LEE Nasdaq Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing Financials FY2016βFY2025
LEE ENTERPRISES, Inc had $562M of revenue in fiscal 2025, down 8.0% on the year before. Over five years, revenue changed β1.9% a year on average.
Last close Β· Oct 23, 2026
$6.32
2.3%Hi! I read LEE ENTERPRISES, Incβs latest annual report (fiscal 2025). Here is what stands out:
Good So-so Weak
Are sales growing?
β8.0%
No. Sales fell 8.0% last year.
Does it make a profit?
β6.7%
No. It lost money last year.
Does profit turn into cash?
β1.3%
No. It spent more cash than it brought in.
Is debt under control?
31.4x
Heavy. Repaying its debt would take 31.4 years of operating profit.
How healthy are the accounts?
1 / 8
Weak. It passes 1 of 8 health tests.
How is the share priced?
β
No P/E: it made no profit over the last four quarters.
Rules of thumb on reported numbers. A starting point, not a recommendation.
Is it selling more, and how much does it keep?
KIRA Β· LEE ENTERPRISES, Inc had $562M of revenue in fiscal 2025, down 8.0% on the year before. Over five years, revenue changed β1.9% a year on average. Its operating margin was β0.8%, down 1.6Β pts: of every 100 in sales, about β1 is left after running the business.
In plain words: Revenue is all the money customers paid. The margins show how many cents of each dollar of sales are left over at each step: after making the product (gross), after running the business (operating) and after everything, tax included (net).
Revenue
Revenue
Margins, % of revenue
Margins, % of revenue
KIRA Β· LEE ENTERPRISES, Inc lost $37.6M in fiscal 2025.
Loss periods are shown in red.
In plain words: Net income is the profit left after every cost and tax. Earnings per share (EPS) splits that profit across every share, so it shows what one share earned.
Net income
Net income
Diluted EPS
Diluted EPS
How much cash comes in, and where does it go?
KIRA Β· Free cash flow was β$7.1M in fiscal 2025, β1.3% of revenue.
Cash from operations minus capital spending.
In plain words: Profit on paper is not the same as cash in the bank. Free cash flow is the cash left after paying to run and maintain the business: the money it can hand back to shareholders, save or invest.
Free cash flow
Free cash flow
Cash from operations vs capital spending
Cash from operations vs capital spending
In plain words: Companies hand cash back in two ways: dividends (cash paid to shareholders) and buybacks (buying back their own shares, so each remaining share owns a bigger slice).
Dividends and buybacks
Diluted shares outstanding (annual)
KIRA Β· In the last 12 months, insiders bought $13.7M and sold $0.5M of shares on the open market.
Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. βPlanβ marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
In plain words: Insiders are the people who run or own a big part of the company. Buying with their own money can signal confidence; selling often has personal reasons, like taxes or diversifying.
Bought, 12 months
$13.7M
2 insiders
Sold, 12 months
$0.5M
2 insiders
Of sales under plans
0%
$0.0M
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 11, 2026 | Herbert W Moloney IIIDirector | Sold | 24,000 | $9.82 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Jun 11, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 1,566 | $9.82 | $0.0M | Form 4 |
| Jun 10, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 1,500 | $10.47 | $0.0M | Form 4 |
| Jun 9, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 2,500 | $10.80 | $0.0M | Form 4 |
| Jun 8, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 6,925 | $10.86 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| Jun 5, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 18,200 | $10.85 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Jun 4, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 18,200 | $11.08 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Jun 3, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 18,200 | $10.58 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Jun 2, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 18,200 | $10.90 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| May 29, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 13,700 | $11.74 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| May 28, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 13,700 | $10.54 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| May 27, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 13,700 | $10.05 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| May 26, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 13,700 | $9.99 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| May 22, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 10,600 | $9.56 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| May 21, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 10,600 | $9.96 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| May 20, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 10,600 | $9.79 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| May 19, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 10,600 | $8.94 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| May 18, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 10,600 | $8.93 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| May 15, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 8,100 | $8.71 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| May 14, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 8,100 | $7.78 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| May 13, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 7,400 | $7.99 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| May 12, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 8,100 | $7.82 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| Mar 13, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 27,800 | $9.35 | $0.3M | Form 4 |
