New York Times Co. - Class A
Q1 2025 Earnings
Market Reaction
S&P 500 over the same 30 days: +6.87%.
Did NYT Beat Earnings? Q1 2025 Results
The New York Times Company posted a convincing first-quarter earnings beat, with adjusted diluted EPS of $0.41 clearing the $0.34 consensus estimate by nearly 20% as revenue climbed 7.0% year over year to $635.91 million, edging past the $634.99 million Wall Street expected. The headline driver was digital momentum: digital-only subscription revenues grew 14.4% to $335.03 million, fueled by 250,000 net new digital subscribers and a 3.6% rise in digital-only ARPU to $9.54 per billing cycle, as more subscribers rolled off promotional pricing. The Athletic added further fuel, swinging to an adjusted operating profit of $2.88 million from a loss of $8.69 million a year ago on a 27.9% revenue jump. Adjusted operating profit margin expanded 180 basis points to 14.6%, and free cash flow nearly doubled to $89.85 million. Looking ahead, management guided Q2 digital-only subscription revenue growth of 13% to 16%, signaling continued confidence in the company's subscription-driven model.
- Digital-only subscriber growth of 250,000 net additions in Q1 and 1.15 million YoY
- Digital-only ARPU increased 3.6% YoY driven by promotional-to-full-price transitions and price increases on tenured subscribers
- The Athletic turned adjusted operating profitable for the first time, swinging from a $8.7M loss to $2.9M profit
- Digital advertising revenues grew 12.4% from strong marketer demand and new advertising supply
- Bundle and multiproduct subscribers grew to 5.76 million, up from 4.55 million a year ago
- Lower effective tax rate (22.5% vs. 27.4%) due to stock-based award tax benefit
- Approximately $33 million in proceeds from College Point land sale boosted operating cash flow
“As our first quarter results show, we've had a strong start to the year. Our strategy is working and our business is growing and demonstrating resilience amidst the current economic and geopolitical uncertainty. We have a diverse portfolio of world-class news coverage and leading lifestyle products; multiple, complementary revenue lines across subscriptions, advertising, affiliate and licensing; and a model that generates significant free cash flow and a strong balance sheet. All of which makes us confident we are continuing to build a larger, more profitable New York Times company.”
New York Times CEO, on the earnings call
Forward Guidance & Outlook
For Q2 2025 vs. Q2 2024: Digital-only subscription revenues expected to increase 13–16%; total subscription revenues to increase 8–10%; digital advertising revenues to increase high-single-digits; total advertising revenues flat to increase low-single-digits; affiliate, licensing and other revenues to increase mid-single-digits; adjusted operating costs to increase 5–6%. For full-year 2025, the company expects approximately $80 million in depreciation and amortization, approximately $40 million in interest income and other (net), and approximately $40 million in capital expenditures.
NYT YoY Financials
NYT Revenue by Segment
Figures from SEC filings and company reports. Not investment advice.