Cumulus Media Inc. (NASDAQ:CMLS) Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call February 27, 2024 8:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Collin Jones - EVP, Strategy and Development, President of Westwood One

Mary Berner - President and CEO

Frank Lopez-Balboa - CFO

Conference Call Participants

Michael Kupinski - NOBLE Financial Capital Markets

Jim Goss - Barrington Research

Dan Day - B. Riley

Operator

Hello, and welcome to the Cumulus Media Quarterly Earnings Conference Call.

I'll now turn it over to Collin Jones, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Development and President of Westwood One. Sir, you may proceed.

Collin Jones

Thank you, operator. Welcome, everyone, to our fourth quarter and full year 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-K 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 the Investors portion of our website.

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

Mary Berner

Thanks, Collin, and good morning, everyone.

It has been well documented that 2023 was a tough year across the media landscape. Unsupportive macro factors, including persistent inflation, rising interest rates and a barrage of geopolitical issues, combined with the general uncertainties depressed advertiser confidence throughout the year.

However, while we couldn't escape the effects of the weak environment, we were able to offset some of its impact on the year by solid execution in key focus areas, specifically by growing our digital businesses, reducing costs and improving our balance sheet. Looking ahead to 2024, while there are some green shoots, we still have limited visibility into ad demand, particularly with respect to national advertisers.