The New York Times Company (NYT) Q4 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Added over 1.1 million digital subscribers in 2024, reaching 11.43 million total subscribers by year-end, with 48% now bundle or multiproduct.

• Digital subscription revenue grew 14% year-over-year, with Q4 digital-only subscription revenue up 16% to $335 million and strong engagement across news, lifestyle, and sports products.

• Multi-revenue stream model drove growth in digital advertising, affiliate, and licensing revenues, with Wirecutter and The Athletic contributing to digital ad growth.

• Adjusted operating profit rose 17% to $455 million for the year and 10.7% to $170 million in Q4, with margin expanding to 23.5%.

• Strategic investments in journalism, product innovation, and marketing supported margin expansion and free cash flow growth.

Financial highlights

• Digital-only subscription revenues rose 16% year-over-year to $335 million in Q4; total subscription revenues up 8.4% to $467 million.

• Total revenue grew 7.5% for the full year to $726.6 million, with digital advertising up 9.5% in Q4 and total advertising up 1%.

• Adjusted operating profit margin expanded to 23.5% in Q4; operating profit margin (GAAP) was 20.2%.

• Free cash flow reached $381 million in 2024; $168 million returned to shareholders via buybacks and dividends.

• Adjusted diluted EPS in Q4 increased $0.10 to $0.80.

Outlook and guidance

• 2025 expected to deliver healthy growth in subscribers, revenue, AOP, and free cash flow.

• Q1 2025 guidance: digital-only subscription revenue up 14–17%, total subscription revenue up 7–10%.

• Digital advertising revenue expected to grow high single digits; total advertising to range from a low single-digit decrease to a low single-digit increase.

• Adjusted operating costs projected to rise 5–6% in Q1 2025.

• Plans to return at least 50% of free cash flow to shareholders over the mid-term.