NXST
Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
NXST has lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
VZ
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ has a slight edge over NXST overall, supported by stronger valuation.
NXST Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Weak |
NXST's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, but its balance sheet is weak.
VZ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure |
VZ's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
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.
VZ PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8.3x | $32.43 | -30% |
| Forward | 9x | $46.55 | — |
| Fair | 11x | $43.63 | -6.3% |
| Current | 12x | $46.55 | — |
| Expensive | 14x | $56.75 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VZ has the edge over NXST in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
NXST Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for NXST, but weaker profitability.
VZ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect VZ's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
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.
VZ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.19 | +32% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.93 | -16% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.85 | -10% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.11 | -2.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.06 | -1.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.68 | +103% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.29 | +61% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.20 | +57% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.14 | +51% |
VZ has the edge over NXST on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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.
VZ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $34.3B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $34.3B | -0.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $34.4B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $36.4B | +2% |
| Q3 2025 | $33.8B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $34.5B | +5.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $33.5B | +1.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $35.7B | +1.6% |
VZ's revenue has held roughly level: $34.3B last quarter, up 1.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 25% | +1.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 21% | -2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 24% | +0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | -7.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 24% | +6.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 24% | -0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 24% | +1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +19 points |
VZ has the edge over NXST on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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.
VZ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $11.5B | +2.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.4B | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $8B | +2.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.1B | -13% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.3B | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $9B | -5.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.8B | +9.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | +20% |
VZ's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $39B over the past year, up 1.5% 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 |
VZ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -10M shares |
| 1 year | -1.7% | -72M shares |
| 3 years | -1.3% | -55M shares |
| 5 years | +0.4% | +17M shares |
| Available history | +0.5% | +21M shares |
VZ has the edge over NXST on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $500M |
| Q2 2026 | $1B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.5B |
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.
VZ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 3.0x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.0x | Elevated |
VZ has the edge over NXST on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
VZ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 44.6 | Neutral |
VZ's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 45 (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.
VZ PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | VZ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 12x | 16x | 28% below |
| PE % | 58 | 26 | 32 pts above |
VZ has the edge over NXST on valuation relative to its sector.
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.
VZ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $45.1 | 3.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $46.3 | 0.5% above |
| 50 week MA | $46.1 | 1.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $44.2 | 5.4% above |
| 200 week MA | $41.4 | 12% above |
VZ is in an uptrend: it's above all five of its weekly moving averages, and 12% 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.
VZ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $61.5 | $58.8 | -4.4% |
| 2021 | $58.8 | $52.7 | -10% |
| 2022 | $52.7 | $38.4 | -27% |
| 2023 | $38.4 | $37.7 | -1.8% |
| 2024 | $37.7 | $39.9 | +5.9% |
| 2025 | $39.9 | $40.5 | +1.4% |
| 2026 YTD | $40.5 | $46.6 | +15% |
VZ has the edge over NXST on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.