New York Times Subscription, Ad Revenue Continue to Grow

Shares rose ​about ​8% ​shortly after the opening bell.

The results

Total revenue rose by nearly 10%, to $686 million, while operating  profit increased to $106.6 million, or 50 cents a share. Adjusted earnings rose to 58 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected adjusted earnings of 51 cents a share on revenue of $671 million. 

Revenue at the Athletic increased by one-third, to $54 million. The Athletic swung to an adjusted operating profit of $5.8 million in the quarter, as ad revenue nearly doubled to $14.1 million.  

The context

The New York Times said it ended the quarter with 11.3 million digital-only subscribers, of which more than six million were bundle and multiproduct subscribers. Digital users now pay an average of $9.64 a month, a more than 3% increase compared with the same period last year, as new subscribers finish promotional periods and existing customers digest price increases.

Digital-subscription revenue rose more than 15%, to $350 million. Total subscription revenue increased 9.6% to $481.4 million.

Digital-advertising revenue rose by nearly 19% in the second quarter, and total advertising revenue increased more than 12%, to $134 million.

The company received $70.5 million in affiliate, licensing and other revenues, thanks in part to gains from Wirecutter, which gets paid when people purchase products it recommends. In May, the company announced an artificial-intelligence licensing deal with Amazon.com; The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the multiyear arrangement would yield at least $20 million in annual revenue.

The outlook

The Times said it expects digital-only subscription revenue to increase by 13% to 16% in the third quarter, compared with the 2024 period. It forecast a low-double-digit increase in digital advertising revenue, and anticipates ad revenue rising in the low- to mid-single digits.

The company addressed concerns about the impact of AI on visits to news sites during a call with analysts. 

Tech companies “are making moves that continue to result in less traffic to publishers,” said Times Chief Executive Meredith Kopit Levien, referring to products such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode. She said the company’s direct relationships with customers have made the Times more resilient against some of those challenges. 

Write to Alexandra Bruell at alexandra.bruell@wsj.com