7. iHeart Media Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT)
Short % of Shares Outstanding As of August 15: 4.42%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 14
iHeart Media Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) is primarily a radio broadcasting company, that provides listeners with many music and entertainment options through podcasting and internet radio, reaching millions of listeners every day.
The company is the exclusive audio partner for NBC’s 2024 Summer Olympics coverage. A recent partnership between iHeartPodcasts, Universal Television, and Wolf Entertainment resulted in the distribution of “Law & Order: Criminal Justice System” through iHeartPodcasts, premiering on August 22.
On August 29, the company announced the return of the House of Music at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Festival, where fans can explore interactive rooms featuring their favorite artists and brands. It will open on September 20 and 21 at Toshiba Plaza outside T-Mobile Arena.
The Digital Audio Group made a 31% contribution to the total revenue in Q2 2024, with a 10% year-over-year improvement. The company’s overall revenue was $929.09 million, improving 1% year-over-year. This revenue growth was driven by political ads, and without it, the increase would only be 0.1%.
Airtasker, a global platform for local services, formed partnerships with iHeart Media Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) and TelevisaUnivision to accelerate growth in the US on September 3. These partnerships will reach over 300 million people in the US, and amount to a total of $9.75 million expansion.
iHeart Media Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) reached 110 million Americans monthly through 3,000+ websites, increasing its social media presence 7 times, and positioning for success in the broadcast industry. 14 hedge funds are long in the company, and AQR Capital Management has the largest stake of $4,261,605.
Palm Harbour Capital made the following comment about iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) in its Q1 2023 investor letter:
“The second largest detractor was iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ:IHRT) (-37.5% -58 bps), the American radio and podcasting company. The company suffered two self-inflicted wounds, which will impact the first quarter. The first, which the company flagged as temporary was a change in sales incentives. Apparently, they changed their sales force behaviour to sell more lower margin products at the expense of higher margin products (where management believed it should have been incremental volumes of lower margin not a switch). The second was their guidance for interest rate expense. The company did not hedge their floating term loan and is suffering from the higher interest rate environment, something you do not want to see in a highly levered company. Their debt maturities are years out, but every quarter that passes where free cashflow is low will make refinancing more difficult. Up until now, the company has been executing well, and their podcast business is growing strongly. Management has also been buying shares and we believe their major shareholder, if allowed by the Federal Trade Commission, is potentially interested in owning the business.”
