The New York Times' Q3 Earnings Beat Confirms Digital Strategy Success

The New York Times Company NYT continued its strong performance in the third quarter of 2025, with results surpassing expectations on both the top and bottom lines. Adjusted earnings came in at 59 cents a share, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 54 cents and improving from 45 cents in the prior-year quarter. Total revenues of $700.8 million also outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $692 million and rose 9.5% year over year. 

The quarter’s strength reflected healthy subscription momentum, robust digital advertising growth and solid free cash flow generation. Management reiterated confidence in its multi-revenue stream model and its ability to expand engagement across its diversified product portfolio. NYT added approximately 460,000 net digital-only subscribers in the quarter under review compared with the end of the preceding quarter.

The New York Times Company consistently grew its digital-only average revenue per user (ARPU), which increased to an impressive $9.79 in the third quarter from $9.45 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 certain tenured subscribers.

NYT Subscription Revenues Show Strong Y/Y Growth

Total subscription revenues climbed 9.1% year over year to $494.6 million in the quarter under review. Subscription revenues from digital-only products jumped 14% to $367.4 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. However, print subscription revenues dropped 3% to $127.2 million, reflecting continued softness in home delivery and single-copy sales.

Management noted that digital engagement across the company’s product ecosystem — including News, The Athletic, Cooking, Games, Audio and Wirecutter — continues to deepen, underpinning long-term subscription growth.

The company ended the quarter with 12.33 million subscribers across its print and digital products, including 11.76 million digital-only subscribers. Of the 11.76 million subscribers, roughly 6.27 million were bundle and multiproduct subscribers, now accounting for more than half of the total subscriber base.

The New York Times Company remains optimistic about sustaining its growth trajectory into the final quarter of 2025. Management guided for digital-only subscription revenues to rise 13-16%, reflecting continued momentum in multi-product bundles and subscriber engagement. Total subscription revenues are expected to increase 8-10%.

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 improved 11.8% year over year to $132.3 million, exceeding management’s prior guidance for low-to-mid-single-digit growth. Digital advertising revenues surged 20.3% to $98.1 million, driven by strong marketer demand, new advertising supply, and the success of branded content and multimedia formats. However, print advertising declined 7.1% to $34.2 million.

For the fourth quarter, the company anticipates total advertising revenues to climb in the high-single to low-double digits, supported by an expanding digital ecosystem. Digital advertising revenues are projected to grow in the mid-to-high teens range.

Other Key Highlights of NYT’s Results

Affiliate, licensing and other revenues increased 7.9% to $73.9 million, fueled by stronger licensing revenues. On the cost side, adjusted operating costs grew 6.2% to $569.4 million, mainly reflecting higher journalism costs, marketing spend and product development investments.

Even with rising costs, the company achieved 26.1% growth in adjusted operating profit (AOP) to $131.4 million, while the AOP margin expanded 240 basis points to 18.7%, underscoring disciplined cost management and operational leverage.

Affiliate, licensing and other revenues are forecasted to grow at a mid-single-digit rate in the fourth quarter. On the cost front, management expects adjusted operating costs to increase 6% to 7%.

Sneak Peek Into NYT’s Financial Health

The New York Times Company ended the quarter with cash and marketable securities of $1.1 billion, reflecting an increase of $184.9 million from $911.9 million as of Dec. 31, 2024. As of Sept. 30, 2025, the company had no outstanding borrowings under its $400 million unsecured revolving credit facility and carried no other outstanding debt.

The New York Times Company incurred capital expenditures of about $8 million in the quarter. Management envisions capital expenditures of $35 million for 2025.

Free cash flow for the first nine months of 2025 stood at $392.9 million, up sharply from $237.7 million a year earlier, aided by lower cash tax payments and the sale of excess land at its College Point facility.

During the quarter, the company repurchased approximately 482,833 shares for $27.3 million, with $393 million remaining under its share repurchase authorization.

The Bottom Line

The New York Times Company delivered another solid quarter, outperforming expectations and demonstrating the strength of its diversified revenue model. Continued digital subscription gains, robust advertising growth and healthy cash generation reinforce the success of its strategy to expand engagement across a growing portfolio. With disciplined cost control and a debt-free balance sheet, the company remains well-positioned for sustained growth and shareholder value creation.

We note that shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have advanced 9.4% in the past six months compared with the industry’s rise of 8.9%.

Stocks Worth Looking

DocuSign, Inc. DOCU, the leader in AI-powered contract management, currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). DOCU has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 6.9%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DocuSign’s current financial-year sales and EPS implies growth of 9.7% and 3.9%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s actuals.

Calix, Inc. CALX, which delivers the industry’s only agentic AI cloud and appliance-based platform, presently sports a Zacks Rank #1. CALX has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 35.1%, on average.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Calix’s current financial-year sales and EPS implies growth of 20% and 125%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s actuals.

Guidewire Software, Inc. GWRE, which provides a platform for property and casualty insurers worldwide, currently sports a Zacks Rank #1. GWRE has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 42.1%, on average. 

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Guidewire Software’s current financial-year revenues and EPS calls for growth of 22.9% and 12.8%, respectively, from the year-ago period’s reported numbers.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research