NXST vs SSP vs NMAX Stock Comparison

Nexstar Media, E.W. Scripps and Newsmax Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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NXST Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
$170.10 +5.3% 1M -9.8% 1Y
Market cap
$5.21B
P/E
27.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.88B
Div. yield
0.04%
Television Broadcasting Communication Services
7 wins
SSP E.W. SCRIPPS Co
$2.52 -3.4% 1M +44.8% 1Y
Market cap
$241.28M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.09B
Div. yield
–
Television Broadcasting Communication Services
2 wins
NMAX Newsmax Inc.
$8.10 -25.3% 1M -18.1% 1Y
Market cap
$1.02B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$198.07M
Div. yield
–
Television Broadcasting Communication Services

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Nexstar Media leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Nexstar Media 7, E.W. Scripps 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNXSTSSPNMAXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.21B $241.28M $1.02B NXST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.7x -0.2x -12.9x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 5.2x — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.5% -14.2% +8.3% NXST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 3.2% -61.1% -40.1% NXST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.8% -31.0% — NXST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 8.3x -2.7x — SSP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -9.8% +44.8% -18.1% SSP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.6%/yr -29.0%/yr — NXST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 36.8% 88.1% 77.7% NXST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 19/100 34/100 NXST

Percentile Scorecard

NXSTSSPNMAX

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

AxisNXSTSSPNMAX
Valuation 67 #18 of 53 44 #30 of 53 2 #52 of 53
Growth 28 #32 of 44 2 #43 of 44 58 #19 of 44
Profitability 78 #10 of 42 15 #36 of 42 12 #37 of 42
Financial Health 38 #38 of 61 13 #53 of 61 63 #23 of 61
Shareholder Returns 52 #13 of 26 – –
Overall 53 19 34
  • NXST ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media
  • SSP ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media
  • NMAX ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNXSTSSPNMAXSPY
1 month +5.3%-3.4%-25.3% +0.7%
3 months -11.6%-11.0%+5.6% +3.7%
6 months -18.3%-47.4%+28.6% +7.1%
Year to date -16.2%-36.8%+4.8% +12.8%
1 year -9.8%+44.8%-18.1% +11.9%
3 years +23.3%-38.7%— +85.2%
3 years, per year +7.2%-15.1%— +22.8%
5 years +13.5%-82.0%— +67.6%
5 years, per year +2.6%-29.0%— +10.9%
10 years +249.3%-74.8%— +262.0%
10 years, per year +13.3%-12.9%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureNXSTSSPNMAXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 36.8%88.1%77.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.8%72.9%80.0% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.430.931.64 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.270.51-0.23 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -39.0%-94.0%-97.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.9%-51.2%-29.1% -1.2%
52-week high $253.64$5.16$11.43 $779.14
52-week low $154.70$1.54$5.16 $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.

MultipleNXSTSSPNMAX
P/E now vs peer median 27.7xmedian 18.7x -0.2xmedian 18.7x -13.1xmedian 18.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 0.6x 0.1xmedian 0.6x 5.3xmedian 0.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.0xmedian 10.6x -3.0xmedian 10.6x -12.4xmedian 10.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 7.1xmedian 9.0x 5.8xmedian 9.0x —median 9.0x
P/B now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 1.6x 2.0xmedian 1.6x 9.2xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median -0.87median 0.49 0.01median 0.49 —median 0.49

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 monthsNXSTSSPNMAX
Revenue $5.88B $2.09B $198.07M
Gross profit $3.21B $844.84M $78.29M
Operating income $1.04B -$1.05B -$86.98M
Net income $168.00M -$1.21B -$79.40M
Free cash flow $743.00M $35.03M –
EPS (diluted) $6.08 $-13.90 $-0.61
Cash & equivalents $218.00M $13.05M $25.88M
Total debt $11.74B $2.49B –
Shares (diluted) 30.91M 92.09M 129.29M
Enterprise value $4.04B $61.92M $929.23M

