Restructuring charges are one-time expenses that a company recognizes when reorganizing operations.  A company separates these expenses out on their financial statement and does not include them when computing cashflow (EBIDTA).  Restructuring charges are in theory one-time events but you can see that in the last stages of the William Eccleshare era, restructuring charges became an annual event at Clear Channel Outdoor.  Restructuring charges have totaled $73 million at Clear Channel Outdoor since 2018 versus $8 million in restructuring charges at OUTFRONT and $0 at Lamar.  Restructuring charges amounted to about 6% of Clear Channel Outdoor cashflow (EBIDTA) for 2018-2021.

Billboard Insider’s take:  Restructuring charges are the cost of fixing past management mistakes (e.g. inflated payrolls or bad business lines).  A series of restructuring charges over several years should raise red flags.  It suggests management is slow to recognize and fix mistakes or is using a one-time expense category to hide recurring expenses. It’s encouraging to see that Clear Channel Outdoor’s restructuring charges have dropped under Scott Wells.  A well managed company with good business line has no restructuring charges.  See Lamar.

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