New York Times Shares Drop 7% After Q1 Guidance Overshadows Strong Q4 Results

Core Insights - The New York Times Company reported fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded analyst expectations, but weaker first-quarter guidance negatively impacted investor sentiment, leading to a more than 7% drop in shares during premarket trading [1] Financial Performance - Adjusted earnings per share were $0.89, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.86 [1] - Revenue increased by 10.4% year over year to $802.3 million, exceeding analyst expectations of $785.68 million [1] Subscription and Advertising Revenue - Digital subscription revenue rose by 13.9% to $381.5 million, driven by the addition of approximately 450,000 net digital-only subscribers during the quarter, bringing total subscribers to 12.78 million [2] - Digital advertising revenue surged by 24.9% to $147.2 million, supported by strong marketer demand and expanded ad inventory [2] Profitability Metrics - Operating profit increased by 10.2% to $161.6 million, while adjusted operating profit rose by 12.8% to $192.3 million [3] - Adjusted operating margin expanded to 24.0%, up roughly 50 basis points from a year earlier [3] Future Guidance - The company forecasts first-quarter 2026 digital-only subscription revenue growth of 14% to 17% and total subscription revenue growth of 9% to 11% [3] - Digital advertising revenue is expected to grow in the high-teens to low-twenties percentage range [3]