NYT

The New York Times has completed one of media's most successful digital transitions, and FY2025 shows the model compounding. Revenue grew 9.2% to $2.82B, net income rose 17.1% to $344M, and operating income jumped 22.9% to $432M (15.3% operating margin) as the high-margin digital subscription base scales. The filing breakdown is telling: digital subscription revenue grew 14.3% to $1.43B and digital advertising grew 20.0%, more than offsetting structural print declines (subscription print -3.2%, advertising print -5.4%). This is a recurring, direct-to-consumer model with strong pricing power and a widening lead in quality journalism plus bundle products (Cooking, Games, Wirecutter, The Athletic).

The balance sheet is pristine. Management states the company ended 2025 debt-free with roughly $1.2B of cash and marketable securities, and the qualified pension plans are overfunded by ~$76M — removing two historical overhangs. Operating cash flow surged 42.4% to $584M against trivial capex of $34M, producing abundant free cash flow. Capital returns accelerated accordingly: buybacks nearly doubled to $165M and dividends rose 33.2% to $110M, with management committing to return at least 50% of free cash flow and a February 2026 dividend hike to $0.23/quarter. ROE is a healthy 16.9%.