Q4 2025 Lee Enterprises Inc Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- Lee Enterprises Inc (LEE) achieved $562 million in total revenue for fiscal 2025, with 53% coming from digital sources, highlighting a successful shift towards digital operations.
- The company reported a 16% year-over-year growth in digital-only subscription revenue, reaching $94 million from 633,000 digital subscribers.
- Amplified Digital Agency, Lee's digital marketing services business, surpassed $100 million in revenue with a 5% growth on a same-store basis, demonstrating resilience in a competitive market.
- Lee Enterprises Inc (LEE) has effectively managed costs, reducing cash costs by 5% compared to the previous year, allowing for reinvestment in digital initiatives.
- The company has a long-term target of achieving $450 million in digital revenue by 2030, with a strategic focus on digital transformation and sustainable growth.
- A cyber incident in February 2025 disrupted key projects, impacting digital revenue and margin growth for the year.
- Despite efforts, the company only managed a modest debt reduction of $3.5 million in fiscal 2025, excluding increases related to the cyber incident.
- The transition to digital has not yet fully offset the decline in print revenue, indicating ongoing challenges in balancing legacy and new business models.
- Lee Enterprises Inc (LEE) faces a competitive digital advertising market, which could pressure future growth in this segment.
- The departure of CFO Tim Millage in early 2026 introduces uncertainty in financial leadership during a critical phase of digital transformation.
Welcome to the Lee Enterprises 2025 fourth quarter webcast and conference call. This call is being recorded and will be available for replay at investor.lee.net. (Operator Instructions)
The link to the live webcast can be found at investors.lee.net. I will now turn the call over to your host, Jared Marks, Vice President, Finance.
Good morning. Thank you for joining us. In addition to myself, speaking on this morning's call are Kevin Mowbray, President and Chief Executive Officer; Nathan Bekke, Chief Operating Officer; and Tim Millage, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Earlier today, we issued a news release with preliminary results for our fourth fiscal quarter of 2025. It is available at lee.net as well as major financial websites. Please also refer to our earnings presentation found at investors.lee.net, which includes supplemental information.
As a reminder, this morning's discussion will include forward-looking statements based on our current expectations.
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