Lee Enterprises Inc Stock Price, News & Analysis

Lee Enterprises (NASDAQ: LEE), a leading provider of local news and information across 72 markets, has scheduled its quarterly earnings conference call for August 7, 2025, at 9 a.m. Central Time. The company will release its preliminary financial results for the quarter ended June 29, 2025, before market opens on the same day.

Lee Enterprises operates daily newspapers, digital products, and nearly 350 weekly and specialty publications serving 25 states. The company's portfolio includes major markets such as St. Louis, Buffalo, Omaha, Richmond, Lincoln, Madison, Davenport, and Tucson.

Lee Enterprises (NASDAQ:LEE) has appointed Nathan Bekke as Chief Operating Officer. Previously serving as Operating Vice President and VP of Audience Strategy, Bekke has been instrumental in Lee's digital transformation, driving revenue growth and digital audience expansion. Since joining in 1988, he has advanced through various leadership positions and currently oversees news, audience, advertising, production, IT, and BLOX Digital operations. CEO Kevin Mowbray praised Bekke's contributions to operational efficiency and digital growth. Lee Enterprises operates as a major subscription and advertising platform, providing local news through daily newspapers and digital products across 72 markets in 25 states, including major markets like St. Louis, Buffalo, and Omaha.

Lee Enterprises (NASDAQ: LEE) is organizing a unique "Draw Off" event series featuring live cartoon drawing sessions on Facebook. The events will pair VeeFriends' Director of Comics D.J. Coffman with two distinguished editorial cartoonists: Phil Hands from The Wisconsin State Journal and Pulitzer Prize-winner Adam Zyglis from The Buffalo News.

The hour-long sessions will stream live on May 20 and May 22, 2025, at 5 PM EDT on their respective newspaper Facebook pages. Viewers can interact by commenting, voting, and suggesting future themes. The completed sketches will be available for free download, combining traditional editorial cartooning with digital audience engagement.

Lee Enterprises (NASDAQ: LEE) reported Q2 FY2025 results showing continued digital transformation progress. Total Digital Revenue reached $73M (53% of total revenue), with digital-only subscription revenue growing 20% YOY. The company faced challenges from a February cybersecurity incident, incurring $2M in restoration costs and impacting advertising revenue. Total operating revenue was $137M, with a net loss of $12M. The company has $453M in debt with BH Finance, and their lender waived March and April 2025 interest payments. Lee executed $40M in annualized cost reductions and launched new AI solutions for local businesses. The company maintains 728,000 digital-only subscribers and expects improved performance in Total Digital Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA for the second half of FY25.

Lee Enterprises (NASDAQ: LEE), a major subscription and advertising platform, has scheduled its quarterly earnings conference call and webcast for May 8, 2025, at 9 a.m. Central Time. The company will release its preliminary financial results for the quarter ended March 30, 2025, before the market opens on the same day. Lee Enterprises operates in 72 markets across 25 states, providing local news and information through daily newspapers, digital products, and nearly 350 weekly and specialty publications. Key markets include St. Louis, Buffalo, Omaha, Richmond, Lincoln, Madison, Davenport, and Tucson.

Lee Enterprises (NASDAQ: LEE) has announced a one-year extension of its shareholder rights plan until March 27, 2026. This decision comes in response to The Hoffmann Family of Companies' recent unsolicited expression of interest to acquire Lee, made public on March 20, 2025.

Key factors influencing the Board's decision include Hoffmann's accumulation of a 9.8% ownership stake, multiple press releases highlighting their intention to become Lee's largest shareholder, and their recent acquisition interest letter which lacked specific price or material terms.

The Rights Plan aims to protect shareholders' long-term value and ensure fair treatment in any takeover scenario. In response to Hoffmann's letter, Lee offered on March 24, 2025, to enter into a confidentiality agreement to share information that would enable Hoffmann to make a detailed proposal with pricing and financing specifics.

Lee Enterprises has unveiled AmplifiedDigital.AI, a comprehensive suite of AI-powered solutions through its digital marketing agency, Amplified Digital. The new offering aims to support local businesses with advanced technological tools for enhanced digital presence and operations.

The first product, A.I. Enablement, features several key components including:

• A.I. Visibility for improved search engine indexing
• Automated sponsored content creation
• Content distribution across Lee's news websites and AI engines
• Educational resources for AI implementation

Additional tools available to advertisers include AI Social for social media enhancement and SmartSites.AI for website optimization. The initiative reflects Lee's commitment to fostering local economic growth by addressing marketing inefficiencies and customer engagement challenges.

Lee Enterprises (NASDAQ: LEE) has announced a strategic partnership with VeeFriends, Gary Vaynerchuk's entertainment company, to produce exclusive weekly comics across Lee's 72 markets in 25 states. The comics, featuring VeeFriends' universe of 251 characters, will be published both online and in print starting February 23, 2025.

The partnership includes interactive elements such as 'Draw Offs' - live streaming events beginning in March featuring VeeFriends' Director of Comics D.J. Coffman alongside Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Adam Zyglis and Phil Hands. Readers will also be able to participate through a Readers' Choice feature.

Characters like Brave Bison, Empathy Elephant, and Fearless Fairy will be featured in the weekly comics, aiming to deliver positive and inspiring content to Lee's subscribers through one of newspaper and digital publishing's most popular formats.

Lee Enterprises (NASDAQ: LEE) reported Q1 FY2025 results showing continued digital transformation progress. Total Digital Revenue reached $73 million, up 5% YOY, representing 51% of total operating revenue. Digital-only subscription revenue grew 14% to $22 million, while Amplified Digital Agency revenue increased 14% to $24 million.

The company announced a strategic partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to enhance digital capabilities and customer engagement. Total operating revenue was $145 million, with digital advertising and marketing services contributing $47 million, representing 70% of total advertising revenue.

Operating expenses totaled $149 million, with Cash Costs at $139 million. The company reported a net loss of $16 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $8 million. Lee maintains $446 million in debt with BH Finance at a 9% fixed interest rate. Management expects digital revenue growth between 7-10% for the full year and has identified $40 million in annualized cost reductions to be implemented by Q2 end.