CCO - Clear Channel Outdoor slips 16% as ad outlook falls short

Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings ( NYSE: CCO ) tumbled 16.1% Tuesday off its second-quarter results , where it topped revenue expectations but issued a disappointing outlook for the current quarter, with the advertising slowdown landing at the out-of-home ad specialist.

The company posted revenues of $643.4M, edging expectations for $640.3M. It guided to third-quarter revenue of $625M-$645M, the full range below consensus expectations for $652.5M.

The second quarter was strong as "advertising demand remained robust across our markets in the Americas and Europe," CEO Scott Wells said, noting it was led by digital assets.

In Europe, revenue growth of 13.4% came to a near-28% gain excluding movement in foreign-exchange rates. The segment's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in Q2 jumped by $42.8M, to $44.5M.

In the Americas, revenues rose 27.4% to $346.1M, while segment adjusted EBITDA rose nearly 17%, to $148.8M.

As for industry headwinds, "as we have demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have the levers to manage our costs should that need arise, while ensuring we have ample liquidity on our balance sheet," Wells said.

And the company continues evaluate strategic alternatives for the European business, and considering the state of Europe's capital markets, "our Board of Directors has authorized the Company to focus the strategic review on the potential disposal of certain of our lower-margin or lower-priority European assets."

Wall Street analysts are generally Neutral on Clear Channel Outdoor , while Seeking Alpha's Quant Ratings have a Sell on the stock .

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