(Bloomberg) -- New York Times Co. reported second-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ expectations, as the company continues to grow its subscriber count.
The newspaper publisher reported earnings of 45 cents a share on Wednesday, excluding some items. The results topped Wall Street estimates of 41 cents a share. Revenue totaled $625.1 million compared with expectations of $624.6 million.
In an industry facing layoffs, threats from artificial intelligence and lagging readership, the Times continues to add customers. The company has diversified, launching games and cooking subscription services and acquiring the sports news site the Athletic.
Shares were up 4% to $54.19 at 9:37 a.m. in New York.
“Games had another strong quarter in Q2 and contributed to our business in multiple ways,” said Meredith Kopit Levien, chief executive officer of the Times, during the company’s earnings call on Wednesday. “It drove new standalone game subscribers and was a valuable funnel for new bundle subscribers.”
The Times added 300,000 digital subscribers, compared with 210,000 in the first quarter. The company now has a total of 10.84 million subscribers, including print and digital, compared with forecasts for 10.74 million.
Ad revenue reached $119.2 million, versus estimates of $119.7 million, with political advertising heating up ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Kopit Levien also mentioned the company’s use of a marketing tool powered by artificial intelligence that better matches advertisers with Times content.
The Athletic, which was bought by the Times in 2022, posted an adjusted operating loss of $2.4 million.
The company forecast subscription revenues to increase by 7% to 9% in the third quarter.
(Updates with share price in fourth paragraph and quote from CEO in fifth paragraph)
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