NYT Earnings Show Digital Growth as Subscriber Momentum Moderates

NYT Earnings Highlight Digital Momentum

Second-quarter revenues rose 11.2% year over year to $762.5 million. Digital-only subscription revenues increased 16.4% to $407.9 million, while total subscription revenues advanced 11.7% to $537.9 million. Adjusted operating profit climbed 16.1% to $155.3 million and the adjusted operating profit margin expanded 90 basis points to 20.4%.

NYT’s multi-product strategy spans News, The Athletic, Audio, Cooking, Games and Wirecutter. Subscription growth came from multiple products across the portfolio, supporting a model that can deepen engagement and create more opportunities to monetize existing audiences.

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NYT Advertising Gains Expand Monetization

Digital advertising revenues increased 20.7% year over year to $114 million, while total advertising revenues rose 11.3% to $149.1 million. Management attributed the digital gain to marketer demand, expanding advertising supply and engagement across News, Games, Sports and other products.

News Corporation NWSA provides a relevant digital-publishing comparison, with Dow Jones continuing to expand digital-only subscriptions. Fox Corporation FOXA also shows how media companies are pushing further into digital monetization through businesses such as Tubi. NYT expects third-quarter digital advertising revenues to increase in the mid-to-high teens.

NYT Video Strategy Opens New Opportunities

Video is becoming a larger strategic investment for NYT. The company is producing thousands of original videos across reporter-led formats, news clips, visual investigations and shows, while its Watch and Shows tabs are designed to increase discovery and engagement on owned platforms.

The monetization opportunity is still developing. Management said video currently contributes only a relatively minor share of advertising growth, leaving room for production, engagement and commercial capabilities to scale over time. The near-term trade-off is higher investment as the company builds that audience.

NYT Subscriber Trends Need Monitoring

NYT ended the quarter with 13.35 million total subscribers, including 12.80 million digital-only subscribers. Management continues to target 15 million subscribers and beyond.

Sequential momentum has cooled. Digital-only net additions fell to 280,000 from 310,000 in the first quarter, after reaching 460,000 and 450,000 in the third and fourth quarters of 2025, respectively. Pricing helps offset that moderation. Digital-only average revenue per user rose 3.1% to $9.94, supported by promotional roll-offs and price increases for certain tenured subscribers.

NYT Rankings Add Context After Earnings

The earnings update supports a constructive view of NYT’s digital growth, but subscriber moderation, print declines and rising costs keep the outlook balanced. Adjusted operating costs increased 10% in the second quarter, and third-quarter guidance calls for an 8-9% increase as investment continues.

NYT currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). It has a Growth Score of A, Momentum Score of A, Value Score of D and VGM Score of B. The growth and momentum grades point to favorable characteristics in those styles, while the weaker Value Score reflects less attractive value characteristics. Style Scores complement the Zacks Rank, so the current rank keeps the near-term signal cautious despite the stronger Growth and Momentum Scores. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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