Media holding company Gannett Co., Inc. (GCI), the publisher of USA Today, reported Monday a profit for the third quarter that grew 33 percent from last year, reflecting strong broadcasting results amid higher Olympics and political ad demand. Adjusted earnings per share and quarterly revenues topped analysts' expectations.
"We achieved record third quarter results in our Broadcasting segment. Our TV stations leveraged top 10 ratings positions and a more locally focused sales effort to generate substantially higher Olympic spending. Through strong ratings and a great footprint, they also maximized the opportunity to attract political spending," President and CEO Gracia Martore said in a statement.
The company added that it is seeing early successes and making progress in positioning itself for growth in the digital era. Its all access content subscription model was rolled out in 71 markets and is delivering the circulation revenue gains as anticipated.
The company also re-launched in September its flagship USA Today brand, which has been re-imagined and redesigned for today's consumers and advertisers.
The McLean, Virginia-based publisher of 82 daily newspapers reported net income of $133.08 million or $0.56 per share for the third quarter, up from $99.79 million or $0.41 per share in the prior-year quarter.
Excluding items, adjusted net income for the quarter was $130.91 million or $0.56 per share, compared to $106.15 million or $0.44 per share in the year-ago quarter.
On average, nine analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.53 per share for the third quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Total net operating revenues for the quarter grew 3.4 percent to $1.31 billion from $1.27 billion in the same quarter last year, and topped eight Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $1.29 billion.
Publishing segment revenues for the quarter declined 3.0 percent to $890.20 million from last year, reflecting softer ad demand amid the challenging economic environment. This was partially offset by a 5.6 percent increase in circulation revenue due to the positive impact of the all access content subscription model.
Revenues from broadcasting were $237.04 million, up 36 percent from a year ago, driven by significantly higher ad demand associated with the Olympics and political spending.
Digital segment revenues grew 4.7 percent to $182.02 million, propelled by strong revenue growth at CareerBuilder. The company-wide digital revenues were nearly 25 percent of total operating revenues.
"The early success of our new, all access content subscription model resulted in significant growth in company-wide circulation revenue, the first increase since early 2007. CareerBuilder once again delivered outstanding results that in turn enhanced Digital segment performance," Martore added.
In Monday's regular trading session, GCI is currently trading at $18.15, up $0.25 or 1.40% on a volume of 60,204 shares. In the past 52-week period, the stock has been trading in a range of $9.82 to $19.99.
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