There’s no way to blunt the news from Wall Street concerning the big drop in share value for the nation’s biggest owner of radio stations.
The “stub” of publicly traded iHeartMedia shares sank by an incredible 54.2%, finishing the day at 55 cents.
The sharp drop in value for IHRT, which trades on the risky OTC Pink exchange, comes after iHeart revealed in an SEC filing that it has once again extended the deadline for participation in its Term Loan Offers and Exchange Offers — and the terms remain just as they did seven months ago.
There’s also another big factor in the deep dip for iHeart stock: On Wednesday morning, iHeartMedia noted that its Q3 net loss widened to $248.18 million, from $35 million.
Operating income for iHeartMedia fell by 16.8%, to $247.97 million from $298.13 million, but the quarter includes corporate depreciation and amortization of $7.8 million and $9 million for Q3 2017 and Q3 2016, respectively. Intercompany charges are also factored in to the consolidated operating income decline.
Meanwhile, Cumulus Media shares rose 11.9% — to 36 cents — on word that Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection is now an option company executives would consider for the fiscally troubled No. 2 operator of radio stations across the U.S.
On a positive note, Beasley Broadcast Group gained 4.8%, Sinclair Broadcast Group shares were up 5.7%, and Townsquare Media Group regained some of Wednesday’s steep losses with a 4.9% gain.
For a complete look at today’s closing prices, please review our Wall Street Report on the homepage of RBR.com.
