Revenue continues to experience a sustained contraction, evidenced by an 11.2% year-over-year decline in 2026Q2, while operating margins remain volatile and frequently dip into negative territory.
| Metric | TTM | Sep'25 | Sep'24 | Sep'23 | Sep'22 | Sep'21 | Sep'20 | Sep'19 | Sep'18 | Sep'17 | Sep'16 | Sep'15 | Sep'14 | Sep'13 | Sep'12 | Sep'11 | Sep'10 | Sep'09 | Sep'08 | Sep'07 | Sep'06 | Sep'05 | Sep'04 | Sep'03 | Sep'02 | Sep'01 | Sep'00 | Sep'99 | Sep'98 | Sep'97 | Sep'96 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 532.42M | 562.34M | 611.38M | 691.14M | 780.97M | 794.65M | 618M | 509.85M | 543.96M | 566.94M | 614.36M | 648.54M | 656.7M | 674.74M | 710.49M | 756.1M | 780.65M | 842.03M | 1.03B | 1.13B | 1.13B | 860.86M | 683.32M | 656.74M | 525.9M | 433.5M | 422.14M | 536.3M | 517.3M | 438.9M | 420.4M |
| Revenue Growth % | -9.93% | -8.02% | -11.54% | -11.5% | -1.72% | 28.58% | 21.21% | -6.27% | -4.05% | -7.72% | -5.27% | -1.24% | -2.67% | -5.03% | -6.03% | -3.14% | -7.29% | -18.16% | -8.76% | -0.09% | 31.11% | 25.98% | 4.05% | 24.88% | 21.31% | 2.69% | -21.29% | 3.67% | 17.86% | 4.4% | -3.33% |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 117.27M | 247.82M | 16.81M | 25.35M | 30.1M | 29.77M | 24.24M | 22.24M | 24.95M | 24.9M | 26.11M | 30.26M | 37.99M | 43.48M | 52M | 59.08M | 55.86M | 72.31M | 525.58M | 408.6M | 400.21M | 284.3M | 63.5M | 207.88M | 171.61M | 152.25M | 128.9M | 177.3M | 174.1M | 164.2M | 147.4M |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 44.07% | 2.75% | 3.67% | 3.85% | 3.75% | 3.92% | 4.36% | 4.59% | 4.39% | 4.25% | 4.67% | 5.79% | 6.44% | 7.32% | 7.81% | 7.16% | 8.59% | 51.08% | 36.23% | 35.46% | 33.03% | 9.29% | 31.65% | 32.63% | 35.12% | 30.53% | 33.06% | 33.66% | 37.41% | 35.06% |
| Gross Profit | 415.16M | 314.52M | 594.57M | 665.79M | 750.87M | 764.87M | 593.76M | 487.62M | 519.01M | 542.04M | 588.25M | 618.28M | 618.7M | 631.26M | 658.48M | 697.03M | 724.79M | 769.72M | 503.29M | 719.06M | 728.44M | 576.56M | 619.82M | 448.86M | 354.28M | 281.25M | 293.24M | 359M | 343.2M | 274.7M | 273M |
| Gross Margin % | 77.97% | 55.93% | 97.25% | 96.33% | 96.15% | 96.25% | 96.08% | 95.64% | 95.41% | 95.61% | 95.75% | 95.33% | 94.21% | 93.56% | 92.68% | 92.19% | 92.84% | 91.41% | 48.92% | 63.77% | 64.54% | 66.97% | 90.71% | 68.35% | 67.37% | 64.88% | 69.47% | 66.94% | 66.34% | 62.59% | 64.94% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | -47.1% | -10.7% | -11.33% | -1.83% | 28.82% | 21.77% | -6.05% | -4.25% | -7.86% | -4.86% | -0.07% | -1.99% | -4.13% | -5.53% | -3.83% | -5.84% | 52.94% | -30.01% | -1.29% | 26.34% | -6.98% | 38.09% | 26.7% | 25.97% | -4.09% | -18.32% | 4.6% | 24.94% | 0.62% | 1.11% |
| Operating Expenses | 384.3M | 294.64M | 590.02M | 628.62M | 726.02M | 374.03M | 543.48M | 405.91M | 427.75M | 458.25M | 493.74M | 517.06M | 512.16M | 526.17M | 568.74M | 595.24M | 574.31M | 682.32M | 1.32B | 698.94M | 519.82M | 421.12M | 481.61M | 310.86M | 241.5M | 195.23M | 200.15M | 242.2M | 230.4M | 178.3M | 185.2M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 52.4% | 96.51% | 90.95% | 92.96% | 47.07% | 87.94% | 79.61% | 78.64% | 80.83% | 80.37% | 79.73% | 77.99% | 77.98% | 80.05% | 78.72% | 73.57% | 81.03% | 128.48% | 61.98% | 