The New York Times Company (NYT) Business Profile

What it does

The New York Times Company is a global media organization that sells access to news and other information through digital products and print newspapers. Its core news product, The New York Times, is available through a mobile app, a website and a printed newspaper. The company also distributes selected content on third-party platforms.

Beyond general-interest news, its products cover sports through The Athletic, recipes through Cooking, puzzles through Games, audio through a separate Audio subscription and shopping recommendations through Wirecutter. Readers can subscribe to individual digital products or buy a bundle that combines them. Print home-delivery subscribers also receive access to the company’s digital products.

Customers include individual readers, schools and businesses buying group subscriptions, and advertisers seeking to reach its audiences. Some content is available without a subscription, including daily word games and portions of its audio, video, cooking and product-review content. The company uses free content to reach audiences it can monetize through advertising, affiliate referrals or eventual subscriptions.

The company also licenses its content and intellectual property and prints publications for other businesses. Meredith Kopit Levien is president and chief executive officer. In Q3 2026, the company introduced an AI-powered Cooking tool that helps users adapt recipes and began a weekly release of subscriber-only puzzles.

How it makes money

Total revenue was $2.8 billion in FY2025 and increased in Q3 2026.

The company operates as one reportable segment. Subscriptions are its principal revenue source: subscription revenue was $2.0 billion, or 69.1% of revenue, in FY2025. Customers pay for standalone digital products or a bundle, while print revenue includes home-delivery subscriptions, bulk subscriptions and single-copy sales. Digital-only subscriptions generated $1.43 billion in 2025, up from $1.25 billion in 2024.

The digital access model generally lets registered users read or use a limited amount of content free before requiring a subscription for additional access. The company also keeps some content free to build an audience. It offers family, education and corporate subscriptions alongside individual plans. Digital subscription revenue depends on the number of subscribers, the mix between bundled and individual products, and the prices subscribers pay as promotions end or prices change.

Advertising revenue was $566.0 million in FY2025. The company sells digital display, audio, email and video ads, as well as print ads and live-event advertising. Digital advertising is sold directly to marketers and, for a smaller portion of revenue, through automated auctions. In 2025, digital advertising represented approximately 73% of advertising revenues.

Other revenue includes licensing articles and other content, commercial printing and Wirecutter affiliate referrals. For the latter, Wirecutter links readers to merchants and receives a portion of the sale price when a transaction is completed. Advertising and affiliate revenue generally rise seasonally in the fourth quarter.

Customers and how it sells

The company serves paying readers and a broader audience that uses some content without subscribing. Individuals can subscribe directly or through third-party app stores operated by Apple and Alphabet. Schools and companies can purchase group subscriptions, and print newspapers are sold through home delivery, bulk subscriptions and single-copy sales.

As of December 31, 2025, the company had approximately 12.78 million subscribers across 234 countries and territories. Approximately 12.21 million were paid digital-only subscribers. International subscribers represented approximately 26% of total digital-only subscriptions at that date. In Q3 2026, the total subscriber base reached 13.8 million.

The digital-only subscriber count includes estimates for group and family subscriptions. For group sales, the count is derived from contract value and a discounted subscription rate; the number of people with access through those arrangements is substantially higher. Family plans provide additional access for people on an account.

Advertisers include luxury goods, technology and financial companies. Licensing customers include digital aggregators serving business, professional, academic and library markets, as well as publishers, websites and other corporations. The U.S. print newspaper is published daily, while an international edition is tailored for audiences outside the United States.

Suppliers and costs

Employee-related expenses are the company’s main operating costs. As of December 31, 2025, it had approximately 6,000 full-time equivalent employees, including more than 3,000 involved in journalism operations. Employees are located around the world but primarily in the United States.

The company prints The Times at its College Point, New York, facility and under contract at 20 remote U.S. print sites. Its international edition is printed under contract at 22 sites worldwide. Outside newspapers and delivery agents help distribute copies in the New York metropolitan area and other markets.

