Townsquare Reports Q1 Results With Digital Driving 63% Of Segment Profit And 59% Of Net Revenue

PURCHASE, N.Y., May 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Townsquare Media, Inc. (NYSE: TSQ) (“Townsquare”, the“Company,”“we,”“us” or“our”) announced today its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026.

“I am pleased to share that Townsquare's first quarter results met our previously issued net revenue and Adjusted EBITDA guidance, driven by the strength of our differentiated Digital Advertising platform. Additionally, we are reaffirming our 2026 full year guidance for both net revenue and Adjusted EBITDA. In the first quarter, net revenue decreased -1.9% year-over-year, Adjusted EBITDA decreased -9.7% year-over-year, and net income improved $4.5 million year-over-year,” commented Bill Wilson, Chief Executive Officer of Townsquare Media, Inc.“With our digital growth engine driving our performance, each year our business mix continues to shift to a greater percentage of both digital revenue and profit. In the first quarter, 59% of our total revenue and 63% of our total Segment Profit was generated from our differentiated digital solutions - each our highest percentages ever. Our Digital Advertising revenue returned to high-single digit revenue growth in Q1, which we believe will continue throughout the year due to the consistent performance of our digital programmatic offering and the success of our Media Partnership division; the strong revenue growth of the direct sales of our local owned and operated digital properties; and the stabilization of our online audience and remnant revenue. I would also like to highlight Townsquare Interactive's strong profit performance, with Segment Profit margin of 34% in Q1, representing year-over-year margin expansion.”

Mr. Wilson continued,“Looking forward, due to our confidence in our Digital First Local Media strategy, our focus on markets outside of the Top 50 U.S. cities, and the strong cash generation characteristics of our business model, we remain assured in our ability to build shareholder value for our investors through long-term net revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and cash flow growth, net leverage reduction, and future dividend payments,” concluded Mr. Wilson.

The Company announced today that its Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share. The dividend will be payable on August 3, 2026 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on July 27, 2026. As of the last closing price, this reflects a dividend yield of approximately 12%.

Segment Reporting
We have three reportable operating segments, Digital Advertising, Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions, and Broadcast Advertising. The Digital Advertising segment, marketed externally as Townsquare Ignite, includes digital advertising on our digital programmatic advertising platform and our owned and operated digital properties, and our first party data digital management platform. The Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions segment includes our subscription digital marketing solutions business, Townsquare Interactive. The Broadcast Advertising segment includes our local, regional, and national advertising products and solutions delivered via terrestrial radio broadcast, and other miscellaneous revenue that is associated with our broadcast advertising platform. The remainder of our business is reported in the Other category, which includes our live events business.

First Quarter Results*

• As compared to the first quarter of 2025:
  • Net revenue decreased 1.9%, and 2.0% excluding political
  • Net income (loss) improved $4.5 million from a net loss of $1.5 million to net income of $3.0 million
  • Adjusted EBITDA decreased 9.7%, and 10.3% excluding political
  • Total Digital net revenue increased 1.8%
    • Digital Advertising net revenue increased 6.8%
    • Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions (“Townsquare Interactive”) net revenue decreased 7.9%
  • Total Digital Segment Profit decreased 4.8%
    • Digital Advertising Segment Profit decreased 5.0%
    • Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions Segment Profit decreased 4.5%
  • Broadcast Advertising net revenue decreased 6.6%, and 6.9% excluding political
• Net income per diluted share was $0.16 and Adjusted Net Loss per diluted share was $0.16

*See below for discussion of non-GAAP measures.

Guidance
For the second quarter of 2026, net revenue is expected to be between $114 million and $116 million, and Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $24 million and $25 million.

For the full year 2026, net revenue is reaffirmed to be between $420 million and $440 million, and Adjusted EBITDA is reaffirmed to be between $87 million and $93 million.

Quarter Ended March 31, 2026 Compared to the Quarter Ended March 31, 2025

Net Revenue
Net revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2026 decreased $1.9 million, or 1.9%, as compared to the same period in 2025. Broadcast Advertising net revenue decreased $2.7 million, or 6.6%, due to decreases in the purchases of advertising by our clients and Subscription Digital Marketing Solutions net revenue decreased $1.5 million, or 7.9%, due to reduced sales velocity as a result of lower headcount. These decreases were partially offset by an increase in Digital Advertising net revenue of $2.5 million, or 6.8%, due to increases in the purchases of advertising by our clients.

