Bright Mountain Media (OTC: BMTM) Q1 2026 loss narrows with EBITDA jump
Rhea-AI Filing Summary
Bright Mountain Media reported first quarter 2026 results showing improved profitability despite slightly lower sales. Revenue was about $14.0 million, down 2% from $14.2 million a year earlier, while gross margin held roughly flat at $4.3 million.
Cost controls sharply reduced general and administrative expense to $2.6 million from $4.5 million, helping narrow the net loss to $1.3 million from $3.2 million, a 60% improvement. Adjusted EBITDA rose to $2.4 million from $0.8 million, reflecting stronger operating performance. The balance sheet remains highly leveraged, with a large related-party credit facility and a significant stockholders’ deficit.
Positive
- Q1 2026 net loss improved to $1.3 million from $3.2 million year over year, a 60% reduction driven largely by lower operating expenses.
- Adjusted EBITDA increased to $2.4 million from $0.8 million, a 189% year-over-year rise, indicating significantly stronger underlying operating performance despite flat gross margin.
Negative
- The company remains highly leveraged, with a current note payable of $86.8 million under the Centre Lane Senior Secured Credit Facility and a stockholders’ deficit of $77.9 million as of March 31, 2026.
- Cash and cash equivalents declined to $594,000 at March 31, 2026 from $1.37 million at December 31, 2025, limiting near-term liquidity against sizable current liabilities.
Insights
Profitability metrics improved sharply, but leverage and deficit remain high.
Bright Mountain Media delivered modestly lower Q1 2026 revenue of $13.96M while keeping gross margin steady around $4.3M. The big story is cost discipline: general and administrative expenses fell to $2.57M from $4.52M, turning operating results positive.
Net loss improved to $1.3M from $3.23M, and adjusted EBITDA climbed to $2.36M, up 189% year over year, signaling much better underlying profitability. However, interest expense on the Centre Lane Senior Secured Credit Facility remains heavy.
The balance sheet shows total assets of $37.26M against a stockholders’ deficit of $(77.9M) and a current note payable of $86.76M to Centre Lane as of March 31, 2026. Subsequent filings may provide more detail on how the company manages this leverage alongside its improving operations.
8-K Event Classification
Key Figures
Key Terms
Adjusted EBITDA financial
non-GAAP financial measures financial
Centre Lane Senior Secured Credit Facility financial
stockholders' deficit financial
foreign currency translation financial
Earnings Snapshot
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
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Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).
Emerging growth company
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition.
On May 12, 2026, Bright Mountain Media, Inc. (the "Company") issued a press release announcing its financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2026. A copy of the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K.
The information contained in Item 2.02 of this Current Report on Form 8-K, including Exhibit 99.1, is being "furnished" and shall not be deemed "filed" for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or otherwise subject to the liability of that section. In addition, this information shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into any of the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in any such filing.
The Company makes reference to certain non-GAAP financial measures in the press release. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures, and the reasons why the Company believes these non-GAAP financial measures are useful, are contained in the attached press release.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
Exhibit No. |
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Description |
99.1 |
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Press Release Issued May 12, 2026 |
104 |
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Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document) |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Date: |
May 12, 2026
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Bright Mountain Media, Inc. |
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By: |
/s/ Matthew Drinkwater |
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Matthew Drinkwater, |
EXHIBIT 99.1
Bright Mountain Media, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Boca Raton, FL, May 12, 2026 - Bright Mountain Media, Inc. (OTCID: BMTM) ("Bright Mountain", or the "Company"), a global holding company with current investments in digital publishing, advertising technology, consumer insights, creative services, and media services, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026.
"Q1 2026 underscores the strength and resilience of Bright Mountain’s operating model," said Matthew Drinkwater, CEO of Bright Mountain Media. "Our diversified portfolio enables us to efficiently allocate capital toward our highest-momentum advertising technology assets while continuing to invest in product innovation across our marketing technology platform. This intentional balance supports consistent performance, improves operating leverage, and positions the company to generate sustainable value as individual businesses scale and mature."
"The 60% year-over-year improvement in net loss highlights our focus on operating discipline and margin progression, while reinforcing the strategic advantage of pairing complementary AdTech and MarTech capabilities within a single platform. We are building a foundation designed to perform across market cycles and support long-term shareholder value creation."
"At the same time, we see a meaningful opportunity to differentiate ourselves through proprietary AI. After extensive evaluation of third‑party solutions in the market, we believe there is a clear gap in what today’s AdTech and MarTech companies need. As a result, we have chosen to invest internally to develop our own AI-driven capabilities. We’re encouraged by early progress and look forward to updating investors as these initiatives begin to contribute to growth and competitive positioning in the coming quarters."