Newsprint and coated paper are the primary raw materials. The company buys them from North American and European producers, with a significant portion of its newsprint purchased from Domtar Corporation. The company also uses its College Point facility’s excess capacity to print and distribute products for third parties.

In Q3 2026, adjusted operating costs grew 8.7% to $619 million. The company attributed the increase primarily to compensation and benefits tied to journalism and digital-product investments, including video, as well as higher general and administrative, marketing and promotion costs.

Competitive position

The New York Times competes for readers, subscribers, advertisers, affiliate referrals and content licensees. Named news and lifestyle rivals include The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN, BBC News, The Guardian, Financial Times and ESPN. It also competes with news feeds, social media, search products and generative-AI tools from companies including Apple, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Microsoft and OpenAI.

Competition for subscribers and audiences depends on factors including the breadth, originality, relevance and timeliness of content; brand and reputation; product experience; visibility on outside platforms; and subscription pricing. Advertising competition also depends on audience engagement and demographics, rates, targeting and results for advertisers. Some competitors offer free or lower-priced alternatives.

Our reading: The breadth of the company’s news and lifestyle bundle is a meaningful source of differentiation because it gives subscribers access to several products within one subscription, although readers can choose individual products instead. Our reading: Its established audience and recurring subscriber relationships support both subscription and advertising sales, but third-party platforms and alternative ways to consume information limit the strength of those advantages.

The company uses first-party data to help inform advertising strategies and distributes selected content through outside platforms as well as its own apps and website.

Growth opportunities

The company aims to reach 15 million total subscribers by year-end 2027. It plans to promote its bundle of news and lifestyle products while continuing to offer standalone subscriptions. Its strategy is to reach a large non-paying audience and convert some users into subscribers, then encourage continued engagement across products.

In 2025, the company added approximately 1,400,000 net digital-only subscribers. In Q3 2026, it added approximately 420,000 net new digital-only subscribers, and digital-only subscription revenue grew 14.6% year-over-year to $421 million. Subscriber growth, the mix of bundle and single-product subscriptions, and changes in pricing all affect digital subscription revenue.

The company is investing in journalism, digital products and video. Its video work includes long-form shows, short-form series and visual investigations. It expects video investment to increase engagement and, over time, improve monetization. The company is also developing technology and data capabilities, including applications of machine learning and AI, to support engagement, conversion and subscriber retention.

Advertising is another area of investment, including products that use first-party data. For the fourth quarter of 2026, the company expects digital-only subscription revenue to increase 12% to 15% and total subscription revenue to increase 9% to 11%. It also expects adjusted operating costs to increase 6% to 8%.

Structural risks

• Competition and pricing: The company faces competition across its business, including from providers of free or lower-priced alternatives. Competitors may have greater resources or develop products and technologies more quickly, affecting its ability to attract audiences, subscribers and advertisers.

• Platform access and intellectual property: The visibility of its content on search, social, video, audio and app-store platforms affects its ability to reach users. The company also faces risks if it cannot protect and monetize its intellectual property, including against unauthorized use by AI developers.

• Print decline and production costs: Print subscription and advertising revenue have declined as the industry has shifted toward digital, and the company does not expect that trend to reverse. Raw materials, delivery, distribution and outside printing can increase costs.

• Advertising conditions: Economic weakness and uncertainty can reduce or create volatility in digital and print advertising spending. Marketers may also be sensitive to placing ads alongside news or specific news topics.

• People and technology: The company’s competitive position could suffer if it cannot attract and retain employees. Its success also depends on improving and scaling its technical and data infrastructure.

Bottom line

Our reading

Our reading: The New York Times is principally a recurring-subscription media business, with advertising, licensing and affiliate referrals providing additional ways to monetize its audience. Its bundle and established readership support the model, while continued investment in journalism and technology is needed to retain those relationships. The main exposures are competition for attention, dependence on third-party platforms for visibility and the continuing decline of print.