Continue rain of quarterly on international markets which today, among other things, is pushing up the Stock Exchanges (FTSE Mib +1,7% driven by Stellantis and CNH, just to give a close example). Among the companies that released their accounts today, is the new york times company, whose results for years have served as a litmus test for world publishing and which this time shows many lights, but also some deep shadows.
The New York Times ended the first quarter with earnings up 54% to 68 million euros and revenues equal to 473 million (+6,6%). But what makes investors turn up their noses are the data relating to the subscriptions: grown yes, but too little. The American newspaper has a total of 7,8 million subscribers to the print and digital versions, with 6,9 million for online news and cooking apps and games. In the first three months, online subscriptions grew by 301 units, the worst increase since the third quarter of 2019.
What caused this slowdown? According to the NYT, the figure should be charged at the end of theTrump effect. The departure of the former US president and the arrival in the White House of Joe Biden have put an end to the season of presidential turmoil that the New York Times has followed with numerous articles, investigations (the most famous is that on the tax return by Trump) and continuous fact checking that over the last few years have attracted the attention of millions of readers, prompting them to subscribe to stay informed. With the Trump era over, the US has moved towards a "political normalization” which seems to harm the newspaper's accounts. It may have also contributed to the result the expulsion of Trump from the main social networks. Among other things, just today Facebook decided to confirm the suspension of the profile of the former tenant of the White House four months after the assault on Capitol Hill.
Returning to the NYT, the company underlined that, despite the slowdown recorded in the quarter that has just ended, the achievement of the 10 million subscribers by 2025 it's not in dispute.
Moving forward with the data, online subscriptions and digital advertising combined increased by 32% to $239 million, while print continues its inexorable decline, matching a trend visible in all international newspapers. For the first time, the company has also disclosed the number of readers (registered users who can read 8 articles per month for free), equal to 100 million. Subscription sales increased 15% to 329 million, with digital subscriptions up 38% to 179,6 million.
Revenues from advertising fell 8,5% to $97 million, despite the increase in digital advertising, which reached $59,5 million. Operating costs rose just over 1% over the past year to $421,4 million, with the company spending less on travel and events, due to the pandemic, but it increased the number of people it hired.
For the current quarter, The New York Times expects subscription revenues to be up 15% year-over-year, with digital subscriber revenues up about 30%.
On the Nasdaq, after the publication of the quarterly, the New York Times headline it dropped 4,77%, in contrast with the performance of the hi-tech index which today gained 0,1%.
