It’s Been a Busy News Year; You Wouldn’t Know it Looking at Gannett’s Results

Gannett reported a drop in revenue in digital and print as it continues to rely on non-digital sales for most of its income. The company reiterated its outlook that digital revenue is expected to reach half of the total this year.

The company’s revenue dropped 10% to almost $572 million—with same store revenue down 7.7%—impacted by the sale of the Austin-American Statesman and the decision to sell or shut down certain non-strategic assets in 2024. Total revenue in the fourth quarter totaled $621 million. The company expects more growth in the second half of 2025.

The owner of USA Today reported 195 million average monthly unique visitors, an increase of 4.7% from the previous year. That’s down from 200 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, even as the news cycle has been in overdrive with daily dispatches out of the White House rattling the economic outlook. Shares fell in early trading.

The company said on its earnings call that it is focused on building up its digital and local subscriber base.

Notable figures include:

• Net loss attributable to Gannett of $7.3 million improved by $77.4 million
• Adjusted net loss attributable to Gannett of $13 million improved by $23 million
• Adjusted EBITDA of nearly $51 million
• Free cash flow of $10 million, an increase of 7.6%
• Total digital revenue of $250 million was down from $267 million
• Digital advertising revenue of $83 million
• Digital-only subscription revenue of $43 million

“Our financial results in the first quarter reflect solid execution of our strategy and the resilience of our business in navigating both a challenging operating environment and the outsized impact of several items unique to the first quarter,” Gannett Chief Executive Officer Mike Reed said in a statement.

March saw the company’s best performing month of the quarter for digital revenue and it is seeing improving revenue trends continue into the second quarter.

“We also continued to expand our efforts to strategically monetize the vast library of content produced across our platform as we incrementally added subscription products and A.I. licensing deals to our platform,” Gannett said.

Outlook for 2025:

• Total digital revenues are expected to grow approximately 7%-10% on a same store basis
• Total revenues are expected to be down in the low single digits on a same store basis
• Same store revenue trends are expected to grow on an overall basis
• Net income attributable to Gannett is expected to improve compared to the prior year
• Adjusted EBITDA is expected to grow versus the prior year
• Cash provided by operating activities is expected to grow in excess of 30% versus the prior year
• Free cash flow is expected to grow in excess of 40% versus the prior year