As the Q2 earnings season comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of this quarter’s best and worst performers in the media & entertainment industry, including Sinclair (NASDAQ: SBGI) and its peers.
Simply put, traditional media like linear TV is losing eyeballs and as a result, ad dollars as well. On the other hand, digital media such as streaming and social media are taking share of audience and ad spend. AI-driven content creation and digital advertising are continuing to evolve, which benefits companies in the sector that invest behind these themes. On the other hand, headwinds include growing regulatory scrutiny on AI-generated content, with many publishers balking at anything that gets no human oversight. Additional areas to navigate for companies in the space include the phasing out of third-party cookies, which could make traditional ways of tracking the online behavior of consumers (a secret sauce in digital marketing) much less effective.
The 15 media & entertainment stocks we track reported a mixed Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 3.4% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.4% below.
Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 7.5% on average since the latest earnings results.
Sinclair (NASDAQ: SBGI)
With over 2,400 hours of local news produced weekly and 640 broadcast channels reaching millions of American homes, Sinclair (NASDAQ: SBGI) operates a network of 185 local television stations across 86 U.S. markets, producing news programming and distributing content from major networks.
Sinclair reported revenues of $840 million, up 7.1% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, but overall, it was a softer quarter for the company with a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates and full-year revenue guidance slightly missing analysts’ expectations.
Sinclair scored the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 1.7% since reporting and currently trades at $14.15.
Read our full report on Sinclair here, it’s free.
Best Q2: IMAX (NYSE: IMAX)
Originally developed for World Expo '67 in Montreal as an innovative projection system, IMAX (NYSE: IMAX) provides proprietary large-format cinema technology and systems that deliver immersive movie experiences with enhanced image quality and sound.
IMAX reported revenues of $102.8 million, up 12.2% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 8.8%. The business had an incredible quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.
The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 30.9% since reporting. It currently trades at $51.46.
Is now the time to buy IMAX? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q2: Getty Images (NYSE: GETY)
With a vast library of over 562 million visual assets documenting everything from breaking news to iconic historical moments, Getty Images (NYSE: GETY) is a global visual content marketplace that licenses photos, videos, illustrations, and music to businesses, media outlets, and creative professionals.
Getty Images reported revenues of $229.1 million, down 2.5% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 2.5%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.
As expected, the stock is down 44.4% since the results and currently trades at $0.25.
Read our full analysis of Getty Images’s results here.
MediaAlpha (NYSE: MAX)
Powering nearly 10 million consumer referrals each month in the insurance marketplace, MediaAlpha (NYSE: MAX) operates a technology platform that connects insurance carriers with high-intent consumers shopping for property, casualty, health, and life insurance products.
MediaAlpha reported revenues of $316.9 million, up 25.9% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 4.2%. Taking a step back, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also produced revenue guidance for next quarter beating analysts’ expectations but a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.
The stock is down 8.5% since reporting and currently trades at $12.63.
Read our full, actionable report on MediaAlpha here, it’s free.
Taboola (NASDAQ: TBLA)
Often appearing as those "You May Also Like" or "Recommended For You" boxes at the bottom of news articles, Taboola (NASDAQ: TBLA) operates a digital platform that recommends personalized content to users across publisher websites, helping both publishers monetize their sites and advertisers reach target audiences.
Taboola reported revenues of $476.8 million, up 2.4% year on year. This number came in 4.5% below analysts’ expectations. It was a disappointing quarter as it also logged revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly.
Taboola had the weakest performance against analyst estimates, weakest guidance update, and weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. The stock is down 28.6% since reporting and currently trades at $3.78.
Read our full, actionable report on Taboola here, it’s free.
Market Update
Over the past year, investors have been forced to repeatedly answer the same question: what is the market’s biggest risk? The answer has changed several times, and each shift has reshaped market leadership.
Late in 2025 and early 2026, artificial intelligence became the market’s primary uncertainty. Investors questioned whether AI would erode software pricing power and weaken competitive moats as AI made it easier to replicate once-differentiated products.
By the spring, technology took a back seat to geopolitics. The U.S. conflict with Iran briefly became the market’s dominant narrative, raising concerns about oil prices, inflation, and global growth. But as energy markets remained orderly and fears of a prolonged supply disruption faded, investors quickly turned their focus back to fundamentals.
Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Growth Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.
