New York Times(NYT) - 2024 Q4 - Annual Results

Subscriber Growth - The New York Times Company added approximately 350,000 net digital-only subscribers in Q4 2024, bringing the total to 11.43 million subscribers[4] - Average number of digital-only subscribers reached 10.8 million in Q4 2024, up from 9.7 million in Q4 2023[53] - Digital-only subscribers for The Athletic increased to 5,830 in Q4 2024, up from 4,650 in Q4 2023, representing a growth of 25.2% year-over-year[57] Revenue Growth - Digital subscription revenues grew 16.0% year-over-year to $334.9 million, contributing to an overall subscription revenue increase of 8.4% to$ 466.6 million[11] - Total revenues for Q4 2024 increased 7.5% to $726.6 million compared to$ 676.2 million in Q4 2023[15] - The New York Times Group revenues grew 6.1% in Q4 2024 to $677.5 million, with subscription revenues increasing 7.6% to$ 434.4 million[21] - The Athletic revenues grew 29.0% in Q4 2024 to $49.7 million from$ 38.5 million in Q4 2023, with subscription revenues up 19.8% to $32.2 million[24] Profitability - Operating profit increased 13.6% year-over-year to$ 146.6 million, with an operating profit margin of 20.2%[4] - Adjusted diluted earnings per share for Q4 2024 was $0.80, a$ 0.10 increase year-over-year[4] - NYTG adjusted operating profit increased 5.4% to $167.0 million from$ 158.4 million in Q4 2023, driven by higher digital subscription and advertising revenues[23] - Adjusted operating profit for The Athletic increased to $3.5 million from a loss of$ 4.4 million in Q4 2023, primarily due to higher digital subscription and advertising revenues[26] Costs and Expenses - Total operating costs increased 6.0% year-over-year to $580.0 million, with adjusted operating costs rising 6.5% to$ 556.2 million[16] - Total adjusted operating costs for The New York Times Company rose to $556,161,000 in Q4 2024, a 6.5% increase from$ 522,259,000 in Q4 2023[67] - The Athletic's adjusted operating costs increased by 7.6% to $46,214,000 in Q4 2024, compared to$ 42,930,000 in Q4 2023[67] Cash Flow and Financial Position - Net cash provided by operating activities in 2024 was $410.5 million, compared to$ 360.6 million in 2023, while free cash flow increased to $381.3 million from$ 337.9 million[31] - As of December 31, 2024, the company had cash and marketable securities of $911.9 million, an increase of$ 202.7 million from $709.2 million a year earlier[30] - The company repurchased 453,080 shares for approximately$ 24.7 million in Q4 2024, with $155.7 million remaining authorized for repurchases[32] Future Outlook - The company expects digital-only subscription revenues to increase by 14-17% in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024, while total subscription revenues are projected to rise by 7-10%[36] - The company continues to focus on product development and marketing, with significant investments in subscriber servicing expenses allocated to The Athletic[61] Special Items and Adjustments - The company reported Generative AI Litigation Costs of$ 3,208 in Q4 2024 and $10,800 for the full year 2024, which are considered special items[78] - Non-operating retirement costs were excluded from adjusted results to provide better transparency regarding the company's operating performance[73] - The company plans to exclude Generative AI Litigation Costs from future operating performance metrics starting Q1 2024, as they are deemed outside the ordinary course of operations[71] Dividends and Shareholder Returns - The Board approved a$ 350 million Class A share repurchase program and declared a 5 cent increase in the dividend to $0.18 per share[4] - Dividends declared per share increased by 18.2% to$ 0.13 in Q4 2024, compared to $0.11 in Q4 2023[46]