Excluding political revenue of $0.6 million for each of the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, net revenue decreased $2.0 million, or 2.0%, to $96.1 million, Broadcast Advertising net revenue decreased $2.8 million, or 6.9%, to $38.0 million, and Digital Advertising net revenue increased $2.5 million, or 6.9%, to $39.2 million.

Net Income (Loss)
For the three months ended March 31, 2026, we reported net income of $3.0 million, an increase of $4.5 million as compared to a net loss of $1.5 million in the same period in 2025. The increase was primarily due to a $12.6 million increase in income tax benefit due to a reduction in the valuation for interest expense carryforwards, a $1.5 million loss on the extinguishment of debt recognized in the first quarter of 2025 and a $1.3 million decrease in transaction and business realignment costs. These amounts were partially offset by $8.6 million of non-cash impairment charges, the $1.9 million decrease in net revenue and a $1.1 million increase in interest expense. Adjusted Net Loss increased $1.9 million to $2.7 million, as compared to $0.9 million for the first quarter of 2025.

Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended March 31, 2026 decreased $1.8 million, or 9.7%, to $16.4 million, as compared to $18.1 million in the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA (Excluding Political) decreased $1.8 million, or 10.3%, to $15.8 million, as compared to $17.7 million in the same period last year.

Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of March 31, 2026, we had a total of $2.2 million of cash and cash equivalents and $457.5 million of outstanding indebtedness, representing 5.30x and 5.27x gross and net leverage, respectively, based on Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended March 31, 2026 of $86.4 million.

The table below presents a summary, as of May 6, 2026, of our outstanding common stock (net of treasury shares).

Conference Call
Townsquare Media, Inc. will host a conference call to discuss certain first quarter 2026 financial results and 2026 guidance on Monday, May 11, 2026 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference call dial-in number is 1-800-717-1738 (U.S. & Canada) or 1-646-307-1865 (International) and the conference ID is“Townsquare.” A live webcast of the conference call will also be available on the investor relations page of the Company's website at .

A replay of the conference call will be available through May 18, 2026. To access the replay, please dial 1-844-512-2921 (U.S. and Canada) or 1-412-317-6671 (International) and enter confirmation code 1199273. A web-based archive of the conference call will also be available at the above website.

About Townsquare Media, Inc.
Townsquare is a community-focused digital and broadcast media and digital marketing solutions company principally focused outside the top 50 markets in the U.S. Townsquare Ignite, our robust digital advertising division, specializes in helping businesses of all sizes connect with their target audience through data-driven, results based strategies, by utilizing a) our proprietary digital programmatic advertising technology stack with an in-house demand and data management platform and b) our owned and operated portfolio of more than 400 local news and entertainment websites and mobile apps along with a network of leading national music and entertainment brands, collecting valuable first party data. Townsquare Interactive, our subscription digital marketing services business, partners with SMBs to help manage their digital presence by providing a SAAS business management platform, website design, creation and hosting, search engine optimization and other digital services. And through our portfolio of local radio stations strategically situated outside the Top 50 markets in the United States, we provide effective advertising solutions for our clients and relevant local content for our audiences. For more information, please visit , and .

Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained in this press release, the matters addressed are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements often discuss our current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as“aim,”“anticipate,”“estimate,”“expect,”“forecast,”“outlook,”“potential,”“project,”“projection,”“plan,”“intend,”“seek,”“believe,”“may,”“could,”“would,”“will,”“should,”“can,”“can have,”“likely,” the negatives thereof and other words and terms. Actual events or results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors. While it is impossible to identify all such factors, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated by us include the impact of general economic conditions in the United States, or in the specific markets in which we currently do business including supply chain disruptions, inflation, labor shortages and the effect on advertising activity, industry conditions, including existing competition, artificial intelligence and future competitive technologies, the popularity of radio as a broadcasting and advertising medium, cancellations, disruptions or postponements of advertising schedules in response to national or world events, our ability to develop and maintain digital technologies (including artificial intelligence) and hire and retain technical and sales talent, our dependence on key personnel, our capital expenditure requirements, our continued ability to identify suitable acquisition targets, and consummate and integrate any future acquisitions, legislative or regulatory requirements, risks and uncertainties relating to our leverage and changes in interest rates, our ability to obtain financing at times, in amounts and at rates considered appropriate by us, our ability to access the capital markets as and when needed and on terms that we consider favorable to us and other factors discussed in this section entitled“Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in this report and under“Risk Factors” in our 2025 Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the year ended December 31, 2025, filed with the SEC on March 16, 2026, as well as other risks discussed from time to time in our filings with the SEC. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to predict or control. In addition, as a result of these and other factors, our past financial performance should not be relied on as an indication of future performance. The cautionary statements referred to in this section also should be considered in connection with any subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements that may be issued by us or persons acting on our behalf. The forward-looking statements included in this report are made only as of the date hereof or as of the date specified herein. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Definitions
In this press release, we refer to Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA (Excluding Political), Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income Per Share which are financial measures that have not been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”).

