Clear Channel Outdoor (CCO): Buy, Sell, or Hold Post Q3 Earnings?

Let’s dig into the relative performance of Magnite and its peers as we unravel the now-completed Q3 advertising & marketing services earnings season.

The sector is on the precipice of both disruption and growth as AI, programmatic advertising, and data-driven marketing reshape how things are done. For example, the advent of the Internet broadly and programmatic advertising specifically means that brand building is not a relationship business anymore but instead one based on data and technology, which could hurt traditional ad agencies. On the other hand, the companies in the sector that beef up their tech chops by automating the buying of ad inventory or facilitating omnichannel marketing, for example, stand to benefit. With or without advances in digitization and AI, the sector is still highly levered to the macro, and economic uncertainty may lead to fluctuating ad spend, particularly in cyclical industries.

The 7 advertising & marketing services stocks we track reported a strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.8% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.9% below.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady. On average, they are relatively unchanged since the latest earnings results.

Magnite

Born from the 2020 merger of Rubicon Project and Telaria, Magnite operates the world's largest independent sell-side advertising platform that automates the buying and selling of digital advertising inventory across all channels and formats.

Magnite reported revenues of $179.5 million, up 10.8% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. Overall, it was a satisfactory quarter for the company with a narrow beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

“Magnite once again exceeded total top-line expectations, delivering an exceptional CTV result, with growth of 18%, or 25% excluding political. Our CTV success is being driven by our largest publisher partners and strong agency and DSP momentum. ClearLine, buyer marketplaces, and live sports remain bright spots in CTV. We are also seeing early benefits from our streamer.ai acquisition. The additional AI tools have supported new business wins, particularly among SMB advertisers, further enhancing our competitive positioning. DV+ continues to perform well, growing in line with expectations, driven by exclusive partner expansion. We were encouraged by the Google remedies hearings and look forward to the positive impact on our DV+ business once remedies are implemented.” said Michael G. Barrett, CEO of Magnite.

The stock is down 19.3% since reporting and currently trades at $14.40.

Best Q3: Taboola

Often appearing as those "You May Also Like" or "Recommended For You" boxes at the bottom of news articles, Taboola operates a digital platform that recommends personalized content to users across publisher websites, helping both publishers monetize their sites and advertisers reach target audiences.

Taboola reported revenues of $496.8 million, up 14.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 6.3%. The business had a stunning quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS and revenue estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 25.2% since reporting. It currently trades at $4.17.

Slowest Q3: Clear Channel Outdoor

With thousands of digital and traditional displays lighting up America's highways, city streets, and airports, Clear Channel Outdoor operates billboards, street furniture, and airport displays, connecting advertisers with millions of consumers across the US.

Clear Channel Outdoor reported revenues of $405.6 million, up 8.1% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. Still, it was a mixed quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Interestingly, the stock is up 19.6% since the results and currently trades at $2.14.

Read our full analysis of Clear Channel Outdoor’s results here.

MediaAlpha

Powering nearly 10 million consumer referrals each month in the insurance marketplace, MediaAlpha operates a technology platform that connects insurance carriers with high-intent consumers shopping for property, casualty, health, and life insurance products.

MediaAlpha reported revenues of $306.5 million, up 18.3% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 7.6%. It was a strong quarter as it also recorded a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates and a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

MediaAlpha pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat and fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 2.7% since reporting and currently trades at $11.42.

Read our full, actionable report on MediaAlpha here, it’s free.

QuinStreet

Founded during the dot-com era in 1999 and specializing in high-intent consumer traffic, QuinStreet operates digital performance marketplaces that connect clients in financial and home services with consumers actively searching for their products.

QuinStreet reported revenues of $285.9 million, up 2.4% year on year. This result topped analysts’ expectations by 2.1%. More broadly, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue estimates but revenue guidance for next quarter meeting analysts’ expectations.

The stock is up 5.3% since reporting and currently trades at $14.60.