1
Financial Results for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2026
Revenue was approximately $14.0 million, a slight decrease of $227,000, or 2%, compared to $14.2 million for the same period of 2025. Advertising technology revenue was approximately $6.6 million, digital publishing revenue was approximately $281,000, consumer insights revenue was approximately $5.0 million, creative services revenue was approximately $2.0 million, and media services revenue was approximately $12,000, during the first quarter of 2026.
Cost of revenue was approximately $9.7 million, a decrease of $264,000, or 3%, compared to $9.9 million for the same period of 2025. Cost of revenue is inclusive of: direct salary and labor costs of approximately $371,000 for employees that work directly on customer projects; direct project costs of approximately $1.2 million for payments made to third-parties that are directly attributable to the completion of projects to allow for revenue recognition; non-direct project costs of approximately $2.4 million; publisher costs of approximately $4.9 million, and sales commissions of approximately $344,000.
General and administrative expense was $2.6 million, a decrease of 43%, compared to $4.5 million for the same period of 2025.
Gross margin remained consistent at $4.3 million for both the first quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2025.
Net loss was $1.3 million, an improvement of 60% compared to a net loss of $3.2 million for the same period of 2025.
Adjusted EBITDA was $2.4 million, an increase of 189%, compared to adjusted EBITDA of $816,000 for the same period of 2025. See the below section on Non-GAAP Financial Measure for a reconciliation of net loss to EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA.
2
About Bright Mountain Media, Inc.
Bright Mountain Media, Inc. (OTCID: BMTM) unites a diverse portfolio of companies to deliver a full spectrum of advertising, marketing, technology, and media services under one roof - fused together by data-driven insights. Bright Mountain Media's subsidiaries include Deep Focus Agency, LLC, MediaHouse, Inc., BV Insights, LLC, CL Media Holdings, LLC, Bright Mountain, LLC d/b/a BrightStream, Oceanside Media, LLC, Slutzky & Winshman, Ltd., and Wild Sky Media Co. Ltd. For more information, please visit www.brightmountainmedia.com.
Forward-Looking Statements for Bright Mountain Media, Inc.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations and involve certain risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "should", "may", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "projects", "forecasts", "expects", "plans", and "proposes", and similar words. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and difficult to predict, and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements made with respect to expectations of our ability to successfully integrate acquisitions, and the realization of any expected benefits from such acquisitions. You are urged to carefully review and consider any cautionary statements and other disclosures, including the statements made under the heading "Risk Factors" in Bright Mountain's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and other filings with the SEC. Bright Mountain does not undertake any duty to update any forward-looking statements except as may be required by law.
Contact / Investor Relations:
Email: ir@brightmountainmedia.com
https://brightmountainmedia.com/investor-relations
3
BRIGHT MOUNTAIN MEDIA, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
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Three Months Ended |
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March 31, 2026 |
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March 31, 2025 |
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Revenue |
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$ |
13,963 |
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$ |
14,190 |
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Cost of revenue |
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9,654 |
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9,918 |
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Gross margin |
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4,309 |
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4,272 |
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General and administrative expenses |
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2,566 |
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4,524 |
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Income (loss) from operations |
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1,743 |
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(252 |
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Financing and other expense: |
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Other income |
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62 |
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47 |
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Interest expense - Centre Lane Senior Secured Credit Facility - related party |
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(3,101 |
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(3,020 |
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Other interest expense |
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(4 |
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(6 |
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Total financing and other expense, net |
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(3,043 |
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(2,979 |
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Net loss before income tax |
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(1,300 |
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(3,231 |
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Income tax provision |
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- |
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- |
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Net loss |
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$ |
(1,300 |
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$ |
(3,231 |
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Foreign currency translation |
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- |
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42 |
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Comprehensive loss |
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$ |
(1,300 |
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$ |
(3,189 |
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Net loss per common share: |
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Basic |
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$ |
(0.01 |
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$ |
(0.02 |
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Diluted |
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$ |
(0.01 |
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$ |
(0.02 |
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Weighted-average shares outstanding: |
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Basic |
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181,032,929 |
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175,974,990 |
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Diluted |
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181,032,929 |
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175,974,990 |
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4
BRIGHT MOUNTAIN MEDIA, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
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March 31, 2026 |
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December 31, 2025* |
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(unaudited) |
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Assets |
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Current assets: |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
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$ |
594 |
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$ |
1,371 |
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Restricted cash |
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1,861 |
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1,861 |
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Accounts receivable, net |
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15,409 |
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16,287 |
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Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
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1,035 |
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1,170 |
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Total current assets |
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18,899 |
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20,689 |
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Property and equipment, net |
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107 |
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124 |
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Intangible assets, net |
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11,097 |
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11,542 |
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Goodwill |
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6,999 |
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6,999 |
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Operating lease right-of-use assets, net |
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150 |
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173 |
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Other long-term assets |
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9 |
