The New York Times Company added 420,000 digital-only subscribers in the third quarter of 2026, lifting its total paid subscriber base to 13.8 million and keeping it roughly on pace for its stated goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027. Total revenue reached $768.5 million, up 9.7 percent from a year earlier, while adjusted operating profit rose to $149.6 million from $131.4 million.
420,000 Digital Subscribers, 13.8 Million Total
The company has added about 1.46 million digital-only subscribers over the past 12 months, though growth slowed in the second quarter, when it added 280,000. Digital-only subscription revenue grew 14.6 percent year over year to $421.3 million, and digital-only average revenue per user — a metric used to measure the health of subscription businesses — was $9.93, up slightly from a year earlier. Print, meanwhile, continued to shrink: the Times now has 540,000 print subscribers, down from 570,000 a year earlier.
Costs Rise with Pay and Promotions
Adjusted operating costs were $618.9 million, an increase of 8.7 percent year over year — within the 8 to 9 percent increase the company had forecast — driven by higher compensation and benefits, higher general and administrative costs, and higher marketing and promotion spending. Adjusted diluted earnings per share climbed to $0.68 from $0.59 in the prior-year period.
Fourth-Quarter Forecast
For the fourth quarter, the company forecast an increase of 12 to 15 percent in digital-only subscription revenue versus a year ago, and a year-over-year increase of 6 to 8 percent in adjusted operating costs. Digital advertising revenue is expected to grow by a high-single-digit to low-double-digit percentage. Shares in the company closed down 1 percent on Wednesday.
The next dated milestone on the record is the 15 million subscriber target the company has set for the end of 2027 — a goal the third-quarter results keep within reach across its news report as well as Wirecutter, Cooking, Games and The Athletic.
