opportunities for internal growth. Recently, a number of broadcasters have launched expanded news programming. We believe that it is likely that broadcasters will invest in original programming to take advantage of their increased scale. News programming tends to be the lowest hanging fruit for a broadcaster. But, development of original programming is only modest incremental steps toward enhanced cash flow growth. In our view, broadcasters will need to seek ways to take advantage of their spectrum and find innovative revenue opportunities, possibly through the implementation of the new broadcast standard, ATSC 3.0.

As we look toward the third quarter reports and fourth quarter guidance, investors will look toward the revenue recovery for some direction. There were some early indications that it will be a strong Q3 revenue quarter, fueled by Political advertising. E.W. Scripps (view report) raised its Political advertising guidance from $200 million to over $230 million. That guide was impressive given that it was based solely on the strength of Political advertising in the third quarter. The company may once again increase its guidance, if, as we expect, the Political advertising momentum continues into the fourth quarter. Political advertising carries very high margins. As such, it is likely that there will be positive upside surprises in the quarterly results. 

Given that the vast majority of the Television stocks have not performed well in the latest quarter, we believe that there should be better performance in the fourth quarter. In our view, the market has not baked in the improving revenue trends and the upside surprise potential from Political. In addition, the stocks should perform better as the fate of the upcoming elections is known. We remain constructive on the television sector, with our favorites currently Gray Television (view report) and Entravision (view report). 

Radio

Did Investors Overlook The Favorable News?

Radio stocks under performed the general market in the third quarter, down 6.2% versus an 8.4% gain for the market as measured by the S&P 500 Index. The Noble Radio index is market weighted, and, as such, the performance was skewed by the larger cap stocks in the index. The average stock was down greater than 6% and closer to 10%, with the worse performing stocks in the latest quarter Beasley Broadcast Group (BBGI), Salem Media (SALM) (view report) and Saga Communications (SGA), down 49%, 19% and 22%, respectively. The shares of Cumulus Media (CMLS) outperformed the group, up 35.9% in the quarter, with Entercom (ETM) coming in second, up 16.7% and Townsquare Media (TSQ) up 4.3%. The outperformance of the Cumulus Media shares in the second quarter was off of a very low base established at the end of the first quarter, when the shares dropped from a high of over $16 to near $4.  

The under performance of the Radio stocks is in spite of the expected sequential improvement in third quarter revenues from the second quarter, when some radio broadcasters reported revenues down as much as 60%. Recently, Urban One announced in an 8K filing that its radio revenues declined 40% in July and 38% in August, with September down a more modest 11%. Combined with the company’s other businesses outside of radio, Urban One’s third quarter total company revenue is expected to be down in the high teens percent. Townsquare Media appears to be doing better than most in the industry. It updated its investor presentation on September 21st and indicated that its July and August total company revenues declined 21% in July and 16% in August. We expect that. much like Urban One, there will be a significant improvement in revenues for September. In addition to a higher than expected amount of Political advertising, Townsquare appeared to be benefit from strength in its Digital businesses. The company indicated that its Townsquare Interactive business increased revenues in July and August by 13% and 15%, respectively. We believe that investors have not fully baked in the significance of this revenue improvement. In addition, given the high margin revenue, we believe that there are positive upside cash flow surprise potential. 

Radio is among the most out of favored stocks in the traditional media landscape. The recent under performance of the sector is likely a combination of the industry’s relatively high debt leverage and an extraordinary impact from Covid mitigation efforts. Given that the stocks are down an average of 52.4% year to date, the Radio stocks have been the poster industry for among the worse performing of many industries adversely affected by Pandemic. Are investors paying attention to the improving revenue trends? Surprisingly, the shares of Townsquare Media increased a modest 5% following the company’s announcement that implied it will exceed third quarter revenue and cash flow expectations. In our view, there likely will be further positive developments into the fourth quarter as well. So, in our view, the answer is no. 

