Cumulus Media Inc. (NASDAQ:CMLS) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call July 28, 2023 8:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Collin Jones - EVP, Strategy and Development

Mary Berner - President and CEO

Frank Lopez-Balboa - CFO

Conference Call Participants

Dan Day - B. Riley Securities

Avi Steiner - JPMorgan

Michael Kupinski - NOBLE Capital Markets

Jim Goss - Barrington Research

Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Cumulus Media Quarterly Earnings Conference Call.

I will now turn it over to Collin Jones, Executive Vice President of Strategy and development. Sir, you may proceed.

Collin Jones

Thank you, operator. Welcome, everyone to our second quarter 2023 earnings conference call. I'm joined today by our President and CEO, Mary Berner; and our CFO, Frank Lopez-Balboa.

Before we start, please note that certain statements in today’s press release and discussed on this call may constitute forward-looking statements under federal securities laws. Actual results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied in forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management’s current assessments and assumptions and they are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties as discussed in our filings with the SEC.

In addition, we will also use certain non-GAAP financial measures. We believe the supplementary information is useful to investors, although it should not be considered superior to the measures presented in accordance with GAAP. A full description of these risks as well as financial reconciliations to non-GAAP terms are in our press release and SEC filings.

The press release can be found in the Investor Relations portion of our website and our Form 10-Q was also filed with the SEC shortly before this call. A recording of today's call will be available for about a month via link in our website.

With that, I will now turn it over to our President and CEO, Mary Berner. Mary?

Mary Berner

Thanks, Collin and good morning everyone.

In the second quarter, we generated revenue in line with expectations while EBITDA exceeded expectations. While continued softness primarily in the national advertising market drove an overall revenue decline. We continue to deliver strong digit growth in our digital marketing services business with digital revenue comprising 18% of total revenue.

We also executed additional cost reductions, which benefited EBITDA and improved our balance sheet through free cash flow generation and additional debt buybacks. Simultaneously, we retired approximately 10% of our shares outstanding through a tender offer. More specifically during the quarter, we drove significant growth in our digital marketing services businesses, increasing revenue 21% year-on-year, while also investing further in the business to help fuel its future growth.