USA TODAY Co. Announces Third Quarter Results, $100 Million Cost Reduction Program & Plans to Opportunistically Repurchase Shares

NEW YORK, NY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--USA TODAY Co., Inc. ("USA TODAY Co.", "we", "us", "our", or the "Company") (NYSE: TDAY) today reported its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026.

"In the third quarter, we felt the impacts of the changes in consumer search along with some inflationary pressures. At the same time, we saw encouraging underlying signals in the categories that we believe are most important to our future. Audience trends showed signs of stabilization, engagement strengthened across our platforms, and we continued to grow the digital revenue categories that are central to our strategy, including direct-sold digital advertising, digital-only subscriptions, and digital other," said Michael Reed, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

"At the end of the third quarter, we implemented our new $100 million annualized cost reduction program, establishing a lower cost structure that is already benefiting our fourth-quarter run rate. Together with the positive momentum across our digital portfolio, we expect these improvements to drive significant sequential growth in Adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow, as well as substantial margin expansion in the fourth quarter. Moving forward, we will continue to pursue additional opportunities to lower our cost structure."

"Our Ad Tech litigation continues to advance, and we had some nice developments in the third quarter. Google's motion for summary judgment was recently denied, and our trial date has been set for April 5, 2027. The court's ruling also made public our damages calculation, which totaled $901 million through 2024. We expect to update that calculation ahead of trial to reflect additional damages incurred since then. Importantly, the $901 million does not include the potential for treble damages. We look forward to April 5^th."

"We believe our current market valuation does not fully reflect the underlying value of our business or its long-term potential. We have $96.9 million available under our authorized Stock Repurchase Program and plan to be opportunistic with share repurchases in the fourth quarter."

Third Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights:

• Total revenues of $519.2 million decreased 7.4% year-over-year
  • Same store revenues⁽¹⁾ decreased 5.8% year-over-year, reflecting a sequential improvement of 30 basis points compared to the second quarter of 2026
• Total digital revenues of $249.3 million, or 48.0% of total revenues
• Net loss attributable to USA TODAY Co. of $4.6 million
• Total Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ of $36.6 million
• Cash provided by operating activities of $16.7 million
• Free cash flow⁽¹⁾ of $4.3 million

Third Quarter 2026 Digital Highlights:

• 161 million average monthly unique visitors⁽²⁾, which increased from 158 million average monthly unique visitors⁽³⁾ in the second quarter of 2026
• Digital advertising revenues of $75.0 million
• Digital-only subscription revenues of $46.0 million, representing the third consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth
  • Record high digital-only average revenue per user⁽⁴⁾ of $10.82, an increase of 23% year-over-year
• LocaliQ segment core platform revenues⁽⁴⁾ of $105.4 million
  • Record high core platform average revenue per user⁽⁴⁾ of $2,996, an increase of 6% year-over-year

Third Quarter 2026 Capital Structure Highlights:

• Cash and cash equivalents of $68.2 million as of September 30, 2026
• Total debt principal outstanding at September 30, 2026 was $952.9 million, including $705.1 million in first lien debt
• First lien net leverage⁽⁵⁾ was 2.5x, a decrease of 8.2% year-over-year
• The Company received a waiver from certain lenders of its $900.0 million five-year first lien term loan facility (the "2029 Term Loan Facility") and certain holders of its 6.000% Senior Secured Convertible Notes due 2031 (the "2031 Notes") to permit the Company to enter into strategic agreements with Lee Enterprises, Incorporated ("Lee Enterprises") to acquire the remaining 50% interest in TNI Partners and assume full ownership and operations of the Arizona Daily Star (the "TNI acquisition"). The Company also transferred its Montana and South Dakota publications to Lee Enterprises (collectively with the TNI acquisition, the "Lee Transactions"). The Lee Transactions did not result in the incurrence or assumption of any additional indebtedness.
• Subsequent to the third quarter of 2026, the Company's 2029 Term Loan Facility was amended (the "November 2029 Amendment") to permit the Company to incur, not later than 45 days after the date of the November 2029 Amendment, incremental debt financing under the 2029 Term Loan Facility in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $50.0 million from funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management Inc. The proceeds of such incremental debt financing may be used by the Company to repurchase shares of the Company's common stock on or prior to December 31, 2026. In connection with the November 2029 Amendment, the Company received consent from certain lenders under its 2029 Term Loan Facility and certain holders of its 2031 Notes to permit the Company to undertake the share repurchases described above.

