ITV (ITV) Q2 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Delivered solid H1 2026 performance with group revenue up 2% year-over-year, driven by growth in both Studios and M&E, and supported by strong digital and advertising gains.

• Announced sale of M&E business to Sky for up to £1.6bn, enabling a transformative £950m net cash return to shareholders and a £100m share buyback.

• Interim dividend of 1.7p per share declared, unchanged from prior year, with a full-year dividend of at least 5.0p expected.

Financial highlights

• Total group revenue: £1,887m, up 2% year-on-year; Studios revenue: £912m, up 2%; M&E revenue: £975m, up 2%.

• Digital revenue up 13% to £307m; ITVX streaming hours up 27%.

• Group adjusted EBITA: £146m, flat year-on-year; adjusted EBITA margin: 9.1%.

• Adjusted EPS: 2.2p, up 22%; statutory EPS: 1.5p, up 25%.

• Free cash flow: £40m; profit to cash conversion (12-month rolling): 63%.

Outlook and guidance

• On track to deliver full-year guidance, with Studios revenue growth ahead of the market and margin at the lower end of 13–15%.

• Revenue, profit, and margin expected to be weighted to H2 due to phasing of scripted deliveries and licensing deals.

• M&E to continue strong digital revenue growth; Q3 TAR expected down ~5%, flat for nine months to September.

• Targeting £20m non-content cost savings for the year, with £273m cumulative savings since 2019.

• Adjusted effective tax rate expected around 27% over the medium term.