Given the relative under performance thus far, Radio stocks lead as among our favorites for the upcoming quarter. We believe that the stocks do not reflect the prospect for positive revenue and cash flow upside surprise potential, nor the prospect that expectations may be raised for the fourth quarter. Our current favorites include Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Salem Media, in that order.

Publishing

The Dinosaurs Just Beat The Market!

The Publishing stocks had a relatively good quarter, up 9.1%, slightly outperforming the general market as measured by the S&P 500 Index. The three largest cap stocks in the index News Corp., New York Times and Tribune Publishing accounted for the gains, with News Corp. and Tribune accounting for the majority of the third quarter out performance, up 18.2% and 16.7%, respectively. Notably, all three companies have significant digital businesses, which have weathered well in the Pandemic given increased digital subscriptions, visitors and engagement. 

Focusing on Tribune, we believe that in spite of the recent rise, the shares are significantly undervalued. Trading at roughly 4.5 times Enterprise Value to our estimated cash flow, we believe that the shares do not reflect the underlying value of its assets, particularly its e-commerce business, BestReviews, nor reflect the positive upside cash flow potential. In spite of recent upward revisions to our estimates, we believe that earlier cost cutting actions at the company are not fully realized. Our third quarter estimate was revised upward, but was at the lower end of the company’s guidance. In addition, we believe that we were conservative in our fourth quarter estimates. 

Given the improved fundamentals, the company is building its cash hoard, estimated to be over $90 million. Given the prospect that the company may sell BestReviews and given its pristine balance sheet, with virtually no debt, the company’s board may reinstate its $0.25 per share quarterly dividend. The dividend was suspended in the second quarter due to concerns over Covid. 

The shares of Tribune (view report) are among our favorite economic recovery plays. Nearly one third of the company’s market cap is reflected in its cash position. Another third of the company’s market cap is reflected in the value of its 60% owned BestReviews business. This leaves only one third of the value of the company reflected in the cash flow generating publishing and digital businesses. Notably, should the company reinstate its dividend, near current levels, the shares would offer an annualized dividend yield of over 7%. We continue to view the TPCO shares as among our favorites. 

Digital/Entertainment

Gaming Sector Receives A Pandemic Tailwind

Video games has been one of the few sectors of the economy to benefit from Covid-19.  Covid-19 lockdowns have boosted user engagement with video games and esports as consumers shelter in place.  The pandemic is accelerating existing trends in the gaming industry.  In April, the first full month of sheltering in place resulted in a 50% sequential increase in gaming hours watched on Twitch, the most popular video game streaming platform.  Viewer engagement numbers for 2Q 2020 (which are not out yet) are expected to reach all-time highs.  According to market research firm NPD Group, 244 million people in the U.S., or three out of every four, play video games, an increase of 32 million people in the last two years alone. 

As millions have been quarantined at home, many have looked to esports for entertainment.  Deloitte’s 2020 digital media trends survey found that, during the crisis, a third of consumers have, for the first time, subscribed to a video gaming service, used a cloud gaming service, or watched esports or a virtual sporting event.  According to Nielsen, while most consumers prefer to play games rather than watch others play,  one-third of esports fans say they watched esports as an alternative to traditional TV content. 

Like many ecommerce or online businesses, the pandemic has pulled forward and accelerated many trends that were already underway.  It will be interesting to see whether these gains can be maintained as people slowly return to work. 

Gaming Sector M&A Heats Up    

The significant increase in time spent streaming games has helped to drive M&A activity in the gaming space to new levels. Noble tracked 14 gaming transactions in the third quarter with a transaction value of $11.7 billion.  Two transactions alone account for $11.2 billion of this total:  Microsoft’s $7.5 billion acquisition of gaming studio/game developer ZeniMax Media, and the $3.5 billion reverse merger between esports platform Skillz and the SPAC Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp. Historically Noble tracks M&A transactions in the internet and digital media sectors and focuses on transactions in North America and Europe. The chart below shows the largest gaming/esports transactions in 3Q 2020 in those respective regions. We should note that the largest number of M&A deals in the sector in 3Q took place in Asia, which is home to the largest gaming audiences. 

