The New York Times Company (NYT) Q4 2023 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q4 revenue rose 1.3% YoY to $676.2M; adjusted operating profit increased 8.5% to $154.0M, with adjusted margin up 160 bps to 22.8%.

• Ended Q4 with 10.36M subscribers, including 9.70M digital-only subscribers; digital-only net additions were 300K QoQ and 880K YoY.

• FY 2023 revenue increased 5.1% to $2.43B; net income was $232.8M and diluted EPS was $1.40.

Financial highlights

• Q4 subscription revenue rose 3.9% to $430.4M; digital-only subscription revenue increased 7.2% to $288.7M, while print subscription revenue declined 2.2% to $141.8M.

• Q4 advertising revenue decreased 8.4% to $164.1M; digital advertising fell 3.7% to $107.7M and print advertising fell 16.2%.

• Q4 other revenue increased 10.0% to $81.7M, driven by licensing and Wirecutter affiliate referral revenue.

• Q4 net income was $109.9M; diluted EPS was $0.66 versus $0.43 YoY, and adjusted diluted EPS was $0.70 versus $0.59.

• FY net cash from operating activities was $360.6M and free cash flow was $337.9M, versus $150.7M and $113.7M, respectively, in 2022.

Outlook and guidance

• Q1 2024 guidance: digital-only subscription revenue +11% to +14%; total subscription revenue +7% to +9%; digital advertising low- to high-single-digit growth; total advertising mid-single-digit decline.

• Q1 other revenue expected to increase mid-single digits; adjusted operating costs expected to rise 5% to 7%.

• FY 2024 outlook: pre-tax depreciation and amortization ~$80M, interest income and other net ~$30M, and capital expenditures ~$50M.