The New York Times Co. Reports Increased Subscription Revenue in Q3; Foresees Further Gains

The New York Times Company NYT, a preeminent news provider, has posted robust third-quarter results for 2023, with subscription revenues seeing a year-over-year upswing. The company's adjusted earnings per share achieved 37 cents, outperforming the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 8 cents and signifying a 54.2% climb from the previous year's figure.

Total revenues escalated to $598.3 million, a 9.3% increase compared to the same period last year, edging past the $590 million consensus estimate. The media giant has adeptly navigated the evolving media environment to drive its top-line growth.

During this quarter, The New York Times Co. attracted roughly 210,000 net new digital-only subscribers, thanks largely to bundle and multiproduct subscription plans, pushing total subscriptions past the 10 million milestone.

Digital-only average revenue per user (ARPU) expanded for the fifth consecutive quarter, reaching $9.28 from $8.87 in the prior year, credited to subscribers moving off promotional rates to higher-priced plans and price adjustments for longstanding non-bundle subscribers.

Subscription Revenues on the Rise

Subscription revenues amplified by 9.4% to $418.6 million year over year. Digital-only products played a significant role in this jump, contributing a 15.7% increase to $282.2 million, with bundle and multiproduct revenues growing by $44.1 million and other single-product subscription revenues inching up $2.2 million, despite a minor decrease in news-only digital subscriptions. In contrast, print subscriptions witnessed a 1.8% downturn, settling at $136.3 million, attributed to decreased domestic home-delivery revenues.

The total subscriber count now stands at about 10.08 million across digital and print platforms, with digital-only subscribers accounting for approximately 9.41 million. Of these, about 3.79 million are committed to bundle and multiproduct offerings. Subscriptions for digital-only products have surged by 820,000 when juxtaposed with the third quarter of the preceding year.

Fourth Quarter Expectations

Gazing into the future, management anticipates a 2-5% rise in total subscription revenues for the fourth quarter of 2023, with an even more optimistic 6-9% uptick projected for digital-only subscription revenues.

Advertising Revenues Exhibit Growth

Total advertising revenues reached $117.1 million, marking a 6% increase from the year-ago quarter. This rise is partially owed to a 6.7% boost in digital advertising revenues, which hit $75 million due to augmented direct-sold display and programmatic advertising, despite decreases in podcast and creative services revenues. Print advertising followed suit with a 4.8% increase to $42.1 million, primarily across classifieds, luxury, and home furnishings categories.

Other Revenues and Financial Details

Other revenues also witnessed growth, jumping 14.9% to $62.7 million versus the same quarter last year, powered by higher Wirecutter affiliate referrals and an uptick in licensing revenue from a commercial agreement with Google GOOG. The company rounded off the quarter with cash and marketable securities totalling $587.8 million, a notable rise from the end of the previous year.

For 2023, capital expenditures are anticipated to be approximately $35 million, and the company has an ongoing share repurchase program, having bought back nearly 4.32 million shares to date.

Peer Performance

Apart from the successful quarter reported by The New York Times Co., it's worth noting the performance of other publicly traded counterparts in the tech and media sphere. Companies such as Synopsys SNPS, Meta Platforms META, and Snowflake SNOW, stand out with their respective advancements in electronic design automation, social media and communication services, and cloud-based data platform services.

earnings, media, digital