Read our full, actionable report on QuinStreet here, it’s free.

Let’s dig into the relative performance of MediaAlpha and its peers as we unravel the now-completed Q3 advertising & marketing services earnings season.

The sector is on the precipice of both disruption and growth as AI, programmatic advertising, and data-driven marketing reshape how things are done. For example, the advent of the Internet broadly and programmatic advertising specifically means that brand building is not a relationship business anymore but instead one based on data and technology, which could hurt traditional ad agencies. On the other hand, the companies in the sector that beef up their tech chops by automating the buying of ad inventory or facilitating omnichannel marketing, for example, stand to benefit. With or without advances in digitization and AI, the sector is still highly levered to the macro, and economic uncertainty may lead to fluctuating ad spend, particularly in cyclical industries.

The 7 advertising & marketing services stocks we track reported a strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.8% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.9% below.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 3.8% on average since the latest earnings results.

MediaAlpha

Powering nearly 10 million consumer referrals each month in the insurance marketplace, MediaAlpha operates a technology platform that connects insurance carriers with high-intent consumers shopping for property, casualty, health, and life insurance products.

MediaAlpha reported revenues of $306.5 million, up 18.3% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 7.6%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ revenue and EPS estimates.

MediaAlpha scored the biggest analyst estimates beat and fastest revenue growth of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 6.6% since reporting and currently trades at $11.86.

Read why we think that MediaAlpha is one of the best advertising & marketing services stocks, our full report is free.

Best Q3: Taboola

Often appearing as those "You May Also Like" or "Recommended For You" boxes at the bottom of news articles, Taboola operates a digital platform that recommends personalized content to users across publisher websites, helping both publishers monetize their sites and advertisers reach target audiences.

Taboola reported revenues of $496.8 million, up 14.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 6.3%. The business had a stunning quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS and revenue estimates.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 31.8% since reporting. It currently trades at $4.39.

Slowest Q3: Clear Channel Outdoor

With thousands of digital and traditional displays lighting up America's highways, city streets, and airports, Clear Channel Outdoor operates billboards, street furniture, and airport displays, connecting advertisers with millions of consumers across the US.

Clear Channel Outdoor reported revenues of $405.6 million, up 8.1% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. Still, it was a mixed quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Interestingly, the stock is up 18.4% since the results and currently trades at $2.12.

Read our full analysis of Clear Channel Outdoor’s results here.

QuinStreet

Founded during the dot-com era in 1999 and specializing in high-intent consumer traffic, QuinStreet operates digital performance marketplaces that connect clients in financial and home services with consumers actively searching for their products.

QuinStreet reported revenues of $285.9 million, up 2.4% year on year. This result topped analysts’ expectations by 2.1%. More broadly, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also produced a solid beat of analysts’ revenue estimates but revenue guidance for next quarter meeting analysts’ expectations.

The stock is up 5% since reporting and currently trades at $14.57.

Read our full, actionable report on QuinStreet here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Magnite

Born from the 2020 merger of Rubicon Project and Telaria, Magnite operates the world's largest independent sell-side advertising platform that automates the buying and selling of digital advertising inventory across all channels and formats.

Magnite reported revenues of $179.5 million, up 10.8% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. Overall, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also recorded a narrow beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

The stock is down 6% since reporting and currently trades at $16.79.

Read our full, actionable report on Magnite here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Outdoor advertising company Clear Channel Outdoor reported Q3 CY2025 results topping the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 8.1% year on year to $405.6 million. Guidance for next quarter’s revenue was better than expected at $448.5 million at the midpoint, 1.2% above analysts’ estimates. Its GAAP loss of $0.12 per share was significantly below analysts’ consensus estimates.

