Media Earnings: Demand, Outlook Broadly Upbeat as Costs Diverge
Communications and media companies described a strong demand backdrop and confident guidance for the second quarter of 2026, even as cost management and hiring told a more uneven story.
Coverage: 82 of 83 companies in this theme (ACCO, ACEL, AD, ADEA, AMC, AMCX, ANGI, ANGX, ASTS, ATNI, BATRA, CABO, CALX, CCO, CCOI, CHDN, CHTR, CMCSA, CNK, CRTO, CXDO, DIS, DLX, EVC, FOXA, FUBO, FWONA, GLIBA, GOGO, GOOGL, GRPN, GSAT, GTN, IBTA, IHRT, IRDM, LBTYA, LILA, LION, LTH, LUMN, LYV, MCS, META, MNTN, NXST, NYT, OMC, OPTU, OSW, PLNT, PRKS, PRSU, PSKY, QUAD, RDDT, ROKU, RSI, RSVR, SBGI, SCHL, SEG, SIRI, SPHR, SPOK, SSP, STRZ, T, TDAY, TDS, TKO, TMUS, TTGT, UNIT, VSAT, VSNT, VZ, WBD, WBTN, WMG, XPOF, ZD) — a sample, not the full set.
Communications and media companies entered the back half of 2026 with demand running hot: of 169 demand assessments across the group, 120 were positive against 35 negative, and management teams followed through with confidence about what comes next — 87 of 99 outlook reads were positive, with only a single outright negative worth noting. ACCO Brands Corporation (ACCO) raised its full-year sales and adjusted EPS guidance after citing strong back-to-school sell-in in the Americas, even as it flagged softness in its international segment from EMEA distribution disruptions and reduced office-product demand in Australia. Accel Entertainment (ACEL) pointed to Chicago gaming-terminal operations and fast-growing Nebraska and Georgia markets to support its own upbeat framing, while Array Digital Infrastructure (AD) narrowed its 2026 revenue range and lifted its Adjusted EBITDA guidance on higher interim site revenue.
Pricing power reinforced that optimism, with 25 of 33 reads positive and almost no outright negatives. AMC Networks (AMCX) said streaming revenue climbed 6% largely on the back of price increases across its services, and Angi (ANGI) reported a modest lift in revenue per lead as Pro mix shifted toward its subscription product. Some price gains came with trade-offs: Cable One (CABO) logged a rate adjustment enacted in late 2025 that only partially offset a 20% drop in residential video revenue as subscribers left, one of just two mixed reads in the category.
Input costs told a far more divided story, with 32 positive reads sitting almost evenly against 25 negative across 61 mentions, making it the group's most contested category. Amc Entertainment Holdings (AMC) said tight cost control pushed consolidated Adjusted EBITDA margin to 20.1% from 13.6% a year earlier, and ACCO Brands continued drawing savings from its $100 million multi-year cost-reduction program. The pressure showed through more directly in staffing: hiring drew only nine total mentions, but seven were negative. Deluxe (DLX) cited ongoing labor supply issues, Life Time Group Holdings (LTH) saw administrative expenses rise on higher incentive and benefit costs, and Angi trimmed its global workforce to cut fixed and product-development expense — even as Cogent Communications Holdings (CCOI) grew headcount to 1,899 employees.
Capital spending mostly followed the confident tone, with 32 of 51 reads positive and 16 neutral as several companies simply held plans steady. Array Digital Infrastructure kept its 2026 capex range unchanged at $25 million to $35 million, while AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) said it continued producing and assembling satellites through its BlueBird program and Angi reorganized to prioritize investment in an AI-native platform. Consumer behavior read positive on balance, with 22 of 32 mentions favorable as Amc Entertainment cited premium-format appeal and Angel Studios (ANGX) pointed to more efficient member acquisition, but Angi flagged a shift in homeowner demand toward lower-consideration categories, and Xponential Fitness (XPOF) reported a drop in merchandise revenue tied to a transition away from its in-house wholesale model — the group's lone inventory-related read.
The composite picture is a sector confident enough to raise guidance broadly, even as individual companies wrestle with input costs and staffing decisions to protect the margins behind that confidence.