Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q3 behind us, let’s have a look at Sinclair (NASDAQ: SBGI) and its peers.

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 very strong Q3. As a group, revenues were in line with analysts’ consensus estimates while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.8% below.

Luckily, traditional media & publishing stocks have performed well with share prices up 16.8% on average since the latest earnings results.

Best Q3: 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 $773 million, down 15.7% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and full-year revenue guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Sinclair delivered the slowest revenue growth of the whole group. Interestingly, the stock is up 21.8% since reporting and currently trades at $16.60.

Is now the time to buy Sinclair? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

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 $106.7 million, up 16.6% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a narrow beat of analysts’ revenue estimates.

IMAX pulled off the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 17.3% since reporting. It currently trades at $37.60.

Is now the time to buy IMAX? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Weakest Q3: 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 $3.61 billion, down 7.1% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 3.1%. It was a slower quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ revenue estimates.

EchoStar delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 44.1% since the results and currently trades at $104.22.

Read our full analysis of EchoStar’s results here.

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 $421.8 million, down 1.1% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 1.3%. It was an exceptional quarter as it also logged a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ full-year EPS guidance estimates.

Wiley achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The stock is down 16% since reporting and currently trades at $31.84.

Read our full, actionable report on Wiley here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Market Update

As a result of the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has come down from frothy levels post-pandemic. The general rise in the price of goods and services is trending towards the Fed’s 2% goal as of late, which is good news. The higher rates that fought inflation also didn't slow economic activity enough to catalyze a recession. So far, soft landing. This, combined with recent rate cuts (half a percent in September 2024 and a quarter percent in November 2024) have led to strong stock market performance in 2024. The icing on the cake for 2024 returns was Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. Presidential Election in early November, sending major indices to all-time highs in the week following the election. Still, debates around the health of the economy and the impact of potential tariffs and corporate tax cuts remain, leaving much uncertainty around 2025.

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