iHeartMedia Revenue Climbs Nearly 10% as Podcast Growth Fails to Fix Ad Slowdown

iHeartMedia posted a nearly 10% jump in first-quarter revenue to $884 million, but the company’s podcast momentum was not enough to make up for a weaker advertising backdrop.

In its Q1 earnings release on Monday, May 11, the country’s largest U.S. radio station and podcast distribution company said adjusted EBITDA fell 11.4% to $93 million for the quarter ended March 31. Executives pointed to softness in the ad market and marketing costs that landed earlier in the year than expected. Cash provided by operating activities came in at $93 million, while free cash flow was negative $114 million after operating spending and capital expenses.

That pressure matters because iHeart is still carrying substantial debt, with repayments starting in 2028. Even so, executives said they remained confident that stronger podcast revenue and political advertising in the second half of the year could keep the company on track for full-year guidance of $800 million in EBITDA and $200 million in free cash flow.

The numbers were uneven across the business. Revenue in the multiplatform group, which includes more than 860 broadcast stations and programming such as The Breakfast Club with Charlamagne Tha God, rose 4% to $493 million. But adjusted EBITDA in that division dropped 33% to $47 million, putting the margin at 9.5%.

The digital audio group told a different story, with revenue up nearly 20% to $327 million. Podcasts accounted for $180 million of that total, up 27% from the same quarter a year earlier. Even so, adjusted EBITDA for the segment was flat at $87 million compared with last year.

iHeart ended the quarter with $135 million in cash, and total available liquidity remained below half a billion dollars.

The company also moved quickly to shut down speculation about a possible merger with SiriusXM, after media reports suggested the idea was under discussion. At the start of the Q&A section of the call, the operator said,