New York Times Co.’s stock
NYT,
fell 3% early Wednesday, after the newspaper group beat profit estimates for the fourth quarter but revenue fell slightly short. The company had net income of $109.9 million, or 66 cents a share, up from $70.8 million, or 43 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 70 cents, ahead of the 61 cent FactSet consensus. Revenue rose to $676.2 million from $667.5 million a year ago but was just below the FactSet consensus of $680.0 million. The company added about 300,000 net digital-only subscribers from the prior quarter, while digital-only average revenue per user rose 3.5% to $9.24. Digital ad revenues fell 3.7%, while other revenue rose 10%, boosted by strength in licensing and Wirecutter referral revenues. The company had total subscribers of 10.4 million at quarter-end, up from 10.1 million in the third quarter. It had 9.7 million digital-only subscribers, up from 9.4 million at the end of the third quarter. The company is now expecting total subscription revenue to rise 7% to 9% in 2024, and for digital-only subscription revenue to increase 11% to 14%. The company raised its quarterly dividend by 2 cents to 13 cents a share, with the new payment to be made April 18 to shareholders of record as of April 2. The stock has gained 32% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500
SPX,
has gained 19%.