Business Outlook:⁽⁶⁾

The Company is updating its full year 2026 outlook.

• Full Year 2026 Business Outlook⁽⁶⁾
  • Total revenues are expected to be down in the mid-single digits on a same store basis⁽¹⁾
    • Total digital revenues are expected to make up 50%+ of total revenues during 2027
  • Net income attributable to USA TODAY Co. is expected to grow versus the prior year; expect sequential improvement in the fourth quarter of 2026
  • Total Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾, cash provided by operating activities, and free cash flow⁽¹⁾ are expected to decline versus the prior year; expect sequential improvement in the fourth quarter of 2026

Financial Highlights:

Earnings Conference Call

Management will host a conference call on Thursday, November 5, 2026 at 8:30 A.M. Eastern Time to review the financial and operating results for the period. A copy of the earnings release will be posted to the Investor Relations section of USA TODAY Co.'s website, investors.usatodayco.com. The conference call may be accessed by dialing 1-888-506-0062 (from within the U.S.) or 1-973-528-0011 (from outside of the U.S.) ten minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call; please reference "USA TODAY Co. Third Quarter Earnings Call" or access code "961743". We use our website as a channel of distribution for important Company information and we use the investors.usatodayco.com website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. A simultaneous webcast of the conference call will be available to the public on a listen-only basis at investors.usatodayco.com. Please allow extra time prior to the call to visit the website and download any necessary software required to listen to the internet broadcast. A telephonic replay of the conference call will also be available approximately two hours following the call's completion through 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time on Thursday, November 19, 2026 by dialing 1-877-481-4010 (from within the U.S.) or 1-919-882-2331 (from outside of the U.S.); please reference access code "54451". A transcript of our earnings call held today also will be posted to the investors.usatodayco.com website.

About USA TODAY Co.

USA TODAY Co., Inc. (NYSE: TDAY) is a diversified media company with expansive reach at the national and local level dedicated to empowering and enriching communities. Our mission is to inspire, inform, and connect audiences. As a media and digital marketing solutions company we are focused on sustainable growth. Through our trusted brands, including the USA TODAY NETWORK, comprised of the national publication, USA TODAY, and our network of local properties, in the United States, and Newsquest, a wholly-owned subsidiary operating in the United Kingdom, we provide essential journalism, local content, and digital experiences to audiences and businesses. We deliver trusted unbiased journalism when and where consumers want it. LocaliQ, our digital marketing solutions brand, supports small and medium-sized businesses with innovative digital marketing products and solutions.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain items in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, our full year 2026 business outlook, statements regarding our business outlook, digital revenue and digital other revenues performance and growth, our digital advertising business, expectations regarding our cash from operating activities, free cash flows, margin expansion, revenues, net income (loss) attributable to USA TODAY Co., Total Adjusted EBITDA, same store revenues and cash flows, plans with respect to share repurchases, expectations regarding our long-term growth, sustainable growth, revenue inflection point, and audience stabilization and growth, our ability to create long-term stockholder value, our expectations, in terms of both amount and timing, with respect to debt repayment, our ability to protect our content, expand AI-related monetization opportunities and our pipeline of AI opportunities, growth of our AI content licensing, our expectations with respect to our lawsuit against Google, our expected capital expenditures, expectations regarding our assets, our strategy, our partnerships, our ability to achieve our operating priorities, our long-term opportunities, economic impacts, our ability to navigate volatility, achieve our financial goals, optimize our capital structure and achieve optimal financial performance, our cost structure, future revenue and expense trends, and our ability to influence trends. Words such as "expect", "believe", "will", "can", "position us", "plan", "initiative", "building", "opportunity", "outlook", "guidance", "optimistic", "estimate", "projection", "trend", "focus", and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These and other risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, many of which are beyond our control. The Company can give no assurance its expectations will be attained. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained in this press release. For a discussion of some of the risks and important factors that could cause actual results to differ from such forward-looking statements, see the risks and other factors detailed from time to time in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Furthermore, new risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict or assess the impact of every factor that may cause its actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Except to the extent required by law, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

