Executive Summary

Solid start to 2025: revenue grew 7.1% to $635.9M, operating profit rose 21.3% to $58.6M, and adjusted operating profit (AOP) increased 21.9% to $92.7M; AOP margin expanded 180 bps to 14.6% .
Adjusted diluted EPS was $0.41 vs S&P Global consensus $0.34* (beat), while revenue was $635.9M vs $635.0M* (in line/slight beat). Drivers: +250k net digital-only subs to 11.06M, digital-only ARPU +3.6% y/y to $9.54, and digital ad revenue +12.4% y/y .
Q2 2025 guide: digital-only subs revenue +13–16%, total subs +8–10%, digital advertising high-single digits, total advertising flat to low-single-digit growth; adjusted operating costs +5–6% .
The Athletic turned in positive AOP of $2.9M as revenues rose 27.9% y/y; NYTG revenue +5.7% with higher digital subs and digital ad revenue offsetting lower print .
Capital return and liquidity: $58.9M of buybacks in Q1 (authorization $443M remaining) and $0.18 quarterly dividend declared for July 24, 2025; cash and marketable securities $902.3M; no debt .

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

Digital engine accelerated: digital-only subscription revenue +14.4% y/y to $335.0M on higher subs and ARPU; digital ad revenue +12.4% y/y on strong marketer demand and new ad supply .
Margin expansion and earnings quality: AOP +21.9% to $92.7M and AOP margin +180 bps to 14.6% on revenue growth outpacing adjusted cost growth (+4.9%) .
The Athletic profitability: revenue +27.9% y/y to $47.6M; adjusted operating costs -2.6%; AOP swung to +$2.9M from -$8.7M y/y, helped by higher subs, stronger display ads, and lower S&M/G&A .
“Digital advertising grew 12%, our strongest growth rate in 3 years... early stages of leveraging advantages across our full portfolio” — CEO .

What Went Wrong

Print headwinds persisted: print subscription revenue -5.0% y/y to $129.2M and print advertising -8.5% y/y to $37.2M .
Cost growth areas: cost of revenue +5.6% y/y on higher journalism, subscriber servicing, and digital delivery; operating costs +5.8% including special items (AI litigation $4.4M; multiemployer pension adjustment $4.5M) .
Platform traffic ecosystem remains challenging: management notes big tech platforms sending less traffic; strategy is to drive direct relationships via portfolio and formats .

Financial Results

Consolidated P&L and Margins

Metric	Q1 2024	Q4 2024	Q1 2025
Total Revenues ($M)	$594.0	$726.6	$635.9
Operating Profit ($M)	$48.3	$146.6	$58.6
Operating Profit Margin %	8.1%	20.2%	9.2%
Adjusted Operating Profit ($M)	$76.1	$170.5	$92.7
AOP Margin %	12.8%	23.5%	14.6%
Diluted EPS ($)	$0.24	$0.75	$0.30
Adjusted Diluted EPS ($)	$0.31	$0.80	$0.41

Revenue Mix

Revenue Line ($M)	Q1 2024	Q4 2024	Q1 2025
Digital-only Subscription	$293.0	$334.9	$335.0
Print Subscription	$136.0	$131.6	$129.2
Total Subscription	$429.0	$466.6	$464.3
Digital Advertising	$63.0	$117.9	$70.9
Print Advertising	$40.7	$47.1	$37.2
Total Advertising	$103.7	$165.1	$108.1
Affiliate, Licensing and Other / Other	$61.3 (“Other”)	$95.0 (“Other”)	$63.6 (“Affiliate, licensing and other”)

Note: The “Other” caption was renamed to “Affiliate, licensing and other” beginning Q1 2025 .

Segments

Segment	Q1 2024	Q1 2025
NYTG Revenues ($M)	$557.4	$588.9
NYTG Adjusted Operating Profit ($M)	$84.7	$89.8
NYTG AOP Margin %	15.2%	15.3%
The Athletic Revenues ($M)	$37.2	$47.6
The Athletic Adjusted Operating Profit ($M)	-$8.7	$2.9

KPIs

KPI	Q1 2024	Q4 2024	Q1 2025
Total Subscribers (M)	10.55	11.43	11.66
Digital-only Subscribers (M)	9.91	10.82	11.06
Digital-only Net Adds (K)	210	350	250
Total Digital-only ARPU ($)	9.21	9.65	9.54
Bundle & Multiproduct Subs (M)	4.55	5.44	5.76
News-only Subs (M)	2.50	1.93	1.79
Other Single-product Subs (M)	2.86	3.45	3.50

Q1 2025 vs S&P Global Consensus

Metric	Actual	Consensus	Surprise
Revenues ($M)	$635.9	$635.0*	+$0.9
Adjusted/Primary EPS ($)	$0.41	$0.342*	+$0.068

Values retrieved from S&P Global.

