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Lee Enterprises Inc. (LEE)
NASDAQ:LEE

Lee Enterprises (LEE) AI Stock Analysis

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LEE

Lee Enterprises

(NASDAQ:LEE)

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Neutral 52 (OpenAI - 5.2)
Rating:52Neutral
Price Target:
$5.00
▲(25.00% Upside)
The score is held down primarily by weak financial performance (declining revenue, losses, and high leverage/negative equity). Offsetting this are improving technical momentum and a more positive forward narrative from the earnings call and recapitalization steps that could reduce interest costs and support the digital transition.
Positive Factors
Digital revenue mix and subscription growth
Digital now represents the majority of revenue (53%), with sustained subscription growth supporting more predictable, recurring cash flows. A growing digital base and scale in digital products reduce reliance on print ad cycles and underpin a durable shift toward higher-margin, repeatable revenue streams.
Cost reduction and EBITDA improvement
Material, sustained cost cuts and modest EBITDA improvement improve cash generation and operating leverage, enabling reinvestment into digital initiatives. Structural cost discipline enhances margin sustainability and increases the probability that digital scale converts to durable operating profitability over several quarters.
Recapitalization and favorable credit terms
A funded recapitalization and amended credit facility that meaningfully lowers interest expense materially strengthens cash flow over a multi-year horizon. Lower recurring interest burden increases financial flexibility to fund digital transformation and reduces refinancing pressure, improving long-term solvency prospects.
Negative Factors
High leverage and negative equity
Negative equity and heavy leverage create persistent solvency and refinancing risk that constrain strategic options. Elevated debt levels increase sensitivity to interest rates and limit the company's ability to invest in growth or withstand revenue volatility, a structural constraint on long-term stability.
Negative operating cash flow
Sustained negative operating cash flow forces reliance on external financing, asset sales, or one-time measures to fund operations and digital investments. This structural cash-generation shortfall increases execution risk for long-term initiatives and leaves the company vulnerable during revenue dips.
Leadership and governance transition risk
Major leadership turnover and governance reset concurrent with a financing deal can disrupt strategic continuity during a critical transformation. Interim management and a board reconstitution raise execution risk for multi-year digital targets and may alter priorities or slow decision-making during the CEO search.

Lee Enterprises (LEE) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)

Lee Enterprises Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company DescriptionLee Enterprises, Incorporated provides local news and information, and advertising services in the United States. The company offers print and digital editions of daily, weekly, and monthly newspapers and publications; and web hosting and content management services. It also provides advertising and marketing services, such as audience extension, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, web and mobile production, social media services, and reputation monitoring and management. In addition, the company offers integrated digital publishing and content management solutions for creating, distributing, and monetizing multimedia content for media publications, universities, television stations, and niche publications. Further, it provides commercial printing services; distributes third party publications; and operates a digital marketing agency. The company was founded in 1890 and is based in Davenport, Iowa.
How the Company Makes MoneyLee Enterprises generates revenue through several key streams, primarily from advertising and circulation. The advertising segment includes digital, print, and classified advertising, serving local and national advertisers looking to reach targeted audiences. The circulation revenue comes from subscriptions and single-copy sales of its newspapers. In addition, the company has been enhancing its digital offerings, which include digital subscriptions and online advertising, to adapt to changing consumer preferences. Significant partnerships with technology firms and digital service providers also contribute to its revenue, allowing Lee to expand its reach and improve its digital advertising capabilities. Overall, the company focuses on transitioning towards a more digitally-oriented model while maintaining its traditional print revenue streams.

Lee Enterprises Earnings Call Summary

Earnings Call Date:Nov 26, 2025
(Q4-2025)
|
% Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jan 29, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The earnings call highlighted strong digital revenue growth and successful cost management, demonstrating progress in digital transformation. However, the cyber incident posed a challenge, impacting key projects. Despite this, the overall sentiment is positive, with significant achievements in digital revenue and favorable financial agreements.
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive Updates
Strong Digital Transformation Progress
Fiscal 2025 finished with $562 million in total revenue, with 53% being digital. Digital subscription revenue grew 16% year over year on a same store basis, and the Ampli Digital Agency surpassed $100 million, showing a 5% growth.
Digital Revenue Growth
Total digital revenue was $298 million in fiscal 2025, with digital subscription revenue growing 32% annually over the last three years, and digital advertising revenue contributing $184 million.
Successful Cost Management
Achieved $40 million in annualized cost reductions in Q2 and an additional $10 million entering fiscal 2026, decreasing cash costs by 5% compared to last year.
Favorable Credit Agreement
Credit agreement with Berkshire Hathaway includes a 25-year runway, fixed interest rate, and no financial performance covenants, providing strategic financial stability.
Balance Sheet Flexibility
Executed strategic termination of the company's fully funded defined benefit pension plan, enhancing balance sheet flexibility and eliminating long-term volatility.
Negative Updates
Cyber Incident Impact
A cyber incident in February hampered efforts on several key projects in 2025, affecting digital revenue and margin growth.
Limited Debt Reduction
Debt reduced by roughly $3.5 million in fiscal 2025 due to operations and asset sales, with some increase due to cyber incident-related waivers.
Company Guidance
During the Lee Enterprises 2025 Fourth Quarter Webcast and Conference Call, significant metrics highlighted the company's continued digital transformation. Total revenue for fiscal year 2025 was $562 million, with digital revenue comprising 53% of the total, amounting to $298 million. The digital subscription revenue grew by 16% year-over-year, reaching $94 million from 633,000 digitally only subscribers. The Ampli Digital Agency achieved $103 million in revenue, contributing to the $184 million in digital advertising revenue, showcasing a 5% growth on a same-store basis. The company executed $40 million in annualized cost reductions, helping to reduce cash costs by 5% to $524 million. Lee Enterprises aims to achieve $450 million in digital revenue by 2030, with plans to increase digital subscription revenue to $175 million and digital advertising revenue to over $250 million by the same year. Additionally, a $50 million common stock rights offering was announced to support debt reduction and further digital transformation efforts.

