On August 5, Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CCO) reported second-quarter results that showed the billboard and airport advertising company accelerating just as it prepares to leave the public markets. On February 9, Clear Channel agreed to be acquired by an investor consortium advised by Mubadala Capital for $2.43 per share, a deal stockholders approved on May 12, and one expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2026. Because of the pending Merger, Clear Channel skipped its usual earnings call and offered no forward guidance.
Every Segment Is Humming
Consolidated revenue climbed 8.7% to $438.0 million in the quarter and 10.2% to $811.9 million over the first half, with the 2026 FIFA World Cup pulling in extra advertising spend across both of Clear Channel’s segments. The America division, which houses the roadside billboard and street furniture business, grew revenue 7% to $324.3 million as demand from technology advertisers in the San Francisco/Bay Area market broadened out and digital billboard revenue rose 7.2% to $122 million. Airports revenue jumped 14% to $113.6 million, helped by strong demand at San Francisco
International Airport and digital sales that climbed 15.6% to $73.4 million, with national advertisers now accounting for 57.8% of that segment’s revenue. Profitability grew even faster than the top line. Adjusted EBITDA rose 11.6% to $143.4 million for the quarter and 19% to $247.3 million for the first half, while Airports Segment Adjusted EBITDA jumped 22.8% to $29.9 million. Adjusted Funds From Operations climbed 61.6% to $44.9 million in the quarter, and for the first half it went from just $5 million a year ago to $51.5 million. On August 4, Clear Channel also closed the sale of its Spain business for about $132.3 million, proceeds it plans to put toward paying down debt.
The Bill Keeps Growing
The growth did not reach the bottom line. Clear Channel posted a loss from continuing operations of $10 million in the quarter, reversing a $6.3 million profit a year earlier, and the consolidated net loss came to $5 million versus net income of $10.6 million in the same period of 2025. Over six months, the loss from continuing operations widened 21.4% to $59.4 million. Costs rose alongside revenue. Direct operating and SG&A expenses increased 5.9% for the quarter, and Airports site lease expense alone jumped 12.0% to $67.1 million on higher minimum guaranteed payments and the renewed contract with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.
Corporate expenses climbed 17.5% to $36.6 million, and Adjusted Corporate expenses rose 24.1%, both reflecting higher bonus and insurance costs. Interest remains the heaviest weight on the business. Net interest expense reached $99 million for the quarter; the company paid $205.8 million in cash interest over six months, and it expects to pay roughly $197 million more in the second half of 2026 and about $394 million in 2027. Total debt stood at $5.1 billion as of June 30, against a stockholders’ deficit of $3.5 billion. With the Merger pending, that debt load is not Clear Channel’s problem to solve as a public company for much longer.
What Wall Street Is Reading
Hedge fund ownership of Clear Channel fell from 47 funds to 34 between the two most recent quarters, a pullback that suggests institutional conviction is thinning even as the buyout nears the finish line. Short interest sits at 9.58% of float, a level that points to a real bear camp still betting against the stock rather than just a handful of skeptics. That combination reads as a market more focused on deal risk than on the operating numbers underneath it.
One Last Quarter To Watch
Clear Channel’s numbers make a case that rarely gets made this late in a buyout: the underlying business is getting stronger, not weaker, heading into the close. Revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, and AFFO all grew faster than they did a year ago, and the Spain sale hands the company fresh cash to chase down its debt. Yet the losses, the rising lease and interest costs, and the shrinking hedge fund count show why a fixed $2.43-per-share price looked attractive to stockholders in the first place.
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