Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (LEE) Reports Q1 Loss, Lags Revenue Estimates

Financial Performance - Lee Enterprises reported a quarterly loss of $2.80 per share, significantly worse than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of$0.40, and compared to earnings of $0.12 per share a year ago, indicating an earnings surprise of -600$144.56 million for the quarter ended December 2024, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.98%, and down from $155.68 million year-over-year [2] - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is -$1.48 on revenues of $142.59 million, and for the current fiscal year, it is -$2.77 on revenues of $593.43 million [7] Market Performance - Lee Enterprises shares have declined approximately 9.5% since the beginning of the year, while the S&P 500 has gained 3.1% [3] - The company has not surpassed consensus EPS estimates over the last four quarters, indicating a consistent underperformance [2][6] Industry Outlook - The Publishing - Newspapers industry, to which Lee Enterprises belongs, is currently ranked in the bottom 16% of over 250 Zacks industries, suggesting a challenging environment [8] - Empirical research indicates a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions, which could impact investor sentiment [5]