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158 |
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Total assets |
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$ |
37,261 |
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$ |
39,685 |
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Liabilities and Stockholders' Deficit |
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Current liabilities: |
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Accounts payable and accrued expenses |
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$ |
20,342 |
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$ |
24,852 |
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Other current liabilities |
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3,555 |
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4,210 |
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Interest payable - Centre Lane Senior Secured Credit Facility |
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47 |
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59 |
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Deferred revenue |
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4,399 |
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2,834 |
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Note payable - Centre Lane Senior Secured Credit Facility - related party (current) |
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86,755 |
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84,276 |
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Total current liabilities |
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115,098 |
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116,231 |
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Other long-term liabilities |
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- |
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12 |
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Operating lease liabilities |
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63 |
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77 |
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Total liabilities |
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115,161 |
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116,320 |
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Stockholders' deficit: |
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Convertible preferred stock, par value $0.01, 20,000,000 shares authorized, no shares issued or outstanding at March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively |
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- |
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- |
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Common stock, par value $0.01, 324,000,000 shares authorized, 186,141,070 and 183,218,504 shares issued, and 183,955,495 and 181,032,929 shares outstanding at March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively |
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1,861 |
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1,832 |
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Treasury stock at cost, 2,185,575 and 2,185,575 shares at March 31, 2026 and December 31, 2025, respectively |
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(220 |
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(220 |
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Additional paid-in capital |
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101,994 |
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101,988 |
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Accumulated deficit |
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(181,612 |
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(180,312 |
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Accumulated other comprehensive income |
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77 |
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77 |
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Total stockholders' deficit |
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(77,900 |
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(76,635 |
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Total liabilities and stockholders' deficit |
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$ |
37,261 |
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$ |
39,685 |
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* Derived from audited consolidated financial statements.
5
BRIGHT MOUNTAIN MEDIA, INC.
RECONCILIATION OF NET LOSS TO NON-GAAP EBITDA AND ADJUSTED EBITDA
(in thousands)
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Non-GAAP results are presented only as a supplement to the financial statements and for use within management's discussion and analysis based on U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). The non-GAAP financial information is provided to enhance the reader's understanding of the Company's financial performance, but non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.
All other items included in the reconciliation from net loss before taxes to EBITDA and from EBITDA to adjusted EBITDA are either (i) non-cash items (e.g., depreciation, amortization of purchased intangibles, stock-based compensation, etc.) or (ii) items that management does not consider to be useful in assessing the Company's ongoing performance (e.g., M&A costs, income taxes, gain on sale of investments, loss on disposal of assets, etc.). In the case of the non-cash items, management believes that investors can better assess the Company's operating performance if the measures are presented without such items because, unlike cash expenses, these adjustments do not affect the Company's ability to generate free cash flow or invest in its business.
We use, and we believe investors benefit from the presentation of, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA in evaluating our operating performance because it provides us and our investors with an additional tool to compare our operating performance on a consistent basis by removing the impact of certain items that management believes do not directly reflect our core operations. We believe that EBITDA is useful to investors and other external users of our financial statements in evaluating our operating performance because EBITDA is widely used by investors to measure a company's operating performance without regard to items such as interest expense, taxes, and depreciation and amortization, which can vary substantially from company to company depending upon accounting methods and book value of assets, capital structure and the method by which assets were acquired.
Because not all companies use identical calculations, the Company's presentation of non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies. However, these measures can still be useful in evaluating the Company's performance against its peer companies because management believes the measures provide users with valuable insight into key components of GAAP financial disclosures.
A reconciliation of net loss to EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA is as follows:
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Three Months Ended March 31, |
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2026 |
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2025 |
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(in thousands) |
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Net loss before income tax |
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$ |
(1,300 |
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$ |
(3,231 |
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Depreciation expense |
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17 |
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13 |
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Amortization of intangibles |
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445 |
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485 |
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Amortization of debt discount |
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460 |
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633 |
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Other interest expense |
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4 |
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6 |
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Interest expense - Centre Lane Senior Secured Credit Facility |
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2,641 |
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2,387 |
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EBITDA |
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2,267 |
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293 |
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Stock compensation expense |
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21 |
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37 |
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Non-recurring professional fees |
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- |
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241 |
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Non-recurring legal fees |
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- |
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245 |
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Non-recurring severance expense |
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68 |
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- |
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Adjusted EBITDA |
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$ |
2,356 |
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$ |
816 |
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6