The E.W. Scripps Company (SSP) AI Stock Analysis

The E.W. Scripps Company is a media enterprise organized into Local Media, Scripps Network, and Others segments. The Local Media segment operates 61 broadcast television stations delivering news, entertainment, and informational content alongside digital operations. Its Scripps Network segment distributes national television networks across over-the-air broadcast, cable, satellite, connected TV, and digital platforms. The company also runs Newsy, a national news network covering politics, entertainment, science, and technology, as well as the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Founded in 1878 and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the company reaches audiences through broadcast stations and digital content across mobile devices.

Over five years from FY2020 to FY2025, revenue grew at a CAGR of 3.0%. Annual performance has fluctuated, with revenue reaching $2.51B in FY2024 before falling 14.3% to $2.15B in FY2025. Gross margin contracted from 51.6% in FY2021 to 33.7% in FY2025, while operating margin declined from 17.5% to 7.5%. After generating net income of $146.2M in FY2024, net loss was -$100.9M in FY2025. For the trailing twelve months ended June 30, 2026, revenue stood at $2.09B with an operating margin of 2.7% and a profit margin of -58.0%. In the quarter ended June 30, 2026, quarterly revenue fell 9.2% year-over-year while quarterly earnings grew 91.3%.

As of June 30, 2026, the company held $13.0M in cash and short-term investments against $2.59B in total debt, resulting in net debt of $2.58B. Total assets stood at $3.65B against shareholders' equity of $100.7M, yielding a debt-to-equity ratio of 25.74 and a current ratio of 1.34. In FY2025, operating cash flow generated $53.1M and free cash flow was $6.5M after capital expenditures of $46.6M. Over five years, the share count increased by 1.0%.

The E.W. Scripps Company closed at $2.69 on October 16, 2026, with a market capitalization of $249.3M and an enterprise value of $3.29B. The stock trades at a forward P/E of 13.7x and EV/EBITDA of 11.9x, compared to medians of 14.1x and 10.0x for its US-listed Communication Services peers. Its price-to-sales multiple is 0.1x versus the peer median of 0.8x. Over the past year, the stock returned 61.9% compared to 16.8% for the S&P 500, but over five years it declined 80.3% while the index gained 83.0%.

Across four Wall Street ratings, 1 analyst rates the stock a Strong Buy, 2 recommend Hold, and 1 recommends Strong Sell. The mean price target is $4.93, which represents an 83.4% premium over the last close of $2.69. For the fiscal year ending December 31, 2026, consensus estimates project an EPS of -$12.38 on revenue of $2.18B. Over the last four quarters, the company topped EPS expectations once. The next scheduled earnings announcement date is November 5, 2026.

This page is an AI-written research summary of The E.W. Scripps Company (SSP). The text was generated on October 30, 2026 from Quotelinks data as of October 16, 2026 (company profile, annual results, latest balance sheet, valuation, price performance and analyst estimates). An automatic check rejects any draft that contains a figure not found in that data. It is not investment advice; verify figures on the linked tabs before making decisions.

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