LEENasdaqNewspapers: Publishing or Publishing & PrintingUS GAAP · USD

Lee Enterprises, Incorporated

Lee Enterprises is a local media and marketing company built around newspapers, digital subscriptions, advertising, and software-enabled services. It publishes daily and weekly newspapers across mid-sized U.S. communities while also selling digital marketing, branded content, and SaaS-based content management tools through businesses such as Amplified and BLOX Digital.

Ask about the company
Revenue562m USD
−8.0 %y/y
Operating profit (EBIT)-4.7m USD
−202.3 %y/y
EBIT margin-0.8%
−1.6 ppy/y
Net income-37.6m USD
−45.5 %y/y
Free cash flow-7.1m USD
+12.4 %y/y

Fiscal year 2025 · change from previous year

Development 2020–2025

-2000200400600800m USD2020: 618 m USD2020: EBIT 50 m USD20202021: 795 m USD2021: EBIT 57 m USD20212022: 781 m USD2022: EBIT 25 m USD20222023: 691 m USD2023: EBIT 37 m USD20232024: 611 m USD2024: EBIT 4.5 m USD20242025: 562 m USD2025: EBIT -4.7 m USD2025562-4.7
RevenueOperating profit (EBIT)

Business

Share of revenue
Subscriptions30 %

Digital-only and print subscriptions for local news and information across Lee's newspaper portfolio.

Advertising and marketing services45 %

Omni-channel advertising, branded content, programmatic, video, social, and agency services sold to local businesses.

Digital services15 %

SaaS content management, web hosting, and related digital products delivered mainly through BLOX Digital.

Print and distribution10 %

Print advertising, commercial printing, and delivery services tied to newspaper operations.

Products

Reported · share of revenue
46.0%45.0%9.1%FY2025100 %
  • Subscription and Circulation46.0 %
  • Advertising and Marketing Services45.0 %
  • Other9.1 %

Source: 10-K FY2025, revenue the company reports per product line (SEC XBRL). Shares are of the lines shown and add up to 100 %.

Customers

Lee sells primarily to local consumers who pay for trusted news and to local advertisers that need reach within specific communities. It also serves more than 2,000 BLOX Digital customers that use its software and hosting tools, plus more than 20,000 local advertisers across its markets. The business is anchored in mid-sized U.S. communities, so demand depends heavily on local audience engagement and local business spending.

Digital subscribers

Consumers paying for digital-only access to local news, alerts, and community information.

Print subscribers

Readers who still buy print editions and bundled print-plus-digital access.

Local advertisers

Retail, service, and community businesses buying targeted local advertising and marketing solutions.

BLOX Digital customers

Publishers and content operators using SaaS hosting and content management products.

Commercial printing and distribution clients

Organizations using Lee's print production and delivery capabilities.

Strategy

Lee is shifting from a print-centric newspaper model toward a digital-first subscription and marketing platform. Management is prioritizing audience growth, better digital products, and cost control while also monetizing non-core assets and reducing leverage to support liquidity and transformation.

Digital subscription growthShort term

Digital subscriptions are the core path to replacing declining print revenue with recurring revenue.

Expand digital marketing servicesMedium term

Advertising remains a major revenue source, and digital services can capture more local marketing spend.

Scale BLOX DigitalMedium term

SaaS products diversify revenue away from newspapers and can improve margin quality.

Deleveraging and liquidity preservationShort term

The company carries meaningful debt and needs flexibility to fund operations and transformation.

Geography

Lee's business is concentrated in the United States, serving 72 mid-sized communities across 25 states. Its revenue and operating exposure are tied to local market conditions, especially retail advertising demand, community demographics, and the pace of digital adoption in those markets.

Risks

Lee is exposed to structural print decline, weak local advertising markets, and the challenge of converting audiences and advertisers to digital products fast enough to offset legacy erosion. Its balance sheet and liquidity remain important risks because debt service, cyber-recovery costs, and transformation spending can pressure cash flow. The company also faces goodwill/intangible impairment risk, talent retention risk, and competitive pressure from digital media, AI-enabled tools, and national platforms.

Sorted by severity
LowMediumHighLowMediumHighImpact →Likelihood →Decline in print advertising and circulation1Weak local advertising markets2Liquidity and indebtedness3Cybersecurity and operational disruption4Competition from digital media and AI tools5Goodwill and intangible asset impairment6
Impact is the risk’s severity and likelihood how probable it is over the next few years, both assessed from the company’s reports. Numbers match the list.
  1. Decline in print advertising and circulationImpact: HighLikelihood: High

    Readers and advertisers are shifting away from print media toward digital channels.

    Exposure: Print revenue and legacy newspaper operations

  2. Weak local advertising marketsImpact: HighLikelihood: High

    A large share of revenue comes from local advertisers, especially retail businesses, which cut spend in downturns.

    Exposure: Advertising and marketing services

  3. Liquidity and indebtednessImpact: HighLikelihood: High

    Debt service and transformation spending can pressure cash flow and limit strategic flexibility.

    ExposureTerm loanWorking capitalCapital allocation
  4. Cybersecurity and operational disruptionImpact: HighLikelihood: High

    The company disclosed cyber-related restoration expenses and related liquidity pressure.

    ExposureDigital operationsSubscriber systemsAdvertising platforms
  5. Competition from digital media and AI toolsImpact: MediumLikelihood: High

    National platforms, digital agencies, and AI-enabled competitors can take share in advertising and content services.

    ExposureDigital subscriptionsMarketing servicesSaaS
  6. Goodwill and intangible asset impairmentImpact: MediumLikelihood: Medium

    The business carries large indefinite-lived and amortizable intangibles tied to local mastheads and acquisitions.

    ExposureGoodwillMastheadsAmortizable intangibles

Accounting

Judgemental items
Revenue recognition

Subscriptions, advertising, marketing services, and SaaS contracts may recognize revenue on different timing bases.

Impact: Affects quarterly revenue mix and comparability

Goodwill and masthead impairment

The company has significant indefinite-lived and amortizable intangibles tied to acquisitions and newspaper brands.

Impact: Can cause material non-cash charges if forecasts weaken

Allowance for credit losses

Local advertisers can face financial stress, increasing receivable risk.

Impact: Affects bad debt expense and working capital

Pension and postretirement obligations

Frozen benefit plans still require actuarial assumptions and periodic remeasurement.

Impact: Affects other comprehensive income and non-operating expense

Lease and property-related accounting

The company operates a print and distribution footprint with property monetization activity.

Impact: Affects operating lease expense, gains/losses on asset sales, and liquidity

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Last updated: 24/09/2026