The New York Times Company NYT continued its decent performance in the first quarter of 2025. The company's adjusted earnings per share were 41 cents, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 35 cents. The figure marked an increase from the year-ago adjusted earnings of 31 cents. Total revenues of $635.9 million came marginally ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $635 million and increased 7.1% year over year. (See the Zacks Earnings Calendar to stay ahead of market-making news.)
NYT added approximately 250,000 net digital-only subscribers in the quarter under review compared with the end of the preceding quarter, propelled by multiple products across its portfolio.
The New York Times Company consistently grew its digital-only average revenue per user (ARPU), which increased to an impressive $9.54 in the first quarter from $9.21 in the year-ago period. This rise in ARPU can be attributed to subscribers transitioning from promotional pricing to higher rate plans and price hikes for tenured non-bundle subscribers.
NYT Subscription Revenues Show Strong Y/Y Growth
Subscription revenues of $464.3 million increased 8.2% year over year. Subscription revenues from digital-only products jumped 14.4% to $335 million. This reflects an increase in bundle and multi-product revenues and a rise in other single-product subscription revenues, partly offset by a decline in news-only subscription revenues. Print subscription revenues dropped 5% to $129.2 million due to decreased domestic home-delivery revenues.
The company ended the quarter with 11.66 million subscribers across its print and digital products, including 11.06 million digital-only subscribers. Of the 11.06 million subscribers, 5.76 million were bundle and multi-product subscribers.
Management envisions second-quarter total subscription revenue growth of 8-10%, with digital-only subscription revenues anticipated to rise by 13-16%.
The New York Times Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
The New York Times Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
The New York Times Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | The New York Times Company Quote
A Look at The New York Times Company’s Advertising Revenues
Total advertising revenues of $108.1 million rose 4.2% from the prior-year period. Digital advertising revenues increased 12.4% to $70.9 million due to areas of strong marketer demand and new advertising supply.
Meanwhile, print advertising revenues fell 8.5% to $37.2 million in the quarter under review. The metric decreased mainly in the luxury and entertainment categories.
For the second quarter, the company expects flat to a low-single-digit increase in total advertising revenues. It foresees a high-single-digit increase in digital advertising revenues.
Other Key Highlights of NYT’s Q1 Results
Affiliate, licensing and other revenues jumped 3.7% year over year to $63.6 million in the quarter under review due to higher Wirecutter affiliate referral revenues and licensing revenues. NYT foresees a mid-single-digit increase in affiliate, licensing and other revenues in the second quarter.
Adjusted operating costs rose 4.9% to $543.2 million in the quarter. Management anticipates adjusted operating costs to increase 5-6% in the second quarter.
The total adjusted operating profit grew 21.9% to $92.7 million in the quarter under review, whereas the adjusted operating margin expanded 10 basis points to 15.3%.
NYT’s Segment Performances
The New York Times Group’s revenues increased 5.7% year over year to $588.9 million. Subscription revenues rose 7.5% to $431.5 million due to growth in subscription revenues from digital-only products, partly offset by a decline in print subscription revenues. Advertising revenues fell 0.4% to $97.7 million due to lower revenues from print advertising, partly mitigated by higher revenues from digital advertising.
Revenues totaled $47.6 million in The Athletic segment, up 27.9% year over year. Subscription revenues rose to $32.7 million from $27.6 million in the first quarter of 2024 due to increased subscribers with The Athletic. Advertising revenues jumped to $10.4 million from $5.7 million in the first quarter of 2024 due to higher revenues from display advertising.
Sneak Peek Into NYT’s Financial Health
The New York Times Company ended the quarter with cash and marketable securities of $902.3 million, reflecting a decrease of $9.5 million from $911.9 million as of Dec. 31, 2024.
The company incurred capital expenditures of about $8 million in the quarter. Management envisions capital expenditures of $40 million for 2025.
In the quarter, the company repurchased 1,180,186 shares of its Class A common stock for an aggregate amount of $58.9 million. As of May 2, 2025, about $443 million remained available and authorized for further repurchases.
We note that shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have advanced 6.9% in the past three months compared with the industry’s rise of 5.9%.
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