The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Wiley (NYSE: WLY) and the rest of the traditional media & publishing stocks fared in Q4.
The sector faces structural headwinds from declining linear TV viewership, shifts in advertising spend toward digital platforms, and ongoing challenges in monetizing print and broadcast content. However, for companies that invest wisely, tailwinds can include AI, the power of which can result in more personalized content creation and more detailed audience analysis. These can create a flywheel of success where one feeds into the other. Still there are outstanding questions around AI-generated content oversight, and the regulatory framework around this could evolve in unseen ways over the next few years.
The 4 traditional media & publishing stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q4. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.4% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.7% below.
Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 6.5% on average since the latest earnings results.
Wiley (NYSE: WLY)
With roots dating back to 1807 when Charles Wiley opened a small printing shop in Manhattan, John Wiley & Sons (NYSE: WLY) is a global academic publisher that provides scientific journals, books, digital courseware, and knowledge solutions for researchers, students, and professionals.
Wiley reported revenues of $404.6 million, down 12.2% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates.
Wiley delivered the slowest revenue growth of the whole group. Interestingly, the stock is up 17.9% since reporting and currently trades at $44.75.
Is now the time to buy Wiley? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Best Q4: EchoStar (NASDAQ: SATS)
Following its 2023 acquisition of DISH Network, EchoStar (NASDAQ: SATS) provides satellite communications, pay-TV services, wireless networks, and broadband solutions across consumer and enterprise markets.
EchoStar reported revenues of $3.97 billion, down 4.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 1.1%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.
EchoStar pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 9.8% since reporting. It currently trades at $26.17.
Is now the time to buy EchoStar? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q4: IMAX (NYSE: IMAX)
Originally developed for World Expo '67 in Montreal as an innovative projection system, IMAX (NYSE: IMAX) provides proprietary large-format cinema technology and systems that deliver immersive movie experiences with enhanced image quality and sound.
IMAX reported revenues of $92.67 million, up 7.7% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 11.1%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.
IMAX delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. The stock is flat since the results and currently trades at $27.51.
Read our full analysis of IMAX’s results here.
Sinclair (NASDAQ: SBGI)
With over 2,400 hours of local news produced weekly and 640 broadcast channels reaching millions of American homes, Sinclair (NASDAQ: SBGI) operates a network of 185 local television stations across 86 U.S. markets, producing news programming and distributing content from major networks.
Sinclair reported revenues of $1.00 billion, up 21.5% year on year. This result met analysts’ expectations. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.
Sinclair scored the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 16.8% since reporting and currently trades at $16.91.
Read our full, actionable report on Sinclair here, it’s free.
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