SSP vs NMAX vs NXST Stock Comparison

E.W. Scripps, Newsmax and Nexstar Media Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SSP E.W. SCRIPPS Co
$2.41 -10.4% 1M +29.6% 1Y
Market cap
$233.45M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$2.09B
Div. yield
–
Television Broadcasting Communication Services
2 wins
NMAX Newsmax Inc.
$8.07 -26.0% 1M -19.5% 1Y
Market cap
$1.04B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$198.07M
Div. yield
–
Television Broadcasting Communication Services
NXST Nexstar Media Group, Inc.
$164.49 +1.7% 1M -14.0% 1Y
Market cap
$5.19B
P/E
27.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.88B
Div. yield
0.04%
Television Broadcasting Communication Services
7 wins

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.

QuestionSSPNMAXNXSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $233.45M $1.04B $5.19B NXST
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -0.2x -13.1x 27.6x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — 5.0x –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -14.2% +8.3% +10.5% NXST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -61.1% -40.1% 3.2% NXST
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -31.0% — 5.8% NXST
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -2.7x — 8.3x SSP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.04% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +29.6% -19.5% -14.0% SSP
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -29.7%/yr — +1.9%/yr NXST
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 88.2% 77.7% 36.6% NXST
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 20/100 32/100 50/100 NXST

Percentile Scorecard

SSPNMAXNXST

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

AxisSSPNMAXNXST
Valuation 48 #28 of 53 2 #52 of 53 67 #18 of 53
Growth 2 #43 of 44 51 #22 of 44 28 #32 of 44
Profitability 15 #36 of 42 12 #37 of 42 71 #13 of 42
Financial Health 13 #53 of 61 63 #23 of 61 40 #37 of 61
Shareholder Returns – – 44 #15 of 26
Overall 20 32 50
  • SSP ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media
  • NMAX ranked among 61 companies in Advertising and Media
  • NXST 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

PeriodSSPNMAXNXSTSPY
1 month -10.4%-26.0%+1.7% +0.9%
3 months -18.3%+5.6%-16.5% +5.9%
6 months -46.0%+38.4%-18.9% +8.5%
Year to date -39.6%+4.4%-19.0% +13.3%
1 year +29.6%-19.5%-14.0% +12.4%
3 years -38.5%—+21.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year -15.0%—+6.7% +23.5%
5 years -82.8%—+9.7% +68.2%
5 years, per year -29.7%—+1.9% +11.0%
10 years -75.9%—+237.8% +263.4%
10 years, per year -13.3%—+12.9% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureSSPNMAXNXSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 88.2%77.7%36.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 73.2%79.7%37.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.941.640.44 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.34-0.25-0.38 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -94.0%-97.8%-39.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -53.3%-29.4%-35.1% -0.9%
52-week high $5.16$11.43$253.64 $779.14
52-week low $1.54$5.16$154.70 $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.

MultipleSSPNMAXNXST
P/E now vs peer median -0.2xmedian 18.7x -13.1xmedian 18.7x 26.8xmedian 18.7x
P/S now vs peer median 0.1xmedian 0.6x 5.2xmedian 0.6x 0.9xmedian 0.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -2.9xmedian 10.6x -12.4xmedian 10.6x 11.9xmedian 10.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 8.9x —median 8.9x 6.8xmedian 8.9x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 1.6x 9.2xmedian 1.6x 2.2xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.01median 0.49 —median 0.49 -0.84median 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 monthsSSPNMAXNXST
Revenue $2.09B $198.07M $5.88B
Gross profit $844.84M $78.29M $3.21B
Operating income -$1.05B -$86.98M $1.04B
Net income -$1.21B -$79.40M $168.00M
Free cash flow $35.03M – $743.00M
EPS (diluted) $-13.90 $-0.61 $6.08
Cash & equivalents $13.05M $25.88M $218.00M
Total debt $2.49B – $11.74B
Shares (diluted) 92.09M 129.29M 30.91M
Enterprise value $54.09M $942.72M $4.02B

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
MetricSSPNMAXNXST
P/E -0.2x -13.1x 26.8x
P/FCF 5.6x – 6.8x
P/Operating cash flow 2.3x – 5.7x
P/S 0.1x 5.2x 0.9x
P/B 1.9x 9.2x 2.2x
P/Tangible book -0.2x 9.2x -1.8x
EV/EBITDA -2.9x -12.4x 11.9x
EV/EBIT -2.5x -11.6x 15.9x
EV/Revenue 1.3x 5.1x 2.8x
EV/FCF 76.4x – 22.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 31.8x – 18.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.01 – -0.84

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSSPNMAXNXST
Debt / assets 68.4% – 66.3%
Debt / equity 24.8x – 5.2x
Net debt / EBITDA -2.7x – 8.3x
Debt / FCF 71.2x – 15.8x
Liabilities / assets 97.2% 50.9% 87.2%
Equity / assets 2.8% 49.1% 12.8%
Interest coverage -4.6x -4,632x 2.1x
Current ratio 1.3x 2.4x 1.6x
Quick ratio 1.2x 0.8x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.0x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score -0.96 3.55 1.06

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSSPNMAXNXST
Dividend yield – – 4.5%
Net buyback yield – – –
Shareholder yield 0.0% – 4.5%
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.

ConsensusSSPNMAXNXST
Forward P/E – – 5.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-11.77FY2026 $-0.01FY2026 $32.94FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – – +998.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – – -45.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.07BFY2026 $203.04MFY2026 $8.32BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -3.7%FY2026 +7.3%FY2026 +68.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -1.8% +24.6% -4.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSSPNMAXNXST
Held by institutions 67.7% 40.9% 100.0%
Institutions holding 150 233 486
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.4% +13.5% +4.0%
Institutions buying 67 110 220
Institutions selling 49 37 181
Buyers to sellers 1.37 2.97 1.22

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.

SSPNMAXNXST
SSP 1.00 0.23 0.33
NMAX 0.23 1.00 0.36
NXST 0.33 0.36 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SSP, NMAX and NXST?

Nexstar Media (NXST) is the largest by market capitalisation: E.W. Scripps (SSP) $233.45M, Newsmax (NMAX) $1.04B, Nexstar Media (NXST) $5.19B.

Which company is growing faster?

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

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year E.W. Scripps (SSP) returned the most: E.W. Scripps (SSP) +29.6%, Newsmax (NMAX) -19.5%, Nexstar Media (NXST) -14.0%. Over five years, Nexstar Media (NXST) compounded fastest (E.W. Scripps (SSP) -29.7%/yr, Nexstar Media (NXST) +1.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: E.W. Scripps (SSP) 0.00%, Newsmax (NMAX) 0.00%, Nexstar Media (NXST) 0.04%. 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 (E.W. Scripps (SSP) 88.2%, Newsmax (NMAX) 77.7%, Nexstar Media (NXST) 36.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.