Political Ad Spending Just Gave Billboards Their Best Quarter in Years

While most marketers spent the third quarter fighting for attention on scrolling feeds, Lamar Advertising quietly had one of its better quarters in years by owning the things nobody can scroll past. The out-of-home advertising giant reported net revenues of $624.5 million for the quarter ended September 30, up 6.6% year over year, with net income climbing 14.5% to $165 million.

CEO Sean Reilly said "sales growth accelerated in the third quarter," pointing to demand from national customers, the company's digital billboard platform, and a healthy dose of political spending ahead of the midterms. Lamar now operates more than 360,000 displays nationwide, including over 5,900 digital boards, and raised its full-year guidance on the back of the quarter, with diluted adjusted funds from operations per share now expected between $8.87 and $8.97.

It is a reminder that in a media landscape obsessed with targeting and attribution, the dumbest format in advertising, a static sign on the side of the highway, still prints money when the right buyers show up. Reilly said the company is off to a strong start in the fourth quarter, which tracks: nothing drives billboard demand quite like an election and a holiday season landing in the same ninety days.

Source: Lamar Advertising Company

Kyle Duford, Founder & Editor, BRNDWIRE. More from Kyle →