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what it is
TEGNA owns local TV and radio stations that sell ads, collect carriage fees, and cash in when political campaigns start spending.
how it gets paid
Last year Tegna made $2.7B in revenue.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 12.6% last year. $2.0B matters because it shows how distorted one broadcaster quarter can get.
what just happened
The latest reported quarter showed $2.0B in revenue, but the most recent consensus-tracked EPS print still missed by $0.03.
At a glance
B+ balance sheet — decent shape, but not bulletproof
60/100 earnings predictability — reasonably predictable
12.1x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
2.7% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
8.5% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 56/100 — below average
What they do
TEGNA owns local TV and radio stations that sell ads, collect carriage fees, and cash in when political campaigns start spending.
TEGNA owns 64 television stations in 51 markets and reaches about 39% of U.S. TV households. If you want local viewers at scale, you buy the station group already in their living room. Subscription revenue (fees from cable and satellite carriers to carry stations) brings recurring cash, so one weak ad quarter does not break the model.
How they make money
$2.7B
annual revenue · revenue declined -12.6% last year
total revenue
$2.7B
12.6%
The products that matter
operates local tv stations
broadcast television
$2.7B revenue
it is the whole company in practical terms: $2.7B of annual revenue, down 12.6% from a year earlier, with no second engine large enough to offset a weak broadcast cycle.
core
Key numbers
$3.10
fy2026 eps est
$3B
fy2026 rev est
12.1x
trailing p/e
2.7%
dividend yield
Financial health
B+
strength
- balance sheet grade B+ — solid but not elite
- risk rank 3 — safer than 50% of stocks
- price stability 70 / 100
- long-term debt $2.5B (46% of capital)
- net profit margin 12.2% — keeps 12 cents of every dollar in revenue
- return on equity 12% — $0.12 profit for every $1 investors have put in
B+ — functional but not a standout on the balance sheet.
Total return vs. market
You invested $10,000 in TGNA 3 years ago → it's now worth $9,990.
The index would have given you $14,770.
source: institutional data · total return
What just happened
missed estimates
The latest reported quarter showed $2.0B in revenue, but the most recent consensus-tracked EPS print still missed by $0.03.
EDGAR shows latest-quarter revenue of $2.0B and EPS of $1.00, up 208% and 335% vs. prior year. Yahoo Finance lists the last consensus comparison at $0.50 versus $0.53, so you should treat the headline jump as event-driven, not clean run-rate growth.
$2.0B
revenue
$1.00
eps
208%
vs. last year revenue growth
the number that mattered
$2.0B matters because it shows how distorted one broadcaster quarter can get; full-year revenue still fell 12.6% to $2.7B.
-
tegna’s proposed takeover is proceeding despite some headwinds.last august, nextstar media agreed to purchase tegna for $22 a share in cash, or approximately $6.2 billion when debt is taken into account.
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the merger would combine the firstand fourth-largest tvstation groups in the country.certain trade unions, democratic politicians, and competitors, including newsmax and echostar, are claiming that the transaction would be anticompetitive.
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there is also the likelihood of jobs being eliminated and a drop off in local news reporting.
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nextstar has applied for an exemption of the established ownership cap with the fcc. (according to the national television multiple ownership rule, no one organization can control television stations that collectively reach more than 39% of the nation’s audience.) moreover, opponents charge that the fcc doesn’t have the authority to grant a waiver, only the u.s.
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congress does.subscribers may recall that in early 2022, a $24-a-share all-cash offer was agreed upon with a different firm and the fcc ruled that the deal would not be in the public good. at the time, republicans accused the fcc of not allowing the transaction because of political reasons.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is regulators stopping the $22-per-share nextstar deal.
med
the deal gets blocked or abandoned
this stock is trading against a $22 cash offer while sitting at $18.73. if that anchor disappears, investors have to price tegna as a stand-alone broadcaster again.
the cleanest downside marker on this page is the 52-week low of $12 — about 36% below the current price.
med
broadcast fundamentals keep weakening
annual revenue fell 12.6% to $2.7B, quarterly revenue fell 19% from a year ago, and full-year EPS dropped from $3.53 to $1.55.
if the merger fails, you are left owning a business whose earnings power just got cut by more than half.
med
debt limits flexibility
tegna carries $2.5B of long-term debt, equal to 46% of capital. that is manageable in normal conditions and much less pleasant in a weak ad market.
less financial room means less margin for error if revenue misses the $3B estimate.
med
ownership-cap politics drag on
the 39% national ownership cap is not a side issue. it is the regulatory bottleneck, and the dispute over waiver authority can stretch timelines even before any final decision.
time is a cost in merger spreads. the longer this sits unresolved, the less clean the annualized return looks.
the combined risk picture is simple: a failed deal removes the $22 support, and the stand-alone numbers — $2.7B revenue, $1.55 EPS, $2.5B debt — are not strong enough to make that painless.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
risk
any official change in merger odds
the stock is still $3.27 below the $22 cash offer. if regulators signal the path is narrowing, that spread can close fast. if they do not, the downside starts to matter more than the upside.
calendar
the next regulatory milestone
this is a calendar stock right now. each agency update matters more than another generic analyst note.
metric
whether revenue stabilizes near the $3B estimate
the 2026 forecast points to about $3B in revenue after last year's $2.7B. if results keep undershooting that level, the stand-alone case weakens further.
trend
whether earnings recover from $1.55 toward $3.10
that gap is the difference between temporary pressure and a business that has structurally reset lower.
Analyst rankings
risk profile
average
stability score 3 means this sits near the middle of the pack on risk. in human-speak, it is not a bunker and it is not a chaos stock.
earnings predictability
60 / 100
earnings are reasonably forecastable for a broadcaster, but a drop from $3.53 to $1.55 shows you can still get unpleasant surprises.
valuation
12.1x p/e
the multiple looks cheap versus the broad market. the market's reply is obvious: local tv growth is not exactly priced like software.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutions have been net selling for 2 consecutive quarters — 152 buyers vs. 204 sellers in 3q2025. total institutional holdings: 0.2B shares. net selling for 2 quarters.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
$14
$27
$19
current price
$21
target midpoint · +12% from current · 3-5yr high: $35 (+85% · 18% ann'l return)
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