Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of the New York Times Company (NYT 0.16%) were getting some good press today, gaining as much as 15%, after the newspaper company reported quarterly earnings.
So what: Revenue still declined at the Gray Lady, falling by 0.7% to $575.8 million, and adjusted earnings per share dipped by $0.02 from a year ago to $0.32 cents. Still, those numbers were ahead of expectations of sales at $570.4 million, and EPS of $0.31. Increases in circulation sales counteracted a continuing slide in advertising revenue and, for the first time in the company's history, full-year circulation sales topped advertising income. New CEO Mark Thompson noted "continued strong growth in digital subscriptions," which grew 13%, to 668,000, from the previous quarter.
Now what: Shares cooled off from the initial run, finishing up 3.3%, but the company seems to have found a way to stabilize and potentially grow sales with its new pay wall strategy. Advertisers may continue to flee to more modern channels like Google, but the company seems to be proving that its customers are willing to pay for high-quality journalism. I'd like to see revenue moving north, but with digital subscriptions growing at such a fast rate, it seems like better days are ahead.
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