46.06% | 48.92% | 70.48% | 47.33% | 45.92% | 45.04% | 47.41% | 45.16% | 44.54% | 40.62% | 44.05% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 85.78M | 469.01M | 510.28M | 266.91M | 317.79M | 330.9M | 243.02M | 182.87M | 196.33M | 209.69M | 229.75M | 239.03M | 243.05M | 254.83M | 281.02M | 303.65M | 315.7M | 339.01M | 292.84M | 442.49M | 435.84M | 360.29M | 433.58M | 272.31M | 206.45M | 170.73M | 158.88M | 202.5M | 192.8M | 148.7M | 153.1M |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 83.4% | 83.46% | 38.62% | 40.69% | 41.64% | 39.32% | 35.87% | 36.09% | 36.99% | 37.4% | 36.86% | 37.01% | 37.77% | 39.55% | 40.16% | 40.44% | 40.26% | 28.46% | 39.24% | 38.62% | 41.85% | 63.45% | 41.46% | 39.26% | 39.38% | 37.64% | 37.76% | 37.27% | 33.88% | 36.42% |
| Research & Development | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Operating Expenses | 2M | -174.37M | 79.74M | 361.72M | 408.23M | 43.13M | 300.46M | 223.04M | 450K | 10.06M | 23.98M | 6.05M | 3.03M | 7.89M | 280.49M | 272.02M | 312.79M | 343.31M | 1.03B | 256.44M | 83.98M | 60.83M | 48.03M | 38.55M | 35.05M | 24.51M | 41.26M | 39.7M | 37.6M | 29.6M | 32.1M |
| Operating Income | 30.86M | 19.88M | 4.55M | 37.17M | 24.85M | 56.56M | 50.28M | 74.73M | 88.52M | 92.55M | 104M | 109.37M | 113.2M | -57.32M | 102.82M | -103.34M | 147.19M | -173.39M | -818.59M | 20.12M | 204.03M | 155.44M | 138.21M | 137.99M | 112.78M | 86.02M | 93.09M | 116.8M | 112.8M | 96.4M | 87.8M |
| Operating Margin % | 5.8% | 3.53% | 0.74% | 5.38% | 3.18% | 7.12% | 8.14% | 14.66% | 16.27% | 16.32% | 16.93% | 16.86% | 17.24% | -8.49% | 14.47% | -13.67% | 18.86% | -20.59% | -79.56% | 1.78% | 18.08% | 18.06% | 20.23% | 21.01% | 21.45% | 19.84% | 22.05% | 21.78% | 21.81% | 21.96% | 20.88% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | 337.26% | -87.77% | 49.57% | -56.06% | 12.49% | -32.72% | -15.58% | -4.35% | -11.01% | -4.91% | -3.38% | 297.49% | -155.75% | 199.49% | -170.21% | 184.89% | 78.82% | -4167.75% | -90.14% | 31.26% | 12.46% | 0.16% | 22.35% | 31.12% | -7.6% | -20.3% | 3.55% | 17.01% | 9.79% | -7.68% |
| EBITDA | 45.36M | 38.72M | 32.16M | 67.79M | 61.4M | 99.4M | 86.41M | 104.06M | 120.29M | 133.83M | 147.44M | 154.93M | 161.71M | -1.68M | 168.74M | -32.01M | 220.37M | -93.79M | -727.52M | 113.71M | 292.91M | 213.88M | 186.24M | 184.6M | 147.83M | 118.17M | 134.35M | 156.5M | 150.4M | 126M | 119.9M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 8.52% | 6.89% | 5.26% | 9.81% | 7.86% | 12.51% | 13.98% | 20.41% | 22.11% | 23.61% | 24% | 23.89% | 24.62% | -0.25% | 23.75% | -4.23% | 28.23% | -11.14% | -70.71% | 10.08% | 25.95% | 24.85% | 27.26% | 28.11% | 28.11% | 27.26% | 31.83% | 29.18% | 29.07% | 28.71% | 28.52% |
| EBITDA Growth % | 94.16% | 20.39% | -52.56% | 10.42% | -38.23% | 15.03% | -16.96% | -13.49% | -10.12% | -9.23% | -4.84% | -4.19% | 9714.15% | -101% | 627.12% | -114.53% | 334.96% | 87.11% | -739.78% | -61.18% | 36.95% | 14.84% | 0.89% | 24.88% | 25.1% | -12.04% | -14.15% | 4.06% | 19.37% | 5.09% | -0.99% |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 14.5M | 18.84M | 27.62M | 30.62M | 36.54M | 42.84M | 36.13M | 29.33M | 31.77M | 41.28M | 43.44M | 45.56M | 48.51M | 55.64M | 65.92M | 71.33M | 73.18M | 79.6M | 91.08M | 93.59M | 88.88M | 58.44M | 48.03M | 46.62M | 35.05M | 32.16M | 41.26M | 39.7M | 37.6M | 29.6M | 32.1M |