USE OF NON-GAAP INFORMATION

The Company uses non-GAAP financial performance and liquidity measures to supplement the financial information presented on a U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP") basis. We define our non-GAAP financial performance and liquidity measures as follows:

• Total Adjusted EBITDA, Segment Adjusted EBITDA and Segment Adjusted EBITDA margin are non-GAAP financial performance measures we believe offer a useful view of the overall operation of our business, and may be different than similarly-titled measures used by other companies. We define Total Adjusted EBITDA as Segment Adjusted EBITDA plus Corporate. Segment Adjusted EBITDA, as presented in the notes to our Condensed consolidated financial statements included in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the nine months ended September 30, 2026, is defined as revenues less (1) operating costs and (2) selling, general and administrative expenses, plus (3) equity (income) loss in unconsolidated investees, net. Segment Adjusted EBITDA also does not include: (1) Income tax expense (benefit), (2) Noncontrolling interest, (3) Interest expense, (4) Gains or losses on the early extinguishment of debt, (5) Loss on convertible notes derivative, (6) Depreciation and amortization, (7) Integration and reorganization costs, (8) Asset impairments, (9) Goodwill and intangible impairments, (10) Gains or losses on the sale or disposal of assets, (11) Share-based compensation expense, and (12) Other (income) expense, net. Segment Adjusted EBITDA margin is defined as Segment Adjusted EBITDA divided by Segment revenues.

• Total Adjusted EBITDA margin is a non-GAAP financial performance measure we believe offers a useful view of the overall and segment operations of our business. We define Total Adjusted EBITDA margin as Total Adjusted EBITDA divided by total Revenues.

• Adjusted net income (loss) attributable to USA TODAY Co. is a non-GAAP financial performance measure we believe offers a useful view of the overall operations of our business and is useful to analysts and investors in evaluating the results of operations and operational trends. We define Adjusted net income (loss) attributable to USA TODAY Co. as Net income (loss) attributable to USA TODAY Co. before (1) Gains or losses on the early extinguishment of debt, (2) Loss on convertible notes derivative, (3) Integration and reorganization costs, (4) Third-party debt expenses and acquisition costs, (5) Asset impairments, (6) Goodwill and intangibles impairments, (7) Gains or losses on the sale or disposal of assets, (8) Other items, including (Gain) loss on sale of investments, and (9) the tax impact of the above items.

• Free cash flow is a non-GAAP liquidity measure that adjusts our reported U.S. GAAP results for items we believe are critical to the ongoing success of our business. We define Free cash flow as Cash provided by (used for) operating activities as reported on the Condensed consolidated statements of cash flows including the impact of (i) capital expenditures and excluding the impact of (ii) third-party debt expenses associated with the refinancing of debt. The result is a figure representing Free cash flow available for use in operations, additional investments, ongoing debt obligations, and returns to stockholders. The most directly comparable U.S. GAAP financial liquidity measure is Cash provided by (used for) operating activities.

• Same store revenues is a non-GAAP financial performance measure based on our U.

For investor inquiries, contact:
Matt Esposito
Investor Relations
703-854-3000
investors@usatodayco.com

For media inquiries, contact:
Heather Gidaly
Corporate Communications
845-304-3282
hgidaly@usatodayco.com