Digital subscription revenue jumped 11% to $299 million, offsetting a 9% decline in print ads. NYT added 300,000 net digital subscribers in the quarter, reaching about 11.8 million total.
New York Times Co (NYT) posted second-quarter results that beat consensus estimates on earnings per share, driven by growth in digital subscriptions and a leaner print operation. The publisher earned 54 cents a share on an adjusted basis, ahead of the 52-cent average analyst forecast compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue rose 1.7% to $625 million from a year earlier, in line with Wall Street projections.
Digital subscription revenue jumped 11% to $299 million, the company said. That gain offset a 9% decline in print advertising revenue, which fell to $39 million. Total advertising revenue slid 6% to $107 million.
"The second quarter is a good example of how we are leaning into our differentiators," CEO Meredith Kopit Levien said on an analyst call. She pointed to the bundle – which includes news, cooking, games and Wirecutter – as a core driver of subscriber growth. The company added 300,000 net digital subscribers in the quarter, bringing the total to about 11.8 million.
The Times ended the quarter with $928 million in cash and short-term investments, while total debt stood at $115 million, primarily from its 2022 acquisition of The Athletic.
Print subscription revenue fell 5% to $133 million, a steeper decline than the prior quarter, reflecting lower single-copy sales and reduced home-delivery volume. The company has cut print days in some markets and raised prices for home delivery subscribers.
Shares traded little on the session post-earnings, down less than 1%. The stock is down about 3% this year through Friday's close. AlphaScala's stock rating tool assigns NYT a score of 53 out of 100, or Mixed, reflecting a balanced mix of growth and valuation risks. The stock is in the Communication Services sector.
Other segment revenue – which includes licensing, events and affiliate revenue from Wirecutter and product recommendations – rose 6% to $57 million, driven by higher licensing income.
The Times said it expects fourth-quarter digital subscription revenue growth of about 12%, the strongest of the year. Digital advertising revenue was expected to decline by a low single-digit percentage in the current quarter.
"We are still early in monetizing the bundle," Levien said. The company has begun offering the bundle as a single product in international markets, with advertising-free tiers at higher price points.
The Times spent $15 million on share buybacks in the quarter and has $120 million remaining under its repurchase authorization.
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