Internet & Digital Media M&A Sees Sequential Improvement in 3Q 2020

During the third quarter, Noble tracked 105 M&A transactions in the internet and digital media sector. This represents a 5% sequential improvement over the 100 M&A transactions we tracked in 2Q 2020. Third quarter deal values totaled $28.1 billion, a 118% increase over 2Q 2020 levels, as four deals alone accounted for nearly $25 billion worth of deal value.  The largest deal was Adevinta’s acquisition of eBay Classified Group for $9.2 billion, followed by the gaming deals mentioned earlier (Microsoft’s $7.5 billion acquisition of gaming studio/game developer ZeniMax Media, and Skillz’ $3.5 billion reverse merger with Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp). Blackstone’s $4.7 billion acquisition of information/genealogy company Ancestry.com was the fourth deal of more than $1 billion that we tracked. 

Of the 105 deals we tracked in 3Q 2020, 37 of them were in the digital content category, while the marketing technology sector trailed with 26 deals, followed by the always active advertising agency deals with 23. These three sectors were also the most active sectors in the first and second quarters of 2020. 

The digital content sector had not just the largest number of transactions, but also the largest value of deals in the third quarter, with $22.2 billion of deals, or 79% of the entire deal value of the internet and digital media deals we track. Within the digital content segment, the gaming sector accounted for 14 of the 37 transactions and totaled $11.7 billion in deal value or nearly 53% of total digital content deal value.

Other segments of digital content where M&A was strong includes video focused transactions (6 transactions), publishing (4 transactions) and audio (5 transactions, 4 of which were in the podcast space). Notable video focused deals include CuriosityStream’s $512 million reverse merger with the SPAC Software Acquisition Group, and Enthusiast Gaming’s $34 million acquisition of Omnia Media, a YouTube Video Gaming Network.  Notable digital publishing deals include Red Venture’s $500 million acquisition of CNET Media Group from ViacomCBS.  Notable audio deals include SiriusXM’s $325 million acquisition of podcast network Stitcher from E.W. Scripps; The New York Times’ $25 million acquisition of podcast programmer Serial; and the $70 million acquisition of Rhapsody International from MelodyVR Group. 

Internet and Digital Media Stocks Continued To Rebound

In our 2Q media newsletter we noted that every single stock in the four sectors we monitor was up in the quarter.  While 3Q 2020’s performance was not nearly as strong, all sectors performed well, and three of the four sectors outperformed the S&P 500. In the third quarter the S&P 500 index increased by 8.5%, while Noble’s Adtech Index increased by 26%, Noble’s MarTech Index increased by 19%, Noble’s Social Media Index increased by 16%, and Noble’s Digital Media Index increased by 4%.    

While last quarter saw 5 stocks more than double off their March lows, only one company, Autoweb (AUTO, +143%), posted a more than doubling of their stock price. The stock surged when the company provided a 3Q mid-quarter update that showed that gross margins in July 2020 had nearly doubled from July 2019 levels resulting in positive adjusted EBITDA (versus a loss a year-ago), and provided further evidence of the company’s turnaround. 

Autoweb wasn’t the only adtech stock to perform well during the quarter. E-commerce retailing was hot, driven by stay at home mandates and social distancing. 1800Flowers.com’s (view report) stock increased 144% from March lows in the latest quarter. The company reported that its fiscal fourth quarter end June 30 revenues increased a strong 61%. We believe that e-commerce trends will remain strong even as the pandemic subsides.  Other notable performers included the stocks of Quinstreet (QNST,+51%) and Fluent (FLNT, +39%). It’s interesting to note that all three of the best performing advertising technology companies are lead generation businesses.  As companies re-open their businesses post-pandemic, it’s expected that performance marketing companies will do well as companies focus less on branding and more on generating new business, an imperative for many businesses that have struggled during the pandemic. Several other adtech stocks performed well during the quarter including the stocks of Synacor (SYNC, +34%), Perion Networks (PERI, +34%), The Trade Desk (TTD, +28%) and Interclick Interactive (ICLK, +25%). 