| EBIT | 16.89M | -2.14M | 10.05M | 38.39M | 42.56M | 54.91M | 59.02M | 71.33M | 83.66M | 97.79M | 122.43M | 110.32M | 93.69M | -49.78M | 60.54M | -112.63M | 146.43M | -187.15M | -1.05B | 20.12M | 208.62M | 158.31M | 138.21M | 129.64M | 109.35M | 90.51M | 93.09M | 88.1M | 79.5M | 104.2M | 94.7M |
| Net Interest Income | -38.15M | -40.51M | -41.23M | -41.47M | -41.77M | -44.77M | -59.71M | -54.7M | -58.15M | -62.39M | -70.18M | -77.5M | -102.27M | -89.79M | -85.67M | -65.01M | -71.22M | -73.54M | -62.11M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Income | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 400K | 337K | 385K | 300K | 236K | 296K | 411K | 1.89M | 5.86M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Expense | 38.15M | 40.51M | 41.23M | 41.47M | 41.77M | 44.77M | 59.71M | 54.7M | 52.84M | 57.57M | 64.23M | 77.84M | 102.65M | 89.45M | 85.9M | 52.7M | 63.12M | 75.42M | 67.97M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Income/Expense | -49.19M | -62.53M | -35.73M | -40.25M | -24.06M | -24.51M | -47.44M | 0 | -54.87M | -48.91M | -45.8M | -71.46M | -99.24M | -81.9M | -125.36M | -260.96M | -72.39M | -356.62M | -295.27M | 96M | -91.92M | -46.83M | -3.55M | 2.2M | -1.72M | 8.16M | 17.13M | 18.5M | 20.6M | 4.8M | -100K |
| Pretax Income | -18.33M | -42.65M | -31.18M | -3.08M | 795K | 32.05M | 2.84M | 23.84M | 30.82M | 40.22M | 58.2M | 37.91M | 13.96M | -139.22M | -23.14M | -167.76M | 74.8M | -262.57M | -1.11B | 116.12M | 112.11M | 121.39M | 134.66M | 121.52M | 111.06M | 92.43M | 110.22M | 106.6M | 100.1M | 101.2M | 87.7M |
| Pretax Margin % | -3.44% | -7.58% | -5.1% | -0.45% | 0.1% | 4.03% | 0.46% | 4.68% | 5.67% | 7.09% | 9.47% | 5.85% | 2.13% | -20.63% | -3.26% | -22.19% | 9.58% | -31.18% | -108.26% | 10.3% | 9.93% | 14.1% | 19.71% | 18.5% | 21.12% | 21.32% | 26.11% | 19.88% | 19.35% | 23.06% | 20.86% |
| Income Tax | -3.99M | -6.9M | -7.61M | -349K | 698K | 7.25M | 2.97M | 7.93M | -16.23M | 11.61M | 22.18M | 13.59M | 6.29M | -62.74M | -4.93M | -21.08M | 28.62M | -82.51M | -234.2M | 34.15M | 39.74M | 44.35M | 48.19M | 43.46M | 30.03M | 32.98M | 40.34M | 38.6M | 37.9M | 38.5M | 34M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | 21.75% | 16.19% | 24.4% | 11.32% | 87.8% | 22.64% | 104.57% | 33.27% | -52.65% | 28.87% | 38.11% | 35.86% | 45.05% | 45.07% | 21.29% | 12.57% | 38.26% | 31.42% | 21.03% | 29.41% | 35.45% | 36.54% | 35.79% | 35.76% | 27.04% | 35.68% | 36.6% | 36.21% | 37.86% | 38.04% | 38.77% |
| Net Income | -16.09M | -37.59M | -25.84M | -5.27M | -2.02M | 22.75M | -1.98M | 14.27M | 45.77M | 27.48M | 34.96M | 23.32M | 6.79M | -78.32M | -21.27M | -146.87M | 46.1M | -180.25M | -879.91M | 81M | 70.83M | 76.88M | 86.07M | 78.04M | 81.97M | 314.23M | 83.66M | 68M | 62.2M | 64.2M | 45.5M |
| Net Margin % | -3.02% | -6.69% | -4.23% | -0.76% | -0.26% | 2.86% | -0.32% | 2.8% | 8.41% | 4.85% | 5.69% | 3.6% | 1.03% | -11.61% | -2.99% | -19.42% | 5.91% | -21.41% | -85.52% | 7.18% | 6.28% | 8.93% | 12.6% | 11.88% | 15.59% | 72.49% | 19.82% | 12.68% | 12.02% | 14.63% | 10.82% |
