The New York Times Company closed 2025 with record digital revenue, faster subscriber growth and improved profitability, underscoring the company’s confidence in its subscription-led model even as it steps up spending on video and product development.
Executives said the company added 1.4 million net new digital subscribers during the year, including 450,000 in the fourth quarter, bringing the total to about 12.8 million. Digital revenue topped $2bn for the first time, driven by a roughly 14% year-on-year increase in digital subscription revenue and double-digit growth in digital advertising.
Digital advertising rose about 25% in the fourth quarter to $147m, helping total advertising revenue climb 16% for the period. Affiliate, licensing and other revenue increased 5.5% to $100m in the quarter.
Adjusted operating profit for 2025 rose about 21% to $550m and the adjusted operating margin expanded to 19.5%. In the fourth quarter the margin reached about 24%. Free cash flow totalled roughly $551m, which management attributed to stronger operating performance, capital efficiency, lower cash taxes following changes to R&D tax law and proceeds from the sale of excess printing facility land.
Management highlighted improving average revenue per user as a key driver. Digital-only ARPU rose to $9.72 in the fourth quarter as promotional subscribers rolled onto higher prices and some long-tenured cohorts faced targeted increases. Executives said they remain focused on long-term ARPU trends rather than quarter-to-quarter fluctuations driven by promotions and product mix.
Looking ahead, the company said its next phase will emphasise scaled video production, broader multi-product engagement and continued product feature expansion. CEO Meredith Kopit Levien described video as “a major new audience opportunity” and said the Times aims to become a preferred destination for watching news as well as reading and listening to it. Management acknowledged that higher video output pushed up operating costs and guided to adjusted operating cost growth of 8% to 9% in the first quarter.
Executives again pointed to the company’s diversified revenue streams as a strength, citing games, The Athletic, Cooking and Wirecutter as important drivers of audience engagement and monetisation.
The family plan, introduced as a response to password sharing, was described as both a penetration tool and a higher-priced product that lifts engagement and ARPU. “We already reach many tens of millions of them every week across our portfolio and see the opportunity to engage directly and deeply with many millions more than we do today,” Levien said.
The company acknowledged industry headwinds from artificial intelligence, competition from major platforms and a shifting information ecosystem, but argued that investment in independent journalism, differentiated products and scalable formats provides resilience.
It also announced a change in disclosure, saying that after 2025 it will stop breaking out subscriber and ARPU data by product categories and will instead report only total digital-only subscribers and ARPU.
Source: Noah Wire Services
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
10
Notes:
The article is a direct transcript of The New York Times Company’s Q4 2025 earnings call, published on February 4, 2026. No evidence of prior publication or recycled content was found. The content is original and timely.
Quotes check
Score:
10
Notes:
The article provides direct quotes from company executives during the earnings call. These quotes are consistent with the information available in the earnings call transcript. No discrepancies or unverifiable quotes were identified.
Source reliability
Score:
10
Notes:
The source, The Motley Fool, is a reputable financial news and analysis platform. The article is a verbatim transcript of the earnings call, ensuring accuracy and reliability. No concerns regarding source credibility were noted.
Plausibility check
Score:
10
Notes:
The reported financial figures and strategic plans align with The New York Times Company’s known performance and industry trends. No implausible claims or inconsistencies were found.
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): HIGH
Summary:
The article is an original, timely, and accurate transcript of The New York Times Company’s Q4 2025 earnings call. All checks confirm its credibility and suitability for publication.