Clear Channel Outdoor (CCO) Q3 CY2025 Highlights:

• Revenue: $405.6 million vs analyst estimates of $402.2 million (8.1% year-on-year growth, 0.9% beat)
• EPS (GAAP): -$0.12 vs analyst estimates of -$0.03 (significant miss)
• Adjusted EBITDA: $132.5 million vs analyst estimates of $130.9 million (32.7% margin, 1.2% beat)
• Revenue Guidance for Q4 CY2025 is $448.5 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $443.1 million
• EBITDA guidance for the full year is $497.5 million at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $490.9 million
• Operating Margin: 19.9%, up from 17.8% in the same quarter last year
• Free Cash Flow Margin: 10.2%, up from 5.6% in the same quarter last year
• Market Capitalization: $1.07 billion

"During the third quarter, we delivered consolidated revenue growth of 8.1%, reflecting strong performance across both our America and Airports segments. This quarter's results provide continued evidence that we are executing on our four-pillar growth strategy outlined at our recent Investor Day," said Scott Wells, Chief Executive Officer of Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc.

Company Overview

With thousands of digital and traditional displays lighting up America's highways, city streets, and airports, Clear Channel Outdoor operates billboards, street furniture, and airport displays, connecting advertisers with millions of consumers across the US.

Revenue Growth

Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can have short-term success, but a top-tier one grows for years.

With $1.57 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, Clear Channel Outdoor is a mid-sized business services company, which sometimes brings disadvantages compared to larger competitors benefiting from better economies of scale.

As you can see below, Clear Channel Outdoor’s demand was weak over the last five years. Its sales fell by 5.3% annually, a poor baseline for our analysis.

Long-term growth is the most important, but within business services, a half-decade historical view may miss new innovations or demand cycles. Clear Channel Outdoor’s revenue over the last two years was flat, sugggesting its demand was weak but stabilized after its initial drop.

This quarter, Clear Channel Outdoor reported year-on-year revenue growth of 8.1%, and its $405.6 million of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 0.9%. Company management is currently guiding for a 5.1% year-on-year increase in sales next quarter.

Looking further ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 4.5% over the next 12 months. While this projection indicates its newer products and services will fuel better top-line performance, it is still below the sector average.

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Adjusted Operating Margin

Clear Channel Outdoor has done a decent job managing its cost base over the last five years. The company has produced an average adjusted operating margin of 10.6%, higher than the broader business services sector.

Analyzing the trend in its profitability, Clear Channel Outdoor’s adjusted operating margin rose by 26.5 percentage points over the last five years, showing its efficiency has meaningfully improved.

This quarter, Clear Channel Outdoor generated an adjusted operating margin profit margin of 19.9%, up 2.1 percentage points year on year. This increase was a welcome development and shows it was more efficient.

Earnings Per Share

We track the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) for the same reason as long-term revenue growth. Compared to revenue, however, EPS highlights whether a company’s growth is profitable.

Although Clear Channel Outdoor’s full-year earnings are still negative, it reduced its losses and improved its EPS by 60.1% annually over the last five years. The next few quarters will be critical for assessing its long-term profitability.

Like with revenue, we analyze EPS over a more recent period because it can provide insight into an emerging theme or development for the business.

For Clear Channel Outdoor, its two-year annual EPS growth of 85.1% was higher than its five-year trend. We love it when earnings improve, but a caveat is that its EPS is still in the red.

In Q3, Clear Channel Outdoor reported EPS of negative $0.12, down from negative $0.07 in the same quarter last year. This print missed analysts’ estimates. Over the next 12 months, Wall Street expects Clear Channel Outdoor to perform poorly. Analysts forecast its full-year EPS of negative $0.01 will tumble to negative $0.13.

Key Takeaways from Clear Channel Outdoor’s Q3 Results

It was good to see Clear Channel Outdoor provide revenue guidance for next quarter that slightly beat analysts’ expectations. We were also happy its revenue narrowly outperformed Wall Street’s estimates. On the other hand, its EPS missed. Overall, this quarter could have been better. The stock remained flat at $2.14 immediately following the results.

Is Clear Channel Outdoor an attractive investment opportunity at the current price? The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here, it’s free for active Edge members.