The E.W. Scripps Company (SSP): fair value, margin of safety and Wheel Score

Is SSP undervalued?

The E.W. Scripps Company (SSP) closed at 2.88 on 5 Nov 2026. None of the nine GLS valuation models produced a positive value for the stock - the company lost money over the last twelve months, EPS -13.37, it pays no dividend and its debts exceed what its assets would fetch - so there is no GLS average fair value and no margin of safety to report. The quality, option and event numbers below still apply; the Quote page's Wall Street View shows what analysts expect instead.

The nightly engine files SSP under Speculative - it is losing money or its Piotroski health score is 3 or lower - which caps its Wheel Score at 45 and keeps it out of the Sunday Scan.

Nine valuation models for SSP

Each model turns the latest filed numbers into a value per share; the GLS fair value is the simple average of the ones that produce a positive number. The last two rows are shown for reference and never enter the average. The Quote page lets you switch any model off and add your own margin of safety.

Quality and financial health

Financial health is weak: SSP passes 4 of the nine Piotroski tests. Our scans drop the stock at the health filter; a low score is often the reason a stock looks cheap on the valuation models. The GLS Moat score is low at 3.0 out of 10: returns on capital, margins or the balance sheet have not shown a lasting edge yet - often a young company, a thin-margin business or one that has only recently turned profitable.

Returns on capital are thin or negative - ROIC -2.5%, ROE -8.1%, ROA -2.0% - with debt at 2.18 times equity and a free-cash-flow yield of 15.1%. Debt of 2.18 times equity is on the high side for the sector and is worth checking against the cash flow before treating the stock as a long-term hold.

The E.W. Scripps Company pays no dividend, so the DDM model does not apply and a covered-call holder earns only the premium and any price gain. Revenue comes mainly from Core Advertising Revenue 58%, Distribution Revenue 33%, Political Advertising Revenue 6% (quarter Q2 FY2026).

Institutional ownership scores 8/10, insider activity 8/10 and Congressional trading 5/10 on the GLS smart-money scales.

Wheel Score 19: Weak

SSP scores 19 out of 100 on the Wheel Score, in the Weak band (under 50): it fails filter 2, a real business, not a gamble - speculative (a loss, or a weak Piotroski score); and filter 3, below fair value - trades right at our fair value; and filter 4, financially healthy - Piotroski 4/9 (under 6); and filter 5, can repay its debt - 48.7 years to repay its debt (over 3); and filter 6, no serious red flags - Red Flags score 45 (under 60); and filter 7, a premium worth selling - implied volatility 82% (over 80%); and filter 8, big enough - market cap $233M (under $1.0B); and filter 9, not a penny stock - price 2.88 (under $5), and the parts are thin too - value weak, premium fair, moat weak, health fair, red flags weak, option trading weak, stability fair. The score is not a judgement on the company; it says the price, quality and premium do not line up for selling puts on it today.

Implied volatility is 82%, above the 80% ceiling of the Wheel Trade Filter on premium. The premium looks generous, but moves of that size can blow through any strike. Chain open interest is thin - 1,563 contracts across every expiry - so fills at a fair price are not guaranteed; a 30-45-day put may not exist at a usable strike.

Volume runs at 645k shares a day on a market cap of $233M, with a beta of 0.72 - a low beta, so day-to-day moves are smaller than the market's; the Stability part of the Wheel Score rates that fair.

The Wheel Score ranks ~7,400 US stocks for selling cash-secured puts and covered calls: a stock must pass all 9 Wheel Trade Filters to score 70, and the score then ranks the ones that pass; the Sunday Scan is the top 10. It is updated nightly and is not a recommendation. How the Wheel Score works · the walkthrough lesson shows how it fits into a trade, start to finish.

Upcoming events

The E.W. Scripps Company reports earnings on 5 Nov 2026 (after the close) - inside the 14-day window the Sunday Scan avoids, because a put sold now would carry the report's gap risk.

Earnings, dividend, IPO, split and economic calendars for the whole market, filterable to your watchlists.

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