Lee Enterprises Financial Statement Overview

Summary
Lee Enterprises is facing significant financial challenges, including declining revenues, negative net profit margins, and high financial leverage. The balance sheet shows potential solvency risks with negative stockholders' equity, and cash flow stability remains a concern despite some improvements.
Income Statement
Lee Enterprises has faced declining revenues over the past few years, with a negative revenue growth rate of -3.35% in the most recent year. The company also reported negative net profit margins, indicating ongoing profitability challenges. Despite a positive gross profit margin in previous years, the recent decline in EBIT and EBITDA margins highlights operational inefficiencies.
Balance Sheet
The balance sheet reveals significant financial leverage, with a negative stockholders' equity and a high debt-to-equity ratio. This indicates potential solvency risks. The negative return on equity further underscores the company's struggles to generate returns for shareholders.
Cash Flow
Cash flow analysis shows some improvement in free cash flow growth, but the company still faces challenges with negative operating cash flow. The free cash flow to net income ratio is positive, suggesting some ability to generate cash relative to net losses, but overall cash flow stability remains a concern.
BreakdownTTMDec 2025Dec 2024Dec 2023Dec 2022Dec 2021
Income Statement
Total Revenue581.81M562.34M611.38M691.14M780.97M794.65M
Gross Profit455.05M314.52M594.57M665.79M750.87M764.87M
EBITDA17.72M16.70M37.66M69.01M79.11M97.75M
Net Income-41.27M-1.85M-25.84M-5.27M-2.02M22.75M
Balance Sheet
Total Assets622.65M601.73M649.17M711.62M744.04M843.55M
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments14.13M9.99M9.60M14.55M16.18M26.11M
Total Debt485.63M481.58M483.85M500.08M516.42M548.91M
Total Liabilities660.85M642.69M656.50M687.91M726.80M800.32M
Stockholders Equity-40.50M-43.31M-9.89M21.24M15.01M41.10M
Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow-5.69M-7.08M-8.09M-7.63M-4.11M42.60M
Operating Cash Flow504.00K-5.54M1.12M-2.52M3.43M50.08M
Investing Cash Flow8.35M7.71M3.73M7.98M6.91M-2.28M
Financing Cash Flow-8.15M-1.78M-9.80M-7.09M-19.69M-55.42M

Lee Enterprises Technical Analysis

Technical Analysis Sentiment
Positive
Last Price4.00
Price Trends
50DMA
4.20
Positive
100DMA
4.43
Positive
200DMA
5.76
Negative
Market Momentum
MACD
0.21
Negative
RSI
59.44
Neutral
STOCH
61.21
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For LEE, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 4 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 4.12, below the 50-day MA of 4.20, and below the 200-day MA of 5.76, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of 0.21 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 59.44 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 61.21 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for LEE.

Lee Enterprises Risk Analysis

Lee Enterprises disclosed 17 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Lee Enterprises reported the most risks in the "Finance & Corporate" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks

Lee Enterprises Peers Comparison

Overall Rating
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (60)
Financial Indicators
Name
Overall Rating
Market Cap
P/E Ratio
ROE
Dividend Yield
Revenue Growth
EPS Growth
79
Outperform
$11.57B34.9117.63%0.95%8.43%21.38%
65
Neutral
$820.49M-165.58-0.35%2.78%2.53%-23.86%
64
Neutral
$332.12M-8.411.81%-3.27%86.01%
60
Neutral
$48.67B4.58-11.27%4.14%2.83%-41.78%
52
Neutral
$31.81M-0.78-8.02%-44.34%
46
Neutral
$103.50M-0.30-51.54%-16.83%-485.31%
* Communication Services Sector Average
Performance Comparison
Ticker
Company Name
Price
Change
% Change
LEE
Lee Enterprises
4.84
-9.53
-66.32%
SSP
E. W. Scripps Company Class A
3.68
1.39
60.70%
NYT
New York Times
71.65
21.38
42.54%
SCHL
Scholastic
32.57
13.76
73.15%
SEAT
Vivid Seats
7.24
-79.76
-91.68%

Lee Enterprises Corporate Events

Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board ChangesPrivate Placements and Financing
Lee Enterprises Announces Major Recapitalization and Leadership Transition
Positive
Dec 30, 2025

