NXST vs CMCSA vs VSNT Stock Comparison

Nexstar Media, Comcast and Versant Media Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NXST Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
$164.75 +1.6% 1M -13.6% 1Y
Market cap
$5.08B
P/E
26.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.88B
Div. yield
4.52%
Television Broadcasting Communication Services
4 wins
CMCSA Comcast Corp
$22.05 +0.6% 1M -24.7% 1Y
Market cap
$78.05B
P/E
6.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$123.01B
Div. yield
5.99%
Broadband and Cable Communication Services
8 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Comcast leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Comcast 8, Nexstar Media 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNXSTCMCSAVSNTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.08B $78.05B $4.26B CMCSA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.8x 6.9x 20.4x CMCSA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 5.0x 6.5x 7.2x NXST
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.5% -0.2% — NXST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.2% 9.2% — CMCSA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.8% 7.8% — CMCSA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 8.3x 2.4x — CMCSA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 4.52% 5.99% 3.72% CMCSA
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -13.6% -24.7% — NXST
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.6%/yr -15.9%/yr — NXST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.7% 34.3% 41.5% CMCSA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 66/100 62/100 CMCSA

Percentile Scorecard

NXSTCMCSAVSNT

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisNXSTCMCSAVSNT
Valuation 68 #18 of 54 94 #4 of 49 81 #11 of 54
Growth 30 #32 of 45 23 #35 of 45 –
Profitability 74 #12 of 43 68 #15 of 45 –
Financial Health 36 #40 of 62 60 #20 of 49 84 #11 of 62
Shareholder Returns 56 #12 of 26 86 #6 of 37 20 #21 of 26
Overall 53 66 62
  • NXST ranked among 62 companies in Advertising and Media
  • CMCSA ranked among 51 companies in Telecommunications
  • VSNT ranked among 62 companies in Advertising and Media

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodNXSTCMCSAVSNTSPY
1 month +1.6%+0.6%-6.6% -0.8%
3 months -11.3%-3.3%-14.6% +3.5%
6 months -19.6%-19.8%-23.2% +7.0%
Year to date -18.9%-26.2%-31.9% +12.2%
1 year -13.6%-24.7%— +13.0%
3 years +21.6%-44.4%— +86.3%
3 years, per year +6.7%-17.8%— +23.1%
5 years +13.6%-58.0%— +68.6%
5 years, per year +2.6%-15.9%— +11.0%
10 years +226.2%-29.5%— +258.0%
10 years, per year +12.6%-3.4%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureNXSTCMCSAVSNTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.7%34.3%41.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.8%40.1%46.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.440.020.42 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.37-0.72— 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.0%-61.9%-42.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -35.0%-32.1%-35.4% -1.8%
52-week high $253.64$32.48$47.45 $779.14
52-week low $154.70$20.66$27.42 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleNXSTCMCSAVSNT
P/E now vs peer median 26.8xmedian 18.4x 6.9xmedian 11.8x 20.4xmedian 18.4x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 0.6x 0.6xmedian 1.1x 2.6xmedian 0.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.9xmedian 11.0x 4.7xmedian 6.8x —median 11.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 6.8xmedian 9.1x 4.0xmedian 5.7x —median 9.1x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 1.6x 0.8xmedian 1.3x 0.5xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median -0.84median 0.44 -1.51median 0.24 —median 0.44

