NXST
Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
NXST's fundamentals are strong, but it looks expensive: trading at 19x earnings, about twice its usual 9.5x. Analysts expect earnings growth.
NXST Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Weak |
NXST's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, but its balance sheet is weak.
NXST PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 7.7x | $84.87 | -59% |
| Forward | 7.9x | $206 | — |
| Fair | 9.5x | $105 | -49% |
| Expensive | 17x | $182 | -11% |
| Current | 19x | $206 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NXST's PE is in its expensive range at 19x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 7.9x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
NXST Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for NXST, but weaker profitability.
NXST Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $26.18 | +137% |
| Q3 2026 | $11.05 | -31% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.27 | -72% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.72 | -76% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.00 | -86% |
| Q3 2025 | $16.01 | -7.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $19.14 | +50% |
| Q1 2025 | $19.62 | +66% |
| Q4 2024 | $21.41 | +122% |
NXST's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $11.05 over the past year, against $25.00 in late 2022.
NXST Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.1B | +78% |
| Q2 2026 | $2B | +62% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.4B | +13% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.3B | -13% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.2B | -12% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.2B | -3.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.2B | -3.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.5B | +14% |
NXST's revenue has picked up after four years of holding roughly level: $2.1B last quarter, up 78% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 25% | +10 points |
| Q2 2026 | 18% | +0.8 points |
| Q1 2026 | 19% | +1.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 19% | -9.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 15% | -9.9 points |
| Q2 2025 | 17% | -1.6 points |
| Q1 2025 | 18% | -3.6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 28% | +10 points |
NXST's operating margin was 25% last quarter, up 10 points from the same quarter a year ago.
NXST Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $634M | +629% |
| Q2 2026 | $253M | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $267M | -12% |
| Q4 2025 | $136M | -64% |
| Q3 2025 | $87M | -76% |
| Q2 2025 | $218M | +57% |
| Q1 2025 | $302M | +30% |
| Q4 2024 | $376M | +158% |
NXST's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $1.3B over the past year, up 31% from the year before.
NXST Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.3% | +105K shares |
| 1 year | +1.2% | +364K shares |
| 3 years | -12% | -4.4M shares |
| 5 years | -29% | -12.5M shares |
| Available history | -35% | -16.9M shares |
NXST has 31M diluted shares, up 1.2% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2025 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | $50M |
| Q1 2025 | $75M |
| Q4 2024 | $178M |
| Q3 2024 | $177M |
| Q2 2024 | $135M |
| Q1 2024 | $111M |
NXST Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 6.4x | High |
| Q2 2026 | 8.3x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 9.2x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 4.6x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q2 2025 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.1x | Elevated |
NXST's net debt is about 6.4 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 3.3 years a year ago.
NXST Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 62.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 69.7 | Neutral |
NXST's weekly RSI is 63 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 70 (neutral).
NXST PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | NXST | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 19x | 16x | 13% above |
| PE % | 86 | 26 | 60 pts above |
NXST is trading at 19x earnings, a 13% premium to the Communication Services sector's median of 16x.
NXST Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $172.3 | 20% above |
| 20 week MA | $177.3 | 16% above |
| 50 week MA | $193.7 | 6.4% above |
| 100 week MA | $184.9 | 11% above |
| 200 week MA | $175.2 | 18% above |
NXST is in an uptrend: it's above all five of its weekly moving averages, and 18% above its 200-week average.
NXST Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $118.2 | $105.0 | -11% |
| 2021 | $105.0 | $152.8 | +45% |
| 2022 | $152.8 | $176.0 | +15% |
| 2023 | $176.0 | $156.8 | -11% |
| 2024 | $156.8 | $159.1 | +1.5% |
| 2025 | $159.1 | $205.0 | +29% |
| 2026 YTD | $205.0 | $206.0 | +0.5% |
NXST has finished higher in four of the last six years. It's roughly flat so far in 2026.