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
MetricNXSTSSPNMAX
P/E 27.7x -0.2x -13.1x
P/FCF 7.1x 5.8x –
P/Operating cash flow 5.9x 2.4x –
P/S 0.9x 0.1x 5.3x
P/B 2.3x 2.0x 9.2x
P/Tangible book -1.8x -0.2x 9.2x
EV/EBITDA 12.0x -3.0x -12.4x
EV/EBIT 16.1x -2.5x -11.7x
EV/Revenue 2.9x 1.3x 5.1x
EV/FCF 22.6x 76.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow 18.8x 31.9x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.87 0.01 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNXSTSSPNMAX
Revenue growth (1Y) 10.5% -14.2% 8.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.8% -4.5% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 4.0% -26.1% -4.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 0.5% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) -11.9% -352.2% 14.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.4% -46.2% –
Net income growth (1Y) -71.9% -1,271% 27.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -35.6% -29.7% –
EPS growth (1Y) -70.7% -2,953% 27.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -31.9% -24.5% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -35.3% -70.0% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -11.1% -28.5% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -40.7% -85.6% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.3% -42.6% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNXSTSSPNMAX
Gross margin 54.6% 40.4% 39.5%
EBITDA margin 23.7% -43.3% -41.2%
Operating margin 17.8% -50.3% -43.9%
Pretax margin 3.6% -61.7% -40.1%
Net margin 3.2% -61.1% -40.1%
FCF margin 12.6% 1.7% –
Operating cash flow margin 15.2% 4.0% –
Return on equity 8.3% -180.4% -72.4%
Return on assets 1.0% -28.4% -33.8%
Return on invested capital 5.8% -31.0% –
Return on capital employed 6.3% -27.4% -57.8%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 5.3x -0.1x –
Stock comp / revenue 1.7% 0.9% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNXSTSSPNMAX
Debt / assets 66.3% 68.4% –
Debt / equity 5.2x 24.8x –
Net debt / EBITDA 8.3x -2.7x –
Debt / FCF 15.8x 71.2x –
Liabilities / assets 87.2% 97.2% 50.9%
Equity / assets 12.8% 2.8% 49.1%
Interest coverage 2.1x -4.6x -4,632x
Current ratio 1.6x 1.3x 2.4x
Quick ratio 1.4x 1.2x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.0x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 1.07 -0.96 3.57

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNXSTSSPNMAX
Dividend yield 4.4% – –
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 4.4% 0.0% –
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.

ConsensusNXSTSSPNMAX
Forward P/E 5.2xFY2026 – –
EPS, next fiscal year $32.94FY2026 $-11.77FY2026 $-0.01FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +998.0%FY2026 – –
EPS growth, the year after -45.6% – –
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.32BFY2026 $2.07BFY2026 $203.04MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +68.2%FY2026 -3.7%FY2026 +7.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.3% -1.8% +24.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNXSTSSPNMAX
Held by institutions 100.0% 59.3% 28.5%
Institutions holding 487 151 234
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.0% +2.4% +13.5%
Institutions buying 221 68 111
Institutions selling 181 49 37
Buyers to sellers 1.22 1.39 3.00

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.

NXSTSSPNMAX
NXST 1.00 0.34 0.36
SSP 0.34 1.00 0.23
NMAX 0.36 0.23 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NXST, SSP and NMAX?

Nexstar Media (NXST) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nexstar Media (NXST) $5.21B, E.W. Scripps (SSP) $241.28M, Newsmax (NMAX) $1.02B.

Which company is growing faster?

Nexstar Media (NXST) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Nexstar Media (NXST) +10.5%, E.W. Scripps (SSP) -14.2%, Newsmax (NMAX) +8.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nexstar Media (NXST) has the highest net margin (Nexstar Media (NXST) 3.2%, E.W. Scripps (SSP) -61.1%, Newsmax (NMAX) -40.1%). On return on invested capital, Nexstar Media (NXST) leads (Nexstar Media (NXST) 5.8%, E.W. Scripps (SSP) -31.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year E.W. Scripps (SSP) returned the most: Nexstar Media (NXST) -9.8%, E.W. Scripps (SSP) +44.8%, Newsmax (NMAX) -18.1%. Over five years, Nexstar Media (NXST) compounded fastest (Nexstar Media (NXST) +2.6%/yr, E.W. Scripps (SSP) -29.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Nexstar Media (NXST) 0.04%, E.W. Scripps (SSP) 0.00%, Newsmax (NMAX) 0.00%. E.W. Scripps (SSP) and Newsmax (NMAX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nexstar Media (NXST) has been the steadiest (Nexstar Media (NXST) 36.8%, E.W. Scripps (SSP) 88.1%, Newsmax (NMAX) 77.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NXST, SSP and NMAX?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Nexstar Media (NXST) leads on 7. 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.