• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, 8 hours ago

Gannett generated  $571.6 million in revenue in the first quarter, in part helped by the sale of the Austin-American Statesman and the decision to sell or shut down other non-strategic assets. 

But the company faced many challenges like “customer level reversals,” executives said when reporting the Q1 financials on Thursday morning.

Revenue fell 10.1% YoY. Same-store revenues declined by 7.7%. The net loss totaled $7.3 million, an improvement of $77.4 million over the prior year. 

Digital revenues totaled $250.4 million, $88.4 million from advertising and $43.3 million from digital-only subscriptions. The total is down from $267.4 million in Q1 2024. 

But the firm is positive over growth in the sports audience and the launch of Studio IX. Another benefit is that the company reduced its debt by $75 million during the quarter. And it says it has not been affected by tariffs. 

"In the first quarter, we maintained our position as the nation’s leading news and information provider among content creators with 195 million average monthly unique visitors, growing over 4% compared to the prior year,” says Michael Reed, CEO. “We also continued to expand our efforts to strategically monetize the vast library of content produced across our platform as we incrementally added subscription products and A.I. licensing deals to our platform." 

Reed continues "As we previously outlined, we expect a progressive build in our financial and operational performance throughout the year. We are confident in the leadership and strategic plans in place to achieve our financial objectives, and as a result, we are reaffirming our full year 2025 business outlook. With continued focus on our strategy, efficiency initiatives, and disciplined operational execution, we are well-positioned to drive stronger performance as we enter the second quarter."

In a sidelight, the company spent nearly $20,000 on security for Reed last year following the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, Boston.com reports.