| Mar 12, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 27,800 | $9.40 | $0.3M | Form 4 |
| Mar 11, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 27,800 | $9.33 | $0.3M | Form 4 |
| Mar 10, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 27,800 | $8.99 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Mar 9, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 27,800 | $9.30 | $0.3M | Form 4 |
| Mar 6, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 19,000 | $9.19 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Mar 6, 2026 | Brent MagidDirector | Sold | 26,804 | $9.08 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Mar 5, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 19,000 | $9.26 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Mar 4, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 19,000 | $9.16 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Mar 3, 2026 | Quint Digital Ltd10% owner | Bought | 10,000 | $9.13 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| Mar 3, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 19,000 | $9.16 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Mar 2, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 19,000 | $8.85 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Mar 2, 2026 | Quint Digital Ltd10% owner | Bought | 20,454 | $8.87 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Feb 27, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 15,200 | $9.11 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| Feb 26, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 15,200 | $9.03 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| Feb 25, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 13,710 | $8.64 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| Feb 24, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 15,200 | $8.84 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| Feb 23, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 15,200 | $8.91 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| Feb 20, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 10,600 | $9.11 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| Feb 19, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 10,600 | $7.81 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| Feb 18, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 10,600 | $7.17 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| Feb 17, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 10,600 | $7.10 | $0.1M | Form 4 |
| Feb 13, 2026 | David Henry HoffmannDirector, 10% owner | Bought | 6,099 | $7.17 | $0.0M | Form 4 |
| Feb 5, 2026 | Quint Digital Ltd10% owner | Bought | 2,451,346 | $3.25 | $8.0M | Form 4 |
Can it carry its debts, and how well does it use its money?
KIRA Β· LEE ENTERPRISES, Inc owes $445M more than it holds in cash, about 31.4 years of operating profit.
Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably LEE ENTERPRISES, Inc can carry it.
In plain words: What the company owns and what it owes. More cash than debt is a cushion for bad times; a lot of debt leaves less room when business slows down.
Cash vs debt (incl. leases)
| Fiscal year end | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | $26.1M | $16.2M | $14.5M | $9.6M | $10.0M |
| Debt incl. finance leases | $483M | $463M | $456M | $446M | $455M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 4.6x | 7.3x | 6.5x | 13.6x | 31.4x |
| Debt / equity | 11.7x | 30.8x | 21.5x | β | β |
| Interest coverage | 1.3x | 0.6x | 0.9x | 0.1x | β0.1x |
| Current ratio | 0.8x | 0.8x | 0.9x | 0.8x | 0.8x |
| Quick ratio | 0.7x | 0.8x | 0.9x | 0.8x | 0.7x |
| Total assets | $844M | $744M | $712M | $649M | $602M |
| Total liabilities | $800M | $727M | $688M | $657M | $643M |
| Shareholders' equity | $41.1M | $15.0M | $21.2M | β$9.9M | β$43.3M |
| Net debt (β = net cash) | $457M | $446M | $441M | $436M | $445M |
KIRA Β· Its return on capital was β0.9%: every 100 invested in the business earned about β1 in a year.
After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
In plain words: How much profit the business makes on the money put into it. A higher percentage means each dollar invested works harder.
Return on capital, equity and assets (annual)
KIRA Β· LEE ENTERPRISES, Inc passes 1 of 8 financial health tests (Piotroski F-score).
Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8β9 is strong, 0β2 weak.
In plain words: Nine yes/no tests of financial health, one point each. A green tick is a pass: 7 to 9 points is solid, 0 to 3 is weak.
| Test | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Cash from operations is positive | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Return on assets rose | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Debt fell relative to assets | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Current ratio rose | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Share count didn't rise | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Gross margin rose | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| F-score | β / 3 | 4 / 8 | 7 / 8 | 6 / 8 | 3 / 8 | 7 / 8 | 5 / 8 | 2 / 8 | 2 / 8 | 1 / 8 |
| Accruals ratio | β6.7% | β7.0% | β2.3% | β7.7% | β7.3% | β3.2% | β0.6% | β0.3% | β4.0% | β5.1% |
| Altman Z'' | β1.08 | β1.22 | β0.72 | β0.73 | β0.99 | β0.75 | β1.09 | β0.91 | β1.61 | β2.17 |
Every number, year by year.
