In This Article:
Release Date: May 01, 2025
For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.
Positive Points
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Gannett Co Inc (NYSE:GCI) reported significant bottom line improvement despite certain one-time items.
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The company generated solid free cash flow and aggressively reduced debt by approximately $75 million.
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Gannett Co Inc (NYSE:GCI) reaffirmed its full-year 2025 business outlook, indicating confidence in achieving financial objectives.
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The company has the largest digital media audience among content creators, with 195 million average monthly unique visitors.
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Gannett Co Inc (NYSE:GCI) is well-positioned to benefit from structural changes in the digital advertising ecosystem, particularly following the DOJ's ruling against Google.
Negative Points
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Total operating revenues decreased by 10.1% year-over-year, with a 7.7% decline on a same-store basis.
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Digital revenues were down 6.4%, or 3.8% on a same-store basis, due to softer trends and increased revenue reversals.
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The company faced challenges from Google's manual actions, which delayed the pace of growth in affiliate revenue.
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Gannett Co Inc (NYSE:GCI) reported a net loss of $7 million in the first quarter, despite improvements from the previous year.
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The digital subscription business experienced higher than normal revenue reversals, impacting growth.
Q & A Highlights
Q: With the recent loss by Google in the DOJ case, how might this impact your business and create opportunities? A: Mike Reed, CEO: The DOJ's win is a meaningful step towards rebalancing the digital advertising ecosystem, which should lead to greater transparency and higher revenue shares for publishers like us. We expect to gain more control over our inventory and see a bigger opportunity to monetize our advertising inventory. Additionally, the ruling supports our ongoing lawsuit against Google, strengthening our case.
Q: How are you adapting the affiliate revenue business in light of Google's manual changes, and what are your growth expectations? A: Mike Reed, CEO: The changes impacted our growth pace, but we've worked with affiliate partners to navigate solutions. In some cases, we had to cancel contracts, affecting Q1 revenue. However, we're leveraging our content to re-energize revenue growth and focusing on diversified monetization strategies, including AI licensing deals and strategic partnerships.
Q: Can you provide a rough estimate of your claim against Google in terms of dollar value? A: Mike Reed, CEO: While not public, it's significant. Google has made tens of billions annually, and as one of the largest publishers, our claim would be substantial. We're eager to see our case progress.