New York Times misses revenue expectations as advertising spends weaken
New York Times missed expectations for quarterly revenue on Wednesday (Feb 7), hurt by a slowdown in advertising sales and fewer customers signing up for its bundles.
An uncertain economy has led to advertisers reducing their marketing budgets and sticking with safe havens such as Meta, while readers also cut back on subscriptions as they try to keep a lid on costs.
The publisher reported revenue of US$676.2 million for the fourth quarter, compared with analysts’ estimates of US$679.24 million, according to LSEG data.
The New York Times has in the past few years embarked on a bundling push, combining its core news reports with digital content ranging from podcasts to cooking recipes and games as it looks to boost engagement and retain users.
It added 300,000 digital-only subscribers in the quarter, compared with 210,000 in the third quarter. It has a goal of 15 million subscribers by 2027.
Total advertising revenue fell 8.4 per cent to US$164.1 million in the fourth quarter, compared with estimates of US$177 million.
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For the first quarter, the company expects digital advertising revenue to increase in the low-to-high single-digit percentage range.
Companies reliant on ad dollars are likely to see a boost in advertising spend ahead of the November presidential election in the United States, with spending on political advertising in the US expected to jump 30 per cent this year from the last presidential election in 2020, according to data from research firm Insider Intelligence.
Digital platforms will see the largest growth among various platforms for political ads, with related revenue rising 156 per cent from 2020 to US$3.46 billion this year, the research firm said.
On an adjusted basis, New York Times earned 70 US cents per share, beating estimates of 58 US cents. REUTERS
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