Forensic Analysis · Communication Services / Telecom · as of Jun 27, 2026
iHeartMedia, Inc. (IHRT)
A forensic read on iHeartMedia, Inc. built from its complete SEC filings — financial-health screens, earnings quality, red flags and a price-aware rating. Reproducible math, not opinion.
D · Weak — demands caution
Forensic grade
Distress
Financial health
-2.7
Altman Z-score
Clean
Earnings quality
4
Forensic signals
-67.3%
ROE
$653M
Market cap
IHeartMedia, Inc. earns a D (Weak — demands caution) forensic quality grade, and its Altman Z-score is -2.7, placing it in the Distress zone. 4 forensic signals were flagged in its latest SEC filings, led by return on invested capital.
What the filings flag
-0%Return on invested capital.Return on invested capital is -0% and steady — well below its ~8% cost of capital, so reinvested dollars may be destroying value, not building it.
+1.4%/yrShare-count dilution.Diluted share count changed +4% over the last 3 years to FY2025 (+1.4%/yr). The count is GROWING — existing holders are being diluted. That's ~1.4% shaved off per-share growth every year — total profit has to grow that much just to keep earnings-per-share flat, and a stake held since FY2022 has been diluted ~4%.
1% of revStock-based comp load.Stock-based compensation ran 1% of revenue and 179% of free cash flow in FY2025 — about $0.13 per diluted share. Heavy — a large slice of 'free cash flow' is really being paid out in stock, so the true owner cash per share is well below the headline.
$2.4BGoodwill impairments.Took $2.4B of goodwill writedowns across 3 year(s) (FY2020 ($1.2B), FY2023 ($595M), FY2024 ($616M)). Writedowns mean past acquisitions underperformed what was paid for them — worth weighing on capital-allocation skill.
Key fundamentals
Net Margin-12.2%
Free Cash Flow$10.9M
Latest Revenue$3.86B
Revenue Growth YoY+0.3%
Go deeper — free with an account
The forensic grade and screens above are free — no account needed. An account adds the full interactive deep-dive on iHeartMedia, Inc.:
🔒The written investment read — what the numbers mean, in plain English
🔒Ask anything about IHRT's filings — AI Q&A across the 10-K, 10-Qs & 8-Ks
🔒Interactive valuation — reverse-DCF sliders, Monte Carlo & scenario stress
🔒Calibrated 12-month price forecast, with the math shown