Newsmax Q2 Earnings Call Highlights

Newsmax Q2 Earnings Call Highlights Newsmax reported record Q2 revenue and its first profitable quarter as a public company. Revenue rose 16.5% year over year to $54.1 million, while net income reached $2.9 million and adjusted EBITDA improved to $5.7 million. Affiliate fees and international licensing drove the stronger revenue mix. Affiliate revenue surged 81.9% to $13.4 million, licensing revenue increased to $4.6 million, and gross margin expanded to 43.1%, despite declines in advertising, subscriptions and product sales. Management maintained 2026 revenue guidance of $212 million to $216 million. Newsmax is continuing to invest in streaming, international expansion and AI partnerships, while reporting $128.3 million in cash and investments and no debt. Newsmax NYSE: NMAX reported record second-quarter revenue and its first profitable quarter as a public company, supported by growth in affiliate fees and international licensing revenue. Revenue for the second quarter of 2026 rose 16.5% year over year to $54.1 million, while net income totaled $2.9 million, or $0.02 per share. That compared with a net loss of $75.2 million in the prior-year period. Adjusted EBITDA was $5.7 million, improving from negative $3.8 million a year earlier. Chief Executive Officer Christopher Ruddy said the company’s one-time costs associated with becoming public, as well as legal costs, were “largely behind us,” providing what he described as a cleaner view of the underlying business. He said Newsmax remains in investment mode despite reaching profitability. Broadcasting revenue increased 20.5% to $45.8 million. Chief Financial Officer Darryle Burnham said the gain reflected higher affiliate-fee revenue from new contractual relationships and rate increases that took effect in late 2025 and 2026, along with expanded international licensing agreements. Affiliate revenue rose 81.9% year over year to $13.4 million, while licensing revenue climbed to $4.6 million from $0.7 million in the prior-year quarter. Burnham said the company’s revenue mix is shifting toward affiliate fees and licensing, which helped lift gross margin to 43.1% from 38% a year earlier. Advertising revenue declined 3.5% to $28.8 million, primarily due to lower customer order volume and a difficult comparison with election-related demand in the previous year. Digital advertising, however, grew 21.3%. Total digital revenue decreased 1.3% to $8.3 million. Subscription revenue fell 9.9% to $6.3 million because of lower new-customer acquisition, partly offset by expanded affiliate agreements that increased availability on linear cable providers. Product sales revenue declined 31.7% to $1.1 million, driven by lower book and supplement sales. Burnham said the company ended the quarter with $25.9 million in cash and cash equivalents and $102.4 million in short-term investments, for a total cash and investment position of $128.3 million. The company reported no debt. Ruddy said Newsmax reached 26.9 million total viewers during the quarter, up 4% from a year earlier and representing its highest second-quarter reach in four years. The audience included 11.3 million adults ages 35 to 64, according to the company. The company said it remained the fourth-highest-rated cable news channel and ranked second in its category for engagement among adults ages 35 to 64. Ruddy said Newsmax has been the fastest-growing basic cable network since Nielsen began measuring it in 2020, up more than 280% across key dayparts. On social platforms, Newsmax said total followers increased more than 28% year over year to more than 26 m.