Guidance Changes

Metric	Period	Previous Guidance	Current Guidance	Change
Digital-only Subscription Revenues (y/y)	Q2 2025	N/A	+13% to +16%	New
Total Subscription Revenues (y/y)	Q2 2025	N/A	+8% to +10%	New
Digital Advertising Revenues (y/y)	Q2 2025	N/A	High-single-digits	New
Total Advertising Revenues (y/y)	Q2 2025	N/A	Flat to +low-single-digits	New
Affiliate, Licensing & Other (y/y)	Q2 2025	N/A	Mid-single-digits	New
Adjusted Operating Costs (y/y)	Q2 2025	N/A	+5% to +6%	New
Depreciation & Amortization ($)	FY 2025	~$80M (Feb guide)	~$80M	Maintained
Interest Income & Other, net ($)	FY 2025	~$40M (Feb guide)	~$40M	Maintained
Capital Expenditures ($)	FY 2025	~$40M (Feb guide)	~$40M	Maintained
Dividend per Share (quarterly)	Q3 2025 pay date	$0.18 declared Feb 2025	$0.18 payable Jul 24, 2025	Maintained

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

Topic	Previous Mentions (Q3/Q4)	Current Period (Q1 2025)	Trend
Digital ad growth via new supply and lifestyle products	Q3: Broadening ad in lifestyle; new supply incl. Games/Athletic . Q4: Expanding canvases, Brand Match, supply ahead in Games/Athletic .	Digital ad +12% y/y, strongest in 3 years; confidence in portfolio and ad products .	Strengthening
ARPU step-ups and pricing discipline	Q3: Confidence in ARPU trajectory via bundle step-ups and tenured price increases . Q4: Bundle ARPU inflected positive; expect continued strength .	Total digital-only ARPU +3.6% y/y; disciplined price step-ups with data science; news-only cohort stabilizing .	Positive/ongoing
Video/audio and format innovation	Q3: App redesign; more listenable and visual formats . Q4: 1/3 homepage users watched video; >50% report listenable; more multi-format in 2025 .	Reporter-led videos; podcast expansion; automated voice improving; engagement rising .	Accelerating
Platform traffic headwinds & AI	Q3: Platforms sending less traffic; AI features impact traffic; strategy is direct relationships . Q4: Similar; resilience via portfolio .	Ecosystem dominated by big tech sending less traffic; focus on direct, habit-forming experiences .	Persistent headwind; mitigated by strategy
Tariffs/macro	Limited prior commentary.	Tariff impact immaterial to date; growth drivers “feel strong” .	Neutral

Management Commentary

CEO (prepared): “We’ve had a strong start to the year... multiple, complementary revenue lines across subscriptions, advertising, affiliate and licensing... significant free cash flow and a strong balance sheet” .
CFO (prepared): “AOP grew by approximately 22% year-over-year and AOP margin expanded by approximately 180 basis points... ~$90M of free cash flow including ~$33M land sale; returned ~$81M via buybacks/dividends” .
CEO (on ad strategy): “We have a diverse set of products... a large and deeply engaged audience... and a suite of high-performing ad products... we’re still in the early stages... expect them to keep powering ad revenue growth” .
CFO (outlook): “Digital-only subscription revenues [Q2] +13% to +16%... digital ad high single digits... adjusted operating costs +5% to +6%” .

Q&A Highlights

Digital advertising: Growth driven by broad marketer appeal, engaged audiences, and expanding ad products; early days of rolling supply across portfolio, with more to come .
Pricing tactics and ARPU: Graduating promos based on engagement signals; intermediate steps/prices used; confidence in ARPU trajectory supported by product value and data science .
News-only cohort and bundle conversion: Stability improving as strategy “working as designed”; continue prioritizing bundle marketing and price step-ups for tenured cohorts .
Video/audio engagement: Reporter-led video, embedded multimedia, short-form off-platform, podcast and automated voice efforts expanding engagement and accessibility .
Macro/tariffs: Tariff impact immaterial; management reaffirms healthy revenue/AOP growth, margin expansion, and strong FCF for full-year 2025 .

Estimates Context

Q1 2025: Adjusted/Primary EPS $0.41 vs $0.34 consensus* — beat; revenue $635.9M vs $635.0M consensus* — in line/slight beat .
Q4 2024: Adjusted/Primary EPS $0.80 vs $0.75 consensus* — beat; revenue $726.6M vs $726.9M consensus* — slight miss .
The quarter’s upside was driven by stronger digital ad growth and steady subscription strength (subs + ARPU), with cost growth contained within guidance bands .

Values retrieved from S&P Global.

Key Takeaways for Investors

Subscription engine remains robust: +250k net digital-only adds to 11.06M and ARPU +3.6% support double-digit digital subscription revenue growth; bundle/multiproduct mix rising .
Advertising re-accelerating: Digital ad +12.4% y/y as new supply rolls out (Games, The Athletic) and ad products/targeting improve; management guides continued growth in Q2 .
Profitability improving: AOP +21.9% and margin +180 bps on multi-revenue growth with disciplined cost management; Q2 cost guide remains +5–6% .
The Athletic inflecting: Revenue +27.9% and AOP +$11.6M y/y to +$2.9M validates bundle value and ad expansion strategy .
Capital returns and balance sheet strength: $902M cash/securities, no debt; $59M Q1 buybacks (authorization $443M), $0.18 dividend maintained .
Watch catalysts: execution on Q2 guide (digital ad growth, subs revenue), continued ARPU step-ups, and further ad supply deployment; platform traffic headwinds remain but are being offset via direct engagement and formats .

Non-GAAP and special items: Adjusted metrics exclude amortization, severance, non-operating retirement costs, and special items; Q1 included $4.4M AI litigation costs and a $4.5M multiemployer pension plan liability adjustment (both called out and adjusted) .

NEW YORK TIMES CO (NYT)·Q1 2025 Earnings Summary