| Net Income Growth % | 63.1% | -45.46% | -390.7% | -161.13% | -108.87% | 1251.65% | -113.84% | -68.82% | 66.54% | -21.4% | 49.94% | 243.13% | 108.68% | -268.29% | 85.52% | -418.55% | 125.58% | 79.52% | -1186.32% | 14.35% | -7.86% | -10.68% | 10.29% | -4.8% | -73.91% | 275.59% | 23.03% | 9.32% | -3.12% | 41.1% | -22.22% |
| Net Income (Continuing) | -14.34M | -35.75M | -23.57M | -2.73M | 97K | 24.79M | -130K | 15.91M | 47.05M | 28.61M | 36.02M | 24.32M | 7.67M | -76.48M | -13.38M | -146.68M | 47.3M | -180.06M | -871.23M | 81.98M | 72.37M | 71.02M | 86.47M | 77.88M | 78.5M | 58.07M | 69.88M | 56.8M | 47.7M | 62.7M | 53.7M |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -535K | -1.07M | -1.23M | 6.02M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 2.31M | 2.35M | 2.56M | 2.47M | 2.23M | 2.13M | 1.93M | 1.65M | 1.09M | 1.02M | 944K | 810K | 709K | 660K | 577K | 452K | 284K | 0 | 0 | 7.29M | 6.27M | 5.11M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EPS (Diluted) | -2.64 | -6.15 | -4.35 | -0.90 | -0.35 | 3.90 | -0.35 | 2.51 | 8.18 | 5.00 | 6.40 | 4.30 | 1.30 | -15.11 | -4.32 | -32.75 | 10.30 | -40.56 | -196.35 | 17.70 | 15.60 | 17.00 | 19.10 | 17.50 | 18.00 | 70.90 | 18.50 | 14.80 | 13.70 | 13.60 | 9.50 |
| EPS Growth % | 2.23% | -41.38% | -383.33% | -157.14% | -108.97% | 1214.29% | -113.94% | -69.32% | 63.6% | -21.88% | 48.84% | 230.77% | 108.6% | -249.77% | 86.81% | -417.96% | 125.39% | 79.34% | -1209.32% | 13.46% | -8.24% | -10.99% | 9.14% | -2.78% | -74.61% | 283.24% | 25% | 8.03% | 0.74% | 43.16% | -23.39% |
| EPS (Basic) | - | -6.15 | -4.35 | -0.90 | -0.35 | 3.98 | -0.35 | 2.57 | 8.37 | 5.10 | 6.60 | 4.40 | 1.30 | -15.14 | -4.32 | -32.75 | 10.30 | -40.56 | -196.35 | 17.70 | 15.60 | 17.00 | 19.20 | 17.60 | 18.10 | 71.40 | 18.60 | 15.00 | 13.90 | 13.80 | 9.70 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 6.1M | 6.11M | 5.94M | 5.87M | 5.78M | 5.83M | 5.66M | 5.69M | 5.59M | 5.54M | 5.42M | 5.39M | 5.37M | 5.18M | 4.93M | 4.48M | 4.5M | 4.44M | 4.48M | 4.58M | 4.55M | 4.52M | 4.51M | 4.46M | 4.43M | 4.41M | 4.52M | 4.59M | 4.55M | 4.72M | 4.79M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 6.1M | 6.11M | 5.94M | 5.85M | 5.78M | 5.72M | 5.66M | 5.56M | 5.47M | 5.4M | 5.32M | 5.26M | 5.23M | 5.17M | 4.92M | 4.48M | 4.46M | 4.44M | 4.48M | 4.57M | 4.54M | 4.52M | 4.48M | 4.43M | 4.41M | 4.38M | 4.5M | 4.53M | 4.48M | 4.65M | 4.69M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 40.79% | 46.12% | 42.09% | 30.65% | 48.43% | 27.5% | 9.48% | 33.81% | 39.12% | 40.51% | 37.69% | 49.67% |
Structural revenue decline
As indicated by recent quarterly filings, Lee Enterprises continues to experience a sustained revenue decline, with the most recent period showing an 11.2% year-over-year contraction, highlighting the difficulty of offsetting legacy print losses with digital growth in a challenging regional advertising environment.
The consistent downward trajectory in top-line performance suggests that the company's digital pivot has yet to reach a critical mass capable of stabilizing the broader business. Investors should monitor whether the rate of decline accelerates as legacy print circulation continues to erode, potentially outpacing the company's ability to scale its digital marketing and SaaS offerings.
