Shares of E.W. Scripps Co. plunged nearly 30% in two days after the TV station and network operator posted second-quarter earnings.

Downtown Cincinnati-based Scripps (Nasdaq: SSP) saw its stock tumble to $2.12 Monday, Aug. 12. That represented a 28% drop from its $2.96 closing price Aug. 8. That was just before Scripps posted earnings that fell short of analysts’ expectations.

The stock declined another 3 cents Tuesday, Aug. 13, by 2:30 p.m. to $2.09.

It posted a loss of 15 cents per share in the quarter. That not only was wider than last year’s loss of 9 cents, but it fell far short of analysts’ estimates calling for a profit of 2 cents, according to Zacks Investment Research.

Likewise, Scripps’ revenue declined by slightly less than 2% from a year ago to $574 million. That was more than 2% shy of analysts’ predictions.

Beyond those results, investors were more concerned about Scripps’ debt load in relation to its profit level, Carolyn Micheli, Scripps chief communications and investor relations officer, told me.

But the company is working toward paying down much of its debt by year-end, she said. Those efforts include its newly raised guidance for political ad revenue this year thanks to presidential election ad spending, its plan to sell the Bounce TV network and its evaluation of a timetable to refinance debt due in 2026.

“We have a plan, and we are methodically working through it,” Micheli said. “And in this market environment, it seems as though investors are in a wait-and-see mode for us to deliver on that plan.”

Scripps is carrying $2.9 billion in long-term debt on its books. Much of that was incurred when it bought the Ion network in January 2021 for $2.65 billion. But it expects to significantly reduce that this year.

“This management team continues to see a clear path to significant debt paydown by year end,” Scripps CEO Adam Symson said in a news release.

The company boosted its outlook for full-year political ad revenue to a record level of $270 million to $290 million. Its previous guidance called for revenue of $240 million to $270 million. The increase was prompted by political ad revenue for the first half of the year that was up 40% from the same period in 2020, the last presidential election year.

Scripps said in May it would explore selling Bounce. The network with programming geared toward Black audiences is one of Scripps’ over-the-air networks that are also carried on several cable and satellite systems. An analyst said Scripps could get $300 million for Bounce.

The high debt level is the main concern but the weak quarterly results don’t help, Thom Guidi, co-chief investment officer at Kenwood-based wealth manager Foster & Motley, told me.

“The debt load is the underlying issue and any hiccups in the quarter are going to move the stock a lot more than it would for a company without hiccups,” Guidi said.

Scripps has a lot of debt coming due in 2026, putting a deadline on its urgency to improve the debt situation, he said.

“Every quarter matters more now,” he said.

It’s been a rough year for Scripps shareholders. Its stock has plummeted 73% after closing 2023 at $7.99.