New York Times adds 420,000 digital subscribers in third quarter

Third-quarter results

The Times reported revenue of $768.5 million for the three months to 30 September, up from $700.8 million a year earlier. Net income was $97.4 million, compared with $81.6 million a year earlier.

Digital-only subscription revenue rose 14.6% to $421.3 million. Adjusted operating profit rose 14% to about $150 million.

Adjusted diluted earnings per share were $0.68, against $0.59 a year before. Revenue and adjusted earnings beat the analyst consensus of $766.9 million and 65 cents a share, according to Yahoo Finance. Shares rose 3.8% to $69.75 in premarket trading on Wednesday.

The company added about 420,000 net digital-only subscribers, up from roughly 280,000 in the second quarter.

Digital subscriber base

The Times ended September with 13.22 million digital-only subscribers and 13.76 million total subscribers. Its stated target is 15 million subscriptions by the end of 2027.

Print subscribers were 540,000 in the quarter, down from 570,000 a year earlier.

Average revenue per digital-only subscriber was $9.93 per 28-day billing cycle. That was up 1.4% from $9.79 a year earlier, when growth was 3.6%. CFO Will Bardeen said a larger share of lower-priced subscriptions weighed on the figure. He said retention stayed strong.

Advertising landed short of guidance

Digital advertising revenue rose 12% to $109.9 million from $98.1 million. The company had guided to mid-to-high teens growth, so the result was slightly below its forecast.

Total advertising revenue was $142.6 million, up 7.8%. Print advertising fell 4.3% to $32.7 million.

Costs, lawsuits and the agent question

Total adjusted operating costs rose 8.7% to $619 million. The Times spent $3.8 million on its OpenAI lawsuit in the quarter, Nieman Lab reported. Generative AI litigation has cost it $36.7 million since it began breaking out those costs in 2024.

On the earnings call, analysts asked about AI agents that could cancel a subscription on a reader's behalf. CEO Meredith Kopit Levien said: "So far, we're not seeing an impact". She said the company is watching how the technology and consumer behavior evolve and can permit, restrict or block specific automated tools.

What happens next

For the fourth quarter, the company guided digital-only subscription revenue to grow 12% to 15% and total subscription revenue to grow 9% to 11%. It guided adjusted operating costs up 6% to 8% and said digital advertising should grow from high single digits to low double digits.