Amounts in USD. Hover a ratioβs name for its definition.
In plain words: Every number we have, year by year. Download it as a spreadsheet if you want to dig deeper.
| Fiscal year | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $614M | $567M | $544M | $510M | $618M | $795M | $781M | $691M | $611M | $562M |
| Operating income | $104M | $89.1M | $85.7M | $74.7M | $50.3M | $56.6M | $24.9M | $37.2M | $4.5M | β$4.7M |
| Interest expense | $64.2M | $57.6M | $52.8M | $47.5M | $47.7M | $44.8M | $41.8M | $41.5M | $41.2M | $40.5M |
| Pretax income | $58.2M | $40.2M | $30.8M | $23.8M | $2.8M | $32.0M | $0.8M | β$3.1M | β$31.2M | β$42.6M |
| Income tax | $22.2M | $11.6M | β$16.2M | $7.9M | $3.0M | $7.3M | $0.7M | β$0.3M | β$7.6M | β$6.9M |
| Net income | $35.0M | $27.5M | $45.8M | $14.3M | β$2.0M | $22.7M | β$2.0M | β$5.3M | β$25.8M | β$37.6M |
| Diluted EPS | $0.64 | $0.50 | $0.82 | $2.51 | β$0.35 | $3.90 | β$0.35 | β$0.90 | β$4.35 | β$6.20 |
| Diluted shares | 0.05B | 0.06B | 0.06B | 0.01B | 0.01B | 0.01B | 0.01B | 0.01B | 0.01B | 0.01B |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | $79.2M | $72.3M | $59.3M | $57.7M | $49.9M | $50.1M | $2.9M | β$3.2M | $1.1M | β$5.5M |
| Capital expenditure | $7.1M | $4.1M | $6.0M | $5.9M | $8.1M | $7.5M | $7.5M | $5.1M | $9.2M | $1.5M |
| Free cash flow | $72.1M | $68.2M | $53.3M | $51.8M | $41.8M | $42.6M | β$4.7M | β$8.3M | β$8.1M | β$7.1M |
| Depreciation and amortization | $43.4M | $41.3M | $31.8M | $29.3M | $36.1M | $42.8M | $36.5M | $30.6M | $27.6M | $18.8M |
| Stock-based compensation | $2.3M | $2.1M | $1.9M | $1.6M | $1.3M | $0.9M | $1.3M | $1.8M | $1.8M | $1.8M |
| Acquisitions | $0.0M | $7.5M | $0.0M | $6.5M | $131M | $0.0M | $0.0M | β | β | β |
| Balance sheet | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $17.0M | $10.6M | $5.4M | $8.6M | $33.7M | $26.1M | $16.2M | $14.5M | $9.6M | $10.0M |
| Total debt | $591M | $527M | $468M | $429M | $525M | $483M | $463M | $456M | $446M | $455M |
| Current assets | $77.3M | $67.8M | $59.3M | $60.3M | $109M | $109M | $109M | $107M | $97.8M | $89.4M |
| Current liabilities | $99.0M | $98.2M | $65.3M | $61.0M | $144M | $142M | $131M | $114M | $115M | $113M |
| Inventory | $4.3M | $3.6M | $5.7M | $3.8M | $7.5M | $6.3M | $8.3M | $7.5M | $5.6M | $4.7M |
| Property and equipment, net | $129M | $114M | $92.3M | $82.0M | $106M | $83.3M | $73.7M | $61.2M | $44.4M | $35.6M |
| Goodwill | $244M | $246M | $246M | $250M | $328M | $330M | $330M | $330M | $328M | $324M |
| Intangible assets | $158M | $136M | $120M | $107M | $183M | $157M | $121M | $95.0M | $70.1M | $51.9M |
| Total assets | $663M | $621M | $575M | $555M | $864M | $844M | $744M | $712M | $649M | $602M |
