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Lee Enterprises
(NASDAQ:LEE)
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Rating:49Neutral
Price Target:
$8.00
▲(7.10% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:08/07/26
LEE’s score is held down primarily by weak financial fundamentals—declining revenue, persistent net losses, a high-risk balance sheet (including negative equity periods), and volatile cash generation. The earnings call provides a notable offset via improved adjusted EBITDA, cost cuts, rising digital mix, and lower expected interest expense, but technical signals are only neutral-to-mixed and valuation remains constrained by losses and the lack of a dividend yield metric.
Positive Factors
Adjusted EBITDA & Margin Expansion
Sustained adjusted EBITDA growth and a 670bp margin expansion indicate operating leverage from cost cuts and efficiency actions. Durable margin improvement can fund reinvestment, support deleveraging, and make the business less reliant on cyclical ad revenue, strengthening cash flow quality over months.
Negative Factors
Weak Balance Sheet / Negative Equity
Negative equity in recent years is a structural fragility that can limit access to capital, increase covenant and counterparty risk, and magnify downside from revenue shocks. This impairs long-term financial flexibility and raises the bar for sustainable earnings-driven recapitalization.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Adjusted EBITDA & Margin Expansion
Sustained adjusted EBITDA growth and a 670bp margin expansion indicate operating leverage from cost cuts and efficiency actions. Durable margin improvement can fund reinvestment, support deleveraging, and make the business less reliant on cyclical ad revenue, strengthening cash flow quality over months.
Read all positive factors
Lee Enterprises Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Revenue by Source
Breaks down revenue by advertising (print and digital), circulation/subscriptions, commercial printing and marketing services to show how dependent Lee Enterprises is on ad cycles versus recurring reader income. A larger share of subscription and digital revenue suggests steadier cash flow and progress on digital transformation, while heavy reliance on print ads or printing services increases exposure to economic downturns and long-term readership declines and can pressure margins and capital needs.
Breaks down revenue by advertising (print and digital), circulation/subscriptions, commercial printing and marketing services to show how dependent Lee Enterprises is on ad cycles versus recurring reader income. A larger share of subscription and digital revenue suggests steadier cash flow and progress on digital transformation, while heavy reliance on print ads or printing services increases exposure to economic downturns and long-term readership declines and can pressure margins and capital needs.
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The Fly
The FlyLee Enterprises (LEE) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$171.84M
Dividend YieldN/A
Average Volume (3M)54.01K
Price to Earnings (P/E)―
Beta (1Y)0.56
Revenue Growth-9.93%
EPS Growth66.64%
CountryUS
Employees2,500
SectorCommunication Services
Sector Strength97
IndustryPublishing
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)-2.63
Shares Outstanding22,229,937
10 Day Avg. Volume82,789
30 Day Avg. Volume54,011
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio-0.02
Price to Book (P/B)-0.77
Price to Sales (P/S)0.06
P/FCF Ratio-4.68
Enterprise Value/Market Cap<0.01
Enterprise Value/Revenue<0.01
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit<0.01
Enterprise Value/Ebitda<0.01
Forecast
1Y Price TargetN/A
Price Target UpsideN/A
Rating ConsensusN/A
Number of Analyst Covering0
EPS Forecast (FY)N/A
Revenue Forecast (FY)N/A
Lee Enterprises Business Overview & Revenue Model
Company Description
Lee Enterprises, Incorporated, a long-standing media organization founded in 1890 and headquartered in Davenport, Iowa, delivers local news, critical information, and diverse advertising services throughout the United States. The company publishes...
How the Company Makes Money
Lee Enterprises primarily generates revenue from (1) audience revenue and (2) advertising/marketing services, with additional contributions from ancillary commercial printing and other service lines.
1) Audience revenue (subscriptions and circula...
Lee Enterprises Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:May 07, 2026
(Q3-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Dec 03, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call emphasized material progress in Lee Enterprises' digital transformation, strong profitability gains (adjusted EBITDA up 23% YoY, margin expansion, return to net income), meaningful balance sheet improvements (cash up to $59M, lower interest costs), and new capital-light growth channels (Hoffman Media Group management agreement). Offsetting these positives are continued advertising-market uncertainty, modest near-term debt paydown, reliance on cost reductions for improved results, and limited realized proceeds from non-core asset monetization. Overall, the positive operational momentum and financial improvements outweigh the challenges.Positive Updates
Adjusted EBITDA Growth and Margin Expansion
Third quarter adjusted EBITDA of $18M, up 23% year-over-year (19% YoY excluding $0.56M business interruption insurance proceeds). Adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 400 basis points, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of comparable adjusted EBITDA growth and $61M of adjusted EBITDA over the last 12 months.
Negative Updates
Advertising Environment Uncertainty
Management described the advertising market as still evolving and noted stabilization is early; emphasis on prioritizing higher-quality recurring revenue suggests top-line transactional ad demand remains uncertain despite sequential improvements.