On December 30, 2025, Lee Enterprises entered into a definitive stock purchase agreement for a $50 million private placement of common stock at $3.25 per share, led and backstopped by investor David Hoffmann alongside other existing shareholders. The company plans to use the proceeds to bolster its balance sheet, and the transaction is expected to trigger an amendment to its credit facility that would cut the interest rate on roughly $455.5 million of long-term debt from 9% to 5% for five years, materially improving cash flow and capital structure. As part of the deal, subject to closing conditions and shareholder approval expected in the first quarter of 2026, Hoffmann is slated to join the board as chair, while the board and major stakeholders have signed voting agreements supporting the transaction, signaling a coordinated governance reset aimed at long-term value creation. Concurrently, longtime President and CEO Kevin Mowbray announced his retirement effective at closing, with Chief Operating Officer Nathan Bekke expected to serve as interim CEO as the board conducts a search for a permanent successor, marking a significant leadership transition alongside the recapitalization.

The most recent analyst rating on (LEE) stock is a Hold with a $4.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Lee Enterprises stock, see the LEE Stock Forecast page.

Business Operations and StrategyRegulatory Filings and ComplianceShareholder Meetings
Lee Enterprises Cancels Special Meeting Amid Strategic Review
Neutral
Dec 18, 2025

On November 13, 2025, Lee Enterprises filed a definitive proxy statement for a special stockholder meeting that had been scheduled for December 19, 2025, but on December 18, 2025, the board of directors decided to cancel the meeting and withdraw the proposals that were to be considered. The company indicated that it is continuing to evaluate a range of potential strategic and financing transactions, and the cancellation of the meeting is intended to help facilitate that ongoing process.

The most recent analyst rating on (LEE) stock is a Hold with a $4.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Lee Enterprises stock, see the LEE Stock Forecast page.

Shareholder Meetings
Lee Enterprises Reschedules Special Stockholder Meeting
Neutral
Dec 2, 2025

On December 2, 2025, Lee Enterprises announced the postponement and rescheduling of its Special Meeting of Stockholders from December 4, 2025, to December 19, 2025. The company believes this change will allow for more stockholder engagement and maximize participation. The purpose of the meeting and the proposals to be voted on remain unchanged, and proxies submitted prior remain valid unless changed or revoked. This decision reflects Lee Enterprises’ focus on ensuring comprehensive stockholder involvement in its decision-making processes.

The most recent analyst rating on (LEE) stock is a Hold with a $4.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Lee Enterprises stock, see the LEE Stock Forecast page.

Business Operations and StrategyFinancial Disclosures
Lee Enterprises Reports Q4 2025 Financial Results
Neutral
Nov 26, 2025

Lee Enterprises reported its fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2025 results, highlighting a $2 million year-over-year growth in Adjusted EBITDA on a comparable basis. The company saw a 16% increase in digital-only subscription revenue for the quarter, marking five consecutive years of industry-leading performance. Digital revenue accounted for 53% of total operating revenue, with digital advertising and marketing services contributing significantly. Despite a net loss of $6 million for the quarter, Lee Enterprises continues to focus on its digital transformation strategy, aiming for sustainable growth and long-term value capture. The company also made strategic financial moves, such as terminating its pension plan to reduce balance sheet volatility, and successfully managing its debt obligations through organic free cash flow generation.

The most recent analyst rating on (LEE) stock is a Hold with a $4.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Lee Enterprises stock, see the LEE Stock Forecast page.

Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Lee Enterprises CFO Tim Millage Resigns
Neutral
Nov 21, 2025

On November 21, 2025, Lee Enterprises announced the resignation of Tim Millage, its Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer, effective February 28, 2026. Millage is leaving to pursue a role in church ministry, specifically as an Executive Pastor at Coram Deo Bible Church in Davenport, Iowa. The company has initiated a search for his replacement and Millage will provide consulting services until May 31, 2026. His departure is not due to any disagreements with the company, and he expressed confidence in Lee’s strategic direction, particularly its Three Pillar Digital Growth Strategy. This strategy has been successful in transforming revenue composition and positioning the company for long-term value creation.

The most recent analyst rating on (LEE) stock is a Hold with a $4.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Lee Enterprises stock, see the LEE Stock Forecast page.

Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Lee Enterprises Announces Proposed Rights Offering
Positive
Nov 10, 2025

On November 10, 2025, Lee Enterprises announced its intent to initiate a Proposed Rights Offering to raise up to $50 million, aimed at supporting its digital transformation. This initiative is expected to potentially reduce the company’s term loan interest rate from 9% to 5% for five years, saving approximately $18 million annually. The raised capital will be used for working capital and investments in technology to enhance advertising strategies, audience outreach, and digital products. The company is also seeking stockholder consent to amend its charter for additional shares and new classes of stock, with the offering conditioned on receiving requisite consents.

The most recent analyst rating on (LEE) stock is a Hold with a $4.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Lee Enterprises stock, see the LEE Stock Forecast page.

Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.

Disclaimer

This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.Date of analysis: Jan 06, 2026