Sinclair Raises 2026 Ebitda Outlook After Political Surge

The Tip Desk · November 11, 2026 · 3 min read

Third-quarter political advertising reached $136 million as full-year Adjusted EBITDA guidance moved to $825 million to $835 million.

Sinclair, Inc. (SBGI) raised its full-year 2026 Adjusted EBITDA outlook to a range of $825 million to $835 million after political advertising in the third quarter reached $136 million, a record for the 2026 mid-term cycle.

The diversified media company, which owns, operates and/or provides services to 178 television stations in 79 markets, said the new range is higher than its 2024 Adjusted EBITDA of $816 million excluding Diamond-related management fees received that year. It had previously guided to $730 million to $760 million. Consolidated revenue guidance midpoint increased by $95 million to $3,530 million to $3,600 million.

Total revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2026 was $893 million, up 16% from a year earlier, accelerating from 7% growth in the second quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $213 million, up 113% from $100 million a year earlier, after 45% year-over-year growth in the prior quarter. Net income attributable to Sinclair was $43 million, or $0.60 a share, versus a $1 million loss a year earlier.

Political advertising revenue of $136 million was up 2,167% from $6 million a year earlier and 131% from $59 million in the second quarter. The company said battleground races and the overall political environment helped drive record demand across its footprint. Full-year preliminary political advertising revenue is approximately $455 million, $50 million above the prior political revenue record of $405 million in 2024 and $122 million above the prior mid-term record of $333 million in 2022. The prior full-year political guidance had been at least $375 million.

Local Media, the broadcast television segment, generated $135 million of the political advertising, versus $6 million a year earlier. Local Media Adjusted EBITDA was $205 million, up from $92 million. Local Media revenue was $789 million. Tennis Adjusted EBITDA was $15 million and Other Adjusted EBITDA was $5 million.

Core advertising revenue declined 4% year-over-year to $301 million, after a 3% year-over-year decline in the second quarter. Distribution revenue was $426 million, up 1% from a year earlier. Other media and non-media revenue was $30 million. The company said it reached new network affiliation agreements with both ABC and CBS in recent weeks. Tennis Channel, it said, continued to grow engagement across linear, streaming, and direct-to-consumer platforms, with growth in DTC subscribers as well as both distribution and core advertising revenue.

The company said it continues to evaluate various broadcast transactions and believes opportunities still remain. It evaluated separating the Ventures portfolio through a spin-off, split-off, or other transaction and determined at this time not to separate Ventures in a standalone transaction.

Total company debt was $4,035 million, all of it indebtedness of Sinclair Television Group. Cash and cash equivalents were $659 million, of which $170 million was STG cash and $489 million was Ventures cash. Available liquidity was about $1.4 billion, including $724 million of undrawn revolver and accounts receivable facility capacity. The company retired $25 million of a B7 term loan at a discount and terminated the remainder of the B3 term loan. First-out first-lien leverage was 1.7 times and total leverage was 5.1 times. Capital expenditures in the third quarter were $20 million. It paid a quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 a share in September.

For the twelve months ending December 31, 2026, the company now guides Local Media Adjusted EBITDA to $805 million to $815 million, Local Media revenue to $3,110 million to $3,160 million, and Local Media distribution revenue to $1,525 million to $1,555 million. Consolidated distribution revenue is guided to $1,735 million to $1,775 million and core advertising to $1,220 million to $1,250 million. Capital expenditures remain $75 million to $80 million, net interest expense $290 million to $295 million, and net cash tax payments approximately $50 million.