Read all updates
Q3-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Adjusted EBITDA Growth and Margin Expansion
Third quarter adjusted EBITDA of $18M, up 23% year-over-year (19% YoY excluding $0.56M business interruption insurance proceeds). Adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 400 basis points, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of comparable adjusted EBITDA growth and $61M of adjusted EBITDA over the last 12 months.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
The company raised its full‑year guidance for adjusted EBITDA to growth of 22%–28%, and said it expects digital revenue and digital gross margin to fully support the business (covering SG&A) within the next three years; management also expects approximately $18 million of annual interest savings (about $90 million over five years) after reducing its interest rate from 9% to 5%. To accelerate deleveraging, Lee will apply proceeds from monetizing non‑core assets (identified value ~$20 million; one sale closed since quarter end) and any cash above a $64 million cap to debt repayment—the company paid $1 million in Q3 ( $3 million year‑to‑date including post‑quarter payments) and has reduced outstanding debt by $121 million since March 2020—while finishing the quarter with $59 million of cash versus $14 million a year ago.Lee Enterprises Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
34
Negative
Balance Sheet
18
Very Negative
Cash Flow
22
Negative
| Breakdown | TTM | Sep 2025 | Sep 2024 | Sep 2023 | Sep 2022 | Sep 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 532.42M | 562.34M | 611.38M | 691.14M | 780.97M | 794.65M |
| Gross Profit | 415.16M | 314.52M | 594.57M | 665.79M | 750.87M | 764.87M |
| EBITDA | 34.32M | 16.70M | 37.66M | 69.01M | 79.11M | 97.75M |
| Net Income | -16.09M | -37.59M | -25.84M | -5.27M | -2.02M | 22.75M |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 618.64M | 601.73M | 649.17M | 711.62M | 744.04M | 843.55M |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 53.27M | 9.99M | 9.60M | 14.55M | 16.18M | 26.11M |
| Total Debt | 477.49M | 481.58M | 483.85M | 500.08M | 516.42M | 548.91M |
| Total Liabilities | 621.80M | 642.69M | 656.50M | 687.91M | 726.80M | 800.32M |
| Stockholders Equity | -5.47M | -43.31M | -9.89M | 21.24M | 15.01M | 41.10M |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 855.00K | -7.08M | -8.09M | -7.63M | -4.11M | 42.60M |
| Operating Cash Flow | 810.00K | -5.54M | 1.12M | -2.52M | 3.43M | 50.08M |
| Investing Cash Flow | 3.48M | 7.71M | 3.73M | 7.98M | 6.91M | -2.28M |
| Financing Cash Flow | 43.57M | -1.78M | -9.80M | -7.09M | -19.69M | -55.42M |
Lee Enterprises Technical Analysis
Positive
7.47
Price Trends
9.01
Negative
8.75
Negative
7.05
Positive
Market Momentum
-0.25
Negative
46.02
Neutral
78.66
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 7.47 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 7.89, below the 50-day MA of 9.01, and above the 200-day MA of 7.05, indicating a neutral trend. The MACD of -0.25 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 46.02 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 78.66 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
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (60)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
74 Outperform | $12.12B | 31.87 | 19.47% | 1.14% | 10.41% | 27.40% | |
60 Neutral | $48.67B | 4.58 | -11.27% | 4.14% | 2.83% | -41.78% | |
52 Neutral | $84.60M | -0.13 | 9301.18% | ― | -28.88% | -15473.93% | |
50 Neutral | $766.76M | 16.59 | 6.61% | 1.85% | -2.68% | ― | |
49 Neutral | $171.84M | -2.94 | 46.64% | ― | -9.93% | 66.64% | |
46 Neutral | $257.23M | -1.52 | -7.87% | ― | -13.33% | -299.71% |
* Communication Services Sector Average
LEE
Lee Enterprises
7.97
3.51
78.70%
SSP
E. W. Scripps Company Class A
2.87
0.06
2.14%
NYT
New York Times
65.48
7.97
13.86%
SCHL
Scholastic
42.48
18.45
76.75%
SEAT
Vivid Seats
8.02
-9.91
-55.27%
Lee Enterprises Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial DisclosuresPrivate Placements and Financing
Lee Enterprises Highlights Strong Digital Growth and Profitability
Positive
Aug 6, 2026
Lee Enterprises, Inc. reported preliminary results for its third quarter of fiscal 2026, ended June 28, highlighting the impact of its digital-first strategy and tighter cost controls. Digital revenue reached $72 million, or 57% of total operating...
Business Operations and StrategyExecutive/Board Changes
Lee Enterprises Announces Board Retirement and Governance Transition
Neutral
Jul 30, 2026
On July 28, 2026, Herbert W. Moloney III informed the Board of Directors of Lee Enterprises that he was retiring from the Board, effective that same day. The company stated that Moloney’s departure involved no disagreements with the Board, i...
Business Operations and StrategyRegulatory Filings and Compliance
Lee Enterprises Updates Stock Purchase Agreement Standstill Terms
Positive
Jul 24, 2026
On July 24, 2026, Lee Enterprises, Incorporated amended a December 30, 2025 Stock Purchase Agreement with a group of major investors, adjusting standstill provisions that govern how much company stock they may buy during a restricted period. The u...
Executive/Board Changes
Lee Enterprises announces retirement of longtime board director
Neutral
Jul 10, 2026
On July 7, 2026, Lee Enterprises, Incorporated disclosed that longtime director Mary Junck informed the Board she will retire from the Board of Directors, effective July 31, 2026. The company stated that Junck’s retirement involves no disagr...
Business Operations and Strategy
Lee Enterprises to Manage Hoffmann Newspaper Publications Nationwide
Positive
May 20, 2026
On May 14, 2026, Lee Enterprises entered into a management agreement with Hoffmann Media Group under which Lee will manage and operate certain Hoffmann newspaper publications and their digital properties across markets including Florida, Californi...
Business Operations and StrategyFinancial DisclosuresPrivate Placements and Financing
Lee Enterprises Highlights Strong Q2 2026 Digital-Driven Results
Positive
May 7, 2026
Lee Enterprises reported strong preliminary results for its second quarter of fiscal 2026, ended March 29, 2026, underscoring the accelerating shift of its business toward digital products and revenue streams. Total operating revenue reached $122 ...
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.