We feel now is a pretty good time to analyse iHeartMedia, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:IHRT) business as it appears the company may be on the cusp of a considerable accomplishment. iHeartMedia, Inc. operates as an audio media company in the United States. The US$179m market-cap company announced a latest loss of US$1.0b on 31 December 2024 for its most recent financial year result. Many investors are wondering about the rate at which iHeartMedia will turn a profit, with the big question being “when will the company breakeven?” In this article, we will touch on the expectations for the company's growth and when analysts expect it to become profitable.

iHeartMedia is bordering on breakeven, according to the 5 American Media analysts. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2025, before generating positive profits of US$50m in 2026. So, the company is predicted to breakeven just over a year from now. How fast will the company have to grow each year in order to reach the breakeven point by 2026? Working backwards from analyst estimates, it turns out that they expect the company to grow 118% year-on-year, on average, which is rather optimistic! If this rate turns out to be too aggressive, the company may become profitable much later than analysts predict.

Underlying developments driving iHeartMedia's growth isn’t the focus of this broad overview, though, bear in mind that by and large a high forecast growth rate is not unusual for a company that is currently undergoing an investment period.

Before we wrap up, there’s one issue worth mentioning. iHeartMedia currently has negative equity on its balance sheet. This can sometimes arise from accounting methods used to deal with accumulated losses from prior years, which are viewed as liabilities carried forward until it cancels out in the future. Oftentimes, losses exist only on paper but other times, it can be a red flag.

Next Steps:

There are key fundamentals of iHeartMedia which are not covered in this article, but we must stress again that this is merely a basic overview. For a more comprehensive look at iHeartMedia, take a look at iHeartMedia's company page on Simply Wall St. We've also put together a list of pertinent factors you should further examine:

1. Valuation: What is iHeartMedia worth today? Has the future growth potential already been factored into the price? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether iHeartMedia is currently mispriced by the market.
2. Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look at who sits on iHeartMedia’s board and the CEO’s background .
3. Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.