Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.96 EPS

Sinclair (NASDAQ:SBGI) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.68) by $0.96, Zacks reports. Sinclair had a negative return on equity of 13.42% and a net margin of 2.00%.The business had revenue of $807.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $792.63 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($2.30) earnings per share. Sinclair’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Sinclair’s conference call:

• Q1 results — Sinclair reported revenue of $807 million (up 4%) and adjusted EBITDA of $126 million (up 13%) and is reaffirming its full‑year 2026 guidance.
• Core operations gaining momentum — core advertising grew 4% and distribution rose 2%, helped by the Digital Remedy acquisition, improving MVPD subscriber trends, and partner station buy‑ins, with management expecting the full $30 million of annualized buy‑in synergies in 2026.
• Balance‑sheet progress — the company retired about $165 million of term loans in April (saving ~$12 million in annual cash interest), ended the quarter with ~$1.5 billion liquidity and reported STG net leverage of 5.1x (improved 0.2x sequentially).
• Tennis Channel momentum vs. short‑term costs — Tennis Channel delivered record March viewership and a ~19% year‑over‑year increase in household reach with rising D2C subs, but adjusted EBITDA fell as Sinclair is investing in rights, D2C and FAST expansion.
• Regulatory and M&A uncertainty — state‑level litigation around Nexstar‑Tegna and an FCC inquiry into sports streaming have introduced near‑term timing risk for industry consolidation; Sinclair still favors a broadcast combination concurrent with a Ventures separation but says timing may be delayed.

Sinclair Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of Sinclair stock traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $15.17. 672,562 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 424,109. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.03 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $14.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.78, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 2.42. Sinclair has a 52 week low of $11.89 and a 52 week high of $17.88.

Sinclair Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.6%. Sinclair’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -59.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sinclair from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $17.00 price objective on Sinclair in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Sinclair from $27.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Sinclair from $15.00 to $14.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Sinclair from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sinclair currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.40.

Trending Headlines about Sinclair

Here are the key news stories impacting Sinclair this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sinclair beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $0.28 (consensus -$0.68) and revenue of $807M, showing a year-over-year recovery that supports near-term profitability improvement. Zacks: Sinclair Beats Q1 Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a $0.25 quarterly cash dividend (payable June 9; record/ex-dividend May 26), implying an annualized yield of roughly 6.8%, which can attract income-focused investors. GlobeNewswire: Dividend Announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Official Q1 press release, slide deck and conference call materials are available for detail on results and segment performance — useful for modeling revenue and cash-flow scenarios. MarketBeat: Q1 Results & Materials
• Neutral Sentiment: The Q1 earnings call transcript provides management commentary on advertising trends, political ad cadence, and cost items that investors should review to assess FY26 assumptions. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo cut its price target to $16 from $17 and set an “equal weight” rating, trimming upside expectations and signaling more cautious near-term sentiment. Benzinga: Wells Fargo Lowers PT
• Negative Sentiment: Sinclair’s FY26 revenue guidance was provided in a $3.4B–$3.5B range — slightly under or roughly in line with consensus depending on assumptions — which tempers the upside from the quarter’s beat and may keep multiple expansion limited. MarketBeat: Guidance Details

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Robert Weisbord sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.70, for a total value of $157,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 284,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,467,042.50. This trade represents a 3.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Daniel C. Keith sold 22,613 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.10, for a total transaction of $296,230.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,027 shares in the company, valued at $327,853.70. The trade was a 47.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 55,672 shares of company stock worth $758,498 in the last 90 days. 41.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SBGI. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Sinclair by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 41,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $656,000 after buying an additional 2,258 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Sinclair by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Sinclair by 134.7% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 11,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,000 after buying an additional 6,615 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Sinclair by 17.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Sinclair by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 31,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 1,511 shares during the last quarter. 41.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sinclair

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc (NASDAQ: SBGI) is a media and entertainment company headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland. Founded in 1971 as a single UHF television station operator, Sinclair has grown through strategic acquisitions and organic expansion to become one of the largest owners of local television stations in the United States. Over its history, the company has pursued a diversified portfolio that includes both traditional broadcast assets and newer digital platforms.

At its core, Sinclair operates over 190 television stations affiliated with the major national broadcast networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW and MyNetworkTV.