We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income before the deduction of income taxes, interest expense, net, (gain) loss on repayments, repurchases and extinguishment of debt, transaction and business realignment costs, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, impairments, net (gain) loss on sale and retirement of assets and other expense (income), net. We define Adjusted EBITDA (Excluding Political) as Adjusted EBITDA less political net revenue, net of a fifteen percent deduction to account for estimated national representative firm fees, music licensing fees and sales commissions expense. Adjusted Net Income is defined as net income before the deduction of transaction and business realignment costs, impairments, net (gain) loss on sale and retirement of assets, (gain) loss on repayments, repurchases and extinguishment of debt and net income attributable to non-controlling interest, net of income taxes stated at the Company's applicable statutory effective tax rate. Adjusted Net Income Per Share is defined as Adjusted Net Income divided by the weighted average shares outstanding. We define Net Leverage as our total outstanding indebtedness, net of our total cash balance as of March 31, 2026, divided by our Adjusted EBITDA for the twelve months ended March 31, 2026. These measures do not represent, and should not be considered as alternatives to or superior to, financial results and measures determined or calculated in accordance with GAAP. In addition, these non-GAAP measures are not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles. You should be aware that in the future we may incur expenses or charges that are the same as or similar to some of the adjustments in the presentation, and we do not infer that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or nonrecurring items. In addition, these non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly-named measures reported by other companies.

We use Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (Excluding Political) to facilitate company-to-company operating performance comparisons by backing out potential differences caused by variations in capital structures (affecting interest expense), taxation and the age and book depreciation of facilities and equipment (affecting relative depreciation expense), which may vary for different companies for reasons unrelated to operating performance, and to facilitate year over year comparisons, by backing out the impact of political revenue which varies depending on the election cycle and may be unrelated to operating performance. We use Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income Per Share to assess total company operating performance on a consistent basis. We use Net Leverage to measure the Company's ability to handle its debt burden. We believe that these measures, when considered together with our GAAP financial results, provide management and investors with a more complete understanding of our business operating results, including underlying trends, by excluding the effects of net, (gain) loss on repayments, repurchases and extinguishment of debt, transaction costs, net (gain) loss on sale and retirement of assets, business realignment costs and impairments. Further, while discretionary bonuses for members of management are not determined with reference to specific targets, our board of directors may consider Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA (Excluding Political), Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Net Income Per Share, and Net Leverage when determining discretionary bonuses.

Investor Relations
Claire Yenicay
(203) 900-5555
...

⁽¹⁾Represents total advertising services provided by the Company in exchange for property and equipment during each of the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, respectively.

** not meaningful

The following table presents Net revenue by segment and Segment Profit for the three months ended March 31, 2026, and 2025, respectively (in thousands):

The following table reconciles Net revenue to Net revenue, excluding political revenue on a GAAP basis by segment for the three months ended March 31, 2026, and 2025, respectively (in thousands):

The following table reconciles net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted Net Loss for the three months ended March 31, 2026, and 2025, respectively (in thousands, except per share data):

⁽¹⁾ Income tax provision for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025, respectively, was calculated using the Company's statutory effective tax rate.

The following table reconciles net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA (Excluding Political), and Adjusted EBITDA Less Interest, Capex and Taxes for the three months ended March 31, 2026, and 2025, respectively (dollars in thousands):

^(a) Other includes net (gain) loss on sales and retirements of assets and other expense (income), net.

The following table reconciles net income (loss), the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA on a quarterly basis for the twelve months ended March 31, 2026 (dollars in thousands):

^(a) Other includes net (gain) loss on sales and retirements of assets and other expense (income), net.

The following tables provide the calculation of Segment Profit for the three months ended March 31, 2026, and 2025 (in thousands). Segment Profit represents net revenue less direct operating expenses, excluding depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation:

MENAFN11052026004107003653ID1111095929