USA TODAY Co., Inc. (TDAY) · Nov 5, 2026 · Earnings
Miss — EPS $(0.03) vs published consensus around $(0.01)
USA TODAY Co. earnings narrowly topped revenue expectations, but falling digital and print sales overwhelmed a cost-cutting push and squeezed EBITDA.
USA TODAY Co. is still trying to turn a legacy print publisher and digital marketing business into a more digital, higher-ARPU platform while navigating disruption from changing search behavior. Management has described the transition as uneven, with growth expected from digital subscriptions, direct-sold advertising, licensing and improved monetization; the quarter shows that the cost side is moving faster than the revenue side.
The quarter was weaker operationally than the headline revenue beat suggests. Revenue of $519.2 million was slightly above the published consensus near $515.7 million, but still fell 7.4% year over year, with same-store revenue down 5.8% and same-store digital revenue down 4.2% (Table No. 8). The result also came with a GAAP loss of $0.03 per share versus an external consensus around a $0.01 loss, making this a miss on the bottom-line benchmark despite the narrow revenue beat.
| Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Consensus | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenues (Table No. 2) | $519.2M (-7.4%) | $560.8M | ~$515.7M |
| Diluted EPS (Table No. 2) | $(0.03) | $(0.27) | ~$(0.01) |
| Total Adjusted EBITDA (Table No. 5) | $36.6M (-36.0%) | $57.2M | |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin (Table No. 5) | 7.0% | 10.2% | |
| Free cash flow (Table No. 7) | $4.3M | $4.9M |
The digital pivot is not yet producing overall growth. Digital revenue declined 5.1%, while LocaliQ core-platform revenue fell 8% as average customers dropped 13%; higher core-platform ARPU of $2,996, up 6%, was not enough to offset the shrinking customer base (Table Nos. 8 and 10). USA TODAY Media Adjusted EBITDA fell to $23.8 million from $35.4 million, and its margin compressed to 6.3% from 8.5% (Table No. 4). That is a meaningful setback for the central strategy, not merely a print decline.
The $100 million cost program is the main offset, but its payoff is still prospective. Management says the program was implemented at the end of the quarter and should drive significant sequential Adjusted EBITDA and free-cash-flow growth in Q4, but the current quarter still showed Adjusted EBITDA down 36% and margin down 320 basis points. The filing therefore supports a lower cost base, not yet a proven revenue stabilization or earnings recovery.
The balance sheet remains constrained, even as debt repayment continued. Cash and cash equivalents fell to $68.2 million from $90.2 million at year-end, while total debt including convertible debt remained roughly $934 million at quarter-end. The company repaid $39.4 million of long-term debt during the first nine months, but the later amendment allowing up to $50 million of incremental debt to fund share repurchases adds a competing use of capital while free cash flow remains modest.
The Google litigation is meaningful optionality, not operating evidence. The court denied Google's summary-judgment motion and set an April 5, 2027 trial date, with the company's disclosed damages calculation at $901 million before any potential treble damages. That could materially change the financial picture if successful, but it does not repair the current revenue and margin trends.
Bottom line: This was a narrow revenue beat but an underlying operating miss: the digital and marketing businesses are still shrinking, while the promised cost reset has not yet shown up in reported margins. The story now depends more heavily on Q4 cost savings and eventual revenue stabilization than it did before this release.
Google ad-tech trial, April 5, 2027
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