Based on the provided financial data, Lee Enterprises exhibits significant quarterly fluctuations in gross margins, ranging from 53.4% to 97.7%, which suggests that accounting adjustments or shifts in revenue mix are creating substantial noise in the underlying profitability of the core publishing operations.
The extreme variance in gross margins implies that the company's cost structure is highly sensitive to non-recurring items or inconsistent reporting of direct costs. This lack of margin predictability makes it difficult to assess the true structural profitability of the digital transformation efforts versus the legacy print business.
According to the income statement history, Lee Enterprises struggles to maintain positive operating margins, which have frequently dipped into negative territory, indicating that the company's high fixed-cost base is not scaling efficiently against the backdrop of declining top-line revenue.
The inability to consistently generate positive operating income suggests that SG&A expenses remain disproportionately high relative to the current revenue scale. This operational inefficiency warrants further investigation into whether management can successfully right-size the cost structure without further compromising the quality of the local news product.
As reported in financial statements, Lee Enterprises has recorded negative net income in nearly every observed quarter, reflecting a structural inability to achieve profitability despite various cost-cutting initiatives and the ongoing transition toward a digital-first revenue model.
The recurring net losses suggest that the company's capital structure and operational overhead are currently unsustainable without significant improvements in revenue quality or further asset rationalization. Investors should be wary of the impact that persistent losses have on the company's ability to fund necessary digital product development and debt service requirements.
Based on an analysis of the provided figures, the most significant risk to the investment thesis is the potential for a liquidity crunch, as the company's negative net margins and declining revenue base leave little room for error in managing its debt obligations.
Short-sellers would likely focus on the company's inability to reach a break-even point, arguing that the digital transformation is a defensive maneuver rather than a growth engine. The reliance on legacy print assets for cash flow, while those assets are in terminal decline, creates a precarious situation that may necessitate further asset sales or dilutive financing.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying LEE stock.
For fiscal year 2025, Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (LEE) reported total revenue of $562.3M. This represents a 33.8% increase compared to $420.4M in 1996.
Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (LEE) reported a net loss of $37.6M for the fiscal year ending 2025.
Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (LEE) reported an operating income of $19.9M, resulting in an operating profit margin of 3.5%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (LEE) generated $314.5M in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 55.9%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.