Marketing tech stocks that performed well during the quarter include Salesforce (CRM, +34%), Hubspot (HUBS, +30%), Brightcove (BCOV, +30%), SharpSpring (SHSP, +27%), and LivePerson (LPSN, +26%). As noted in our M&A study, MarTech was one of the most active sectors in M&A during 3Q 2020, but M&A was not a driver of stock price performance.  Strong organic revenue appears to be the sector driver, with revenue growth exceeding 20% on average.

Social media stocks also performed well during the quarter, with our index up 16%. Our index is market cap weighted so it generally performs in-line with how Facebook has performed. Nevertheless, several social media stocks significantly outperformed, including Twitter (TWTR, +49%) and Spark Networks (LOV, +48%). While the stock of Snap Interactive (SNAP, +11%) underperformed its peers during the quarter, it consolidated its gains for the year (+60%) and is the strongest performing social media stock in 2020.

Digital media stocks were the only stock sector to underperform the S&P 500, as shares of Google (GOOG.L) were up only 3%, and Google represents 73% of the market cap of this market-cap weighted sector. Google posted its first year-over-year quarterly revenue decline in the company’s history and like Apple, Amazon and Facebook, is under intense regulatory scrutiny as the Justice Department reviews potential anti-competitive behavior among big tech companies. Despite Google weighing on the sector, several digital media stocks performed well including The Leaf Group (LEAF, +37%), The Maven (MVEN, +37%), Travelzoo (TZOO, +14%) and Netflix (NFLX, +10%). We encourage investors to focus on the advertising recovery in the travel industry and the unique way to play the space with Travelzoo (view report), among our favorites. 

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ANALYST CREDENTIALS, PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS, AND EXPERIENCE

Senior Equity Analyst focusing on Basic Materials & Mining. 20 years of experience in equity research. BA in Business Administration from Westminster College. MBA with a Finance concentration from the University of Missouri. MA in International Affairs from Washington University in St. Louis.
Named WSJ ‘Best on the Street’ Analyst and Forbes/StarMine’s “Best Brokerage Analyst.”
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Report ID: 11744

E.W. Scripps Company (SSP) – Ion Media Acquisition; Positively Viewed

Friday, September 25, 2020

E.W. Scripps Company (SSP)

Ion Media Acquisition; Positively Viewed

The E.W. Scripps Co. (www.scripps.com) serves audiences and businesses through a growing portfolio of television, print and digital media brands. After approval of its acquisition of two Granite Broadcasting stations later this year, Scripps will own 21 local television stations as well as daily newspapers in 13 markets across the United States. It also runs an expanding collection of local and national digital journalism and information businesses including digital video news service Newsy. Scripps also produces television programming, runs an award-winning investigative reporting newsroom in Washington, D.C., and serves as the longtime steward of one of the nation’s largest, most successful and longest-running educational programs, Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1879, Scripps is focused on the stories of tomorrow.

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

    Plans to acquire Ion Media for $2.65 billion. The acquisition will double the company’s current size in both revenues and cash flow and position it as among the top broadcast groups. The purchase price at 8.2 times cash flow, or 5.9 times post synergies, appears attractive. The company agreed to sell 23 ION stations for regulatory fast track. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2021.

    Berkshire lends a hand.  Berkshire Hathaway is helping to fund the deal with $600 million in preferred equity that carries an 8% dividend rate, redeemable after five years. In addition, Berkshire will receive warrants to purchase up to 23.1 million Class A shares, exercisable at $13. We believe that this move …



This 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.