It’s been a bruising 11 weeks on Wall Street for iHeartMedia, the nation’s leader when it comes to audio content creation and distribution. On April 19, it stock was above $20, and was largely between $18 and $21 across the first quarter of 2022. Since then, IHRT has been in a free fall, losing more 65% of its value with a Friday closing price of $7.20.
On that same day in April, Audacy Corp. shares were priced at $2.89. With Friday’s Closing Bell on the NYSE, AUD is at just $0.8851, down 9.5% from July 7 and by more than 69% from April 19.
The next several weeks could be even more challenging for Radio’s “towering two,” by station and revenue count. Revenue challenges persist — mainly due to recession fears that many believe will result in lower advertising dollars. Among those sharing this belief is Steven Cahall, the Managing Director and Senior Analyst at Wells Fargo.
Cahall just downgraded both iHeartMedia and Audacy.
