Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q1 behind us, let’s have a look at 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 14 media & entertainment stocks we track reported a mixed Q1. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.1% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 1.6% on average since the latest earnings results.

Best Q1: 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 $807 million, up 4% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter for the company with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Investor expectations, however, were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wishing for even better results (analysts’ consensus estimates are those published by big banks and advisory firms, not the investors who make buy and sell decisions). The stock is down 12.5% since reporting and currently trades at $13.61.

Is now the time to buy Sinclair? Access our full analysis of the earnings results 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 $466.4 million, up 9.1% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.9%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and revenue guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Taboola achieved the highest guidance raise and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 18.6% since reporting. It currently trades at $4.52.

Is now the time to buy Taboola? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q1: People (NASDAQ: PPLI)

Originally known as InterActiveCorp and built through Barry Diller's strategic acquisitions since the 1990s, People (NASDAQ: PPLI) operates a portfolio of category-leading digital businesses including Dotdash Meredith, Angi, and Care.com, focusing on digital publishing, home services, and caregiving platforms.

People reported revenues of $422.9 million, down 12.2% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 17.3%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

People delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 8.1% since the results and currently trades at $41.50.

Read our full analysis of People’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 $310 million, up 17.3% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 3.5%. More broadly, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced revenue guidance for next quarter beating analysts’ expectations but a significant miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

The stock is up 1.8% since reporting and currently trades at $10.18.

Read our full, actionable report on MediaAlpha here, it’s free.

Magnite (NASDAQ: MGNI)

Born from the 2020 merger of Rubicon Project and Telaria, Magnite (NASDAQ: MGNI) operates the world's largest independent sell-side advertising platform that automates the buying and selling of digital advertising inventory across all channels and formats.

Magnite reported revenues of $164.4 million, up 5.5% year on year. This print missed analysts’ expectations by 5.5%. Taking a step back, it was still a satisfactory quarter as it recorded a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

The stock is up 31.6% since reporting and currently trades at $17.63.

Read our full, actionable report on Magnite here, it’s free.

Market Update

Late in 2025 into early 2026, there was hand-wringing around artificial intelligence. For software companies, the fear was that AI would erode pricing power and compress margins as new tools made it easier to replicate what once required expensive enterprise platforms. Crypto investors had their own version of the same anxiety: if AI agents could trade, allocate capital, and manage wallets autonomously, what exactly was the long-term value of today’s crypto infrastructure?

These concerns triggered a noticeable rotation away from these sectors and into safer havens. But markets rarely dwell on one narrative for long. Spring 2026 came, and the focus shifted abruptly from technological disruption to geopolitical risk. The US’ conflict with Iran became the dominant driver of market psychology, and when geopolitics takes center stage, the script changes quickly. Investors stop debating growth rates and start worrying about oil supply, inflation, and global stability.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Strong Momentum Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.