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what it is
It sells local advertising, digital marketing, and radio airtime to small businesses in smaller U.S. markets.
how it gets paid
Last year Townsquare Media made $427M in revenue. Digital advertising was the main engine at $235M, or 55% of sales.
why growth slowed
Revenue fell 5.2% last year. The $321M revenue print mattered because it dwarfed the prior-year quarter by 201%.
what just happened
Townsquare posted $321M in revenue and 26.0% gross margin in the latest quarter.
At a glance
C balance sheet — red flag territory — real financial stress
5/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
3.2x trailing p/e — the market's not buying it — or you found a deal
11.5% dividend yield — cash in your pocket every quarter
8.9% return on capital — nothing to write home about
xvary composite: 21/100 — weak
What they do
It sells local advertising, digital marketing, and radio airtime to small businesses in smaller U.S. markets.
You are not buying a national media brand. You are buying 400-plus local websites and apps, plus radio stations outside the Top 50 markets. That gives Townsquare first-party data (its own customer data), so ads lean on local signals, not guesses.
How they make money
$427M
annual revenue · their business grew -5.2% last year
Digital advertising
$235M
Broadcast advertising
$137M
Subscription digital marketing services
$55M
The products that matter
subscription digital marketing
Townsquare Interactive
$50M revenue target
Management wants this business at $50M in revenue within four years with a 20% profit margin. If it gets there, you have a cleaner subscription revenue stream inside an otherwise cyclical ad business.
growth
local radio ad sales
Broadcast Advertising
26% segment margin
Broadcast margin held at 26% in 2024 and 2025, excluding political ads. That sounds stable until you remember management is guiding non-political remnant revenue down about 40% in early 2026.
legacy cash flow
programmatic and digital ads
Digital Advertising
$236.0M · 55% of revenue
This $236.0M segment grew 9% and now makes up 55% of the company. It is no longer the side business. It is the part that has to carry the rest.
main growth engine
Key numbers
$469M
Debt load
Long-term debt equals 80% of capital. That means lenders have a louder voice than shareholders.
11.5%
Dividend yield
You get $11.50 a year for every $100 invested. High yield usually comes with a homework assignment.
3.2x
Earnings multiple
You pay $3.20 for $1 of trailing earnings. Cheap gets less cute when revenue is down 5.2%.
19.5%
Operating margin
For every $1 of revenue, $0.195 remains after operating costs. That is a real cash engine.
Financial health
C
strength
- balance sheet grade C — very weak — significant financial distress
- risk rank 4 — safer than 20% of stocks
- price stability 35 / 100
- long-term debt $469M (80% of capital)
C — balance sheet grade and long-term debt are flagged. this stock carries more risk than average.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for TSQ right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
missed estimates
Townsquare posted $321M in revenue and 26.0% gross margin in the latest quarter.
Revenue was up 201% vs. prior year, but EPS was still negative at -$0.39. That is a contrast frame: the top line roared while the bottom line stayed red.
$321M
revenue
-$0.39
eps
26.0%
gross margin
revenue
The $321M revenue print mattered because it dwarfed the prior-year quarter by 201%, yet EPS was still negative at -$0.39.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the #1 risk is a sharp drop in non-political broadcast advertising.
med
Broadcast revenue is still big enough to hurt
Management expects non-political broadcast remnant revenue to fall about 40% in Q1 and Q2 of 2026. Broadcast still represents $183.4M of revenue, so this is not some legacy rounding error.
If that decline holds, digital has to grow fast enough to offset a problem that is still 43% of the business.
med
The balance sheet limits how patient you can be
Long-term debt is $469M, or 80% of capital, on a company worth about $115M in the market. That is a lot of leverage for a business with a 5/100 earnings predictability score.
Even if operations stabilize, leverage can absorb the benefit before equity holders feel much of it.
med
The dividend can become part of the problem
The quarterly payout is $0.20 per share, or about $8.5M a year, against $31M in annual operating cash flow. That is manageable until revenue pressure or refinancing needs make every dollar more valuable somewhere else.
A cut would remove the stock’s most obvious support. Keeping it while cash flow weakens would send the opposite kind of signal.
A 40% decline in a segment that still makes up 43% of revenue would hit the business faster than a 9% digital growth rate can comfortably offset it.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
mix shift
Digital growth versus the 40% broadcast decline
This is the scoreboard. Digital grew 9% last year, but management is guiding a far steeper drop in broadcast. You want the gap narrowing, not widening.
earnings
Q1 2026 results and guidance
Watch whether the company confirms or softens that early-2026 broadcast outlook. Guidance matters more than the headline beat here.
balance sheet
Debt reduction staying ahead of pressure
TSQ cut debt by $23M in 2025. With long-term debt at $469M, you need that direction to continue even if the operating backdrop gets worse.
income
The next $0.20 dividend declaration
The payout is scheduled for May 4, 2026. If the dividend remains untouched, management is signaling confidence. If not, the yield story changes fast.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
5 / 100
A 5 / 100 score means reported results have not been stable enough to model cleanly. In human-speak: analysts do not trust this business to print smooth quarters.
risk rank
4
Risk rank: 4. That places TSQ safer than only about 20% of stocks in this framework. You are being paid an 11.5% yield for a reason.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for TSQ is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$5
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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