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsNXSTCMCSAVSNT
Revenue $5.88B $123.01B –
Gross profit $3.21B – –
Operating income $1.04B $18.10B –
Net income $168.00M $11.32B –
Free cash flow $743.00M $19.67B –
EPS (diluted) $6.08 $3.18 –
Cash & equivalents $218.00M $7.60B $1.48B
Total debt $11.74B $87.40B $2.95B
Shares (diluted) 30.91M 3.56B 141.30M
Enterprise value $3.88B $44.02B $2.90B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricNXSTCMCSAVSNT
P/E 26.8x 6.9x 20.4x
P/FCF 6.8x 4.0x –
P/Operating cash flow 5.7x 2.5x –
P/S 0.9x 0.6x 2.6x
P/B 2.2x 0.8x 0.5x
P/Tangible book -1.8x 2.4x 0.6x
EV/EBITDA 11.9x 4.7x –
EV/EBIT 15.9x 8.7x –
EV/Revenue 2.8x 1.3x –
EV/FCF 22.3x 8.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 18.6x 5.0x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.84 -1.51 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNXSTCMCSAVSNT
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.5% -0.2% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.8% 0.6% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 4.0% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 0.5% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -11.9% -18.4% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.4% -8.1% –
Net income growth (1Y) -71.9% -49.9% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -35.6% -9.3% –
EPS growth (1Y) -70.7% -48.2% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) -31.9% -4.6% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -35.3% -3.5% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -11.1% 3.7% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -40.7% -6.2% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.3% 7.2% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNXSTCMCSAVSNT
Gross margin 54.6% – –
EBITDA margin 23.7% 27.3% –
Operating margin 17.8% 14.7% –
Pretax margin 3.6% 11.3% –
Net margin 3.2% 9.2% –
FCF margin 12.6% 16.0% –
Operating cash flow margin 15.2% 25.8% –
Return on equity 8.3% 11.9% –
Return on assets 1.0% 4.2% –
Return on invested capital 5.8% 7.8% –
Return on capital employed 6.3% 8.0% –
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.5x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 5.3x 2.8x –
Stock comp / revenue 1.7% 1.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNXSTCMCSAVSNT
Debt / assets 66.3% 33.9% 23.2%
Debt / equity 5.2x 0.9x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 8.3x 2.4x –
Debt / FCF 15.8x 4.4x –
Liabilities / assets 87.2% 64.1% 35.4%
Equity / assets 12.8% 35.9% 64.6%
Interest coverage 2.1x 4.3x –
Current ratio 1.6x 0.8x 2.4x
Quick ratio 1.4x 0.7x 2.3x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.2x 1.2x
Altman Z-score 1.06 1.31 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNXSTCMCSAVSNT
Dividend yield 4.5% 6.0% 3.7%
Net buyback yield – 5.2% –
Shareholder yield 4.5% 11.2% 3.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 134.5% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 30.4% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 2.7% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 10.6% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusNXSTCMCSAVSNT
Forward P/E 5.0xFY2026 6.5xFY2026 7.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $32.91FY2026 $3.38FY2026 $4.28FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +997.0%FY2026 -21.6%FY2026 -24.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -45.6% +11.8% +64.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.32BFY2026 $114.88BFY2026 $6.65BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +68.2%FY2026 -7.1%FY2026 -0.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.3% +4.7% -3.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNXSTCMCSAVSNT
Held by institutions 100.0% 88.0% –
Institutions holding 486 1,884 –
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.0% +2.7% –
Institutions buying 220 832 –
Institutions selling 181 858 –
Buyers to sellers 1.22 0.97 –

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

NXSTCMCSAVSNT
NXST 1.00 0.24 0.20
CMCSA 0.24 1.00 0.34
VSNT 0.20 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NXST, CMCSA and VSNT?

Comcast (CMCSA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nexstar Media (NXST) $5.08B, Comcast (CMCSA) $78.05B, Versant Media (VSNT) $4.26B.

Which stock is cheaper, NXST, CMCSA and VSNT?

Comcast (CMCSA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Nexstar Media (NXST) 26.8x, Comcast (CMCSA) 6.9x, Versant Media (VSNT) 20.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Nexstar Media (NXST) is cheapest (Nexstar Media (NXST) 5.0x, Comcast (CMCSA) 6.5x, Versant Media (VSNT) 7.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nexstar Media (NXST) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Nexstar Media (NXST) +10.5%, Comcast (CMCSA) -0.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Comcast (CMCSA) has the highest net margin (Nexstar Media (NXST) 3.2%, Comcast (CMCSA) 9.2%). On return on invested capital, Comcast (CMCSA) leads (Nexstar Media (NXST) 5.8%, Comcast (CMCSA) 7.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nexstar Media (NXST) returned the most: Nexstar Media (NXST) -13.6%, Comcast (CMCSA) -24.7%. Over five years, Nexstar Media (NXST) compounded fastest (Nexstar Media (NXST) +2.6%/yr, Comcast (CMCSA) -15.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Comcast (CMCSA) has the highest dividend yield: Nexstar Media (NXST) 4.52%, Comcast (CMCSA) 5.99%, Versant Media (VSNT) 3.72%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Comcast (CMCSA) has been the steadiest (Nexstar Media (NXST) 36.7%, Comcast (CMCSA) 34.3%, Versant Media (VSNT) 41.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NXST, CMCSA and VSNT?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Comcast (CMCSA) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.