| Total liabilities | $790M | $712M | $612M | $592M | $907M | $800M | $727M | $688M | $657M | $643M |
| Preferred stock | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Shareholders' equity | β$128M | β$92.2M | β$37.4M | β$38.5M | β$45.0M | $41.1M | $15.0M | $21.2M | β$9.9M | β$43.3M |
| Margins | ||||||||||
| Operating margin | 16.9% | 15.7% | 15.8% | 14.7% | 8.1% | 7.1% | 3.2% | 5.4% | 0.7% | β0.8% |
| EBITDA margin | 24.0% | 23.0% | 21.6% | 20.4% | 14.0% | 12.5% | 7.9% | 9.8% | 5.3% | 2.5% |
| Net margin | 5.7% | 4.8% | 8.4% | 2.8% | β0.3% | 2.9% | β0.3% | β0.8% | β4.2% | β6.7% |
| FCF margin | 11.7% | 12.0% | 9.8% | 10.2% | 6.8% | 5.4% | β0.6% | β1.2% | β1.3% | β1.3% |
| Returns | ||||||||||
| Return on capital | 15.2% | 15.0% | 20.2% | 13.0% | 7.3% | 8.8% | 3.5% | 6.3% | 0.8% | β0.9% |
| Return on capital employed | 18.4% | 17.1% | 16.8% | 15.1% | 7.0% | 8.1% | 4.1% | 6.2% | 0.9% | β1.0% |
| Return on equity | β | β | β | β | β | β | β7.2% | β29.1% | β455.4% | β |
| Return on assets | 5.3% | 4.3% | 7.7% | 2.5% | β0.3% | 2.7% | β0.3% | β0.7% | β3.8% | β6.0% |
| Growth | ||||||||||
| Revenue growth | β | β7.7% | β4.1% | β6.3% | 21.2% | 28.6% | β1.7% | β11.5% | β11.5% | β8.0% |
| Net income growth | β | β21.4% | 66.5% | β68.8% | β113.8% | β | β108.9% | β | β | β |
| EPS growth | β | β21.9% | 64.0% | 206.1% | β113.9% | β | β109.0% | β | β | β |
| FCF growth | β | β5.4% | β21.9% | β2.8% | β19.3% | 2.0% | β111.0% | β | β | β |
| Share count change | β | 2.2% | 1.0% | β89.8% | 0.1% | 2.3% | β0.8% | 1.5% | 1.3% | 2.1% |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.9x | 4.0x | 3.9x | 4.0x | 5.7x | 4.6x | 7.3x | 6.5x | 13.6x | 31.4x |
| Debt / equity | β | β | β | β | β | 11.7x | 30.8x | 21.5x | β | β |
| Interest coverage | 1.6x | 1.5x | 1.6x | 1.6x | 1.1x | 1.3x | 0.6x | 0.9x | 0.1x | β0.1x |
| Current ratio | 0.8x | 0.7x | 0.9x | 1.0x | 0.8x | 0.8x | 0.8x | 0.9x | 0.8x | 0.8x |
| Quick ratio | 0.7x | 0.7x | 0.8x | 0.9x | 0.7x | 0.7x | 0.8x | 0.9x | 0.8x | 0.7x |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Capex / revenue | 1.2% | 0.7% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 0.7% | 1.5% | 0.3% |
| Stock comp / revenue | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Quality scores | ||||||||||
| Piotroski F-score | β | 4.0 | 7.0 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 |
| Altman Z'' | β1.1 | β1.2 | β0.7 | β0.7 | β1.0 | β0.8 | β1.1 | β0.9 | β1.6 | β2.2 |
| Accruals ratio | β6.7% | β7.0% | β2.3% | β7.7% | β7.3% | β3.2% | β0.6% | β0.3% | β4.0% | β5.1% |
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0000058361). Data updated October 24, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only β not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.
