Lee Enterprises Reports Strong First Quarter Results and Closing of Strategic Investment

Q1 Adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ growth of $5M or 61% YOY
$50M equity investment⁽²⁾ enhances financial stability
Interest rate on outstanding debt reduced to 5% from 9%⁽³⁾

DAVENPORT, Iowa, Feb. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (NASDAQ: LEE), a digital-first subscription platform providing high quality, trusted, local news, information and a major platform for advertising in 72 markets, today reported preliminary first quarter fiscal 2026 financial results⁽⁴⁾ for the period ended December 28, 2025.

“Our core business delivered operating results in the first quarter that exceeded our expectations,” said Nathan Bekke, Lee’s President and Interim Chief Executive Officer. “Adjusted EBITDA growth of $5 million puts us in a great position to achieve our expectations for year-over-year growth in fiscal 2026. This marks our third consecutive quarter of Adjusted EBITDA growth on a comparable basis⁽⁵⁾, led by continued industry-leading performance in digital subscription revenue coupled with disciplined cost management. These results validate our focus on building durable, recurring revenue streams while continuing to actively manage the cost structure tied to legacy revenue. Additionally, our 2026 results are expected to include reimbursement from our insurance carrier for business interruption related to the cyber event last year⁽⁶⁾ – $2 million of which was received in the first quarter and included in Adjusted EBITDA. Excluding the insurance reimbursement, Adjusted EBITDA was up $3 million or 35% year-over-year, representing exceptionally strong operating growth.”

“We are also pleased to announce the Company closed on a transformational $50 million private placement of common stock last week led by David Hoffmann,” added Bekke. “This transaction strengthens the Company’s balance sheet which will further fuel our digital transformation and drive long term shareholder value.”

“A key component of the transaction is an amendment to the Company’s credit agreement that reduces the annual interest rate on the Company’s outstanding debt to 5% from 9% for a five-year period. This rate reduction is expected to result in interest savings of approximately $18 million annually or up to $90 million over the five-year period, further improving the Company’s capital structure and strengthening the balance sheet,” added Bekke.

“The consistent strength of our core business reflects the effectiveness of our Three Pillar Digital Growth Strategy and the progress of our digital transformation,” added Bekke. “That strength along with the $50 million capital infusion and up to $90 million of interest savings sets Lee up for an exciting future as we drive sustainable growth and create long-term value for our shareholders.”

For the first quarter ended December 28, 2025:

• Total operating revenue was $130 million.
  

• Total Digital Revenue⁽⁷⁾ was $70 million and represented 54% of our total operating revenue.

• Revenue from digital-only subscribers totaled $23 million, up 5% over the prior year. Digital-only subscription revenue increased 23% annually over the past three years. Digital-only subscribers totaled 609,000 at the end of the quarter.

• Digital advertising and marketing services revenue represented 71% of our total advertising revenue and totaled $43 million. Amplified Digital^® Agency revenue totaled $24 million in the quarter.

• Digital services revenue, which is predominantly from BLOX Digital, totaled $5 million.

• Total Print Revenue was $60 million.

• Operating expenses totaled $126 million and Cash Costs⁽¹⁾ totaled $121 million, a 16% and 13% decrease compared to the prior year, respectively. Operating expenses in the quarter included $2 million of cyber insurance reimbursement⁽⁶⁾.

• Net loss totaled $5 million and Adjusted EBITDA totaled $12 million. Adjusted EBITDA increased by $5 million over the prior year in the first quarter of fiscal 2026.
  
  

2026 Fiscal Year Outlook:

Debt and Free Cash Flow:

The Company has $455 million of debt outstanding under our Credit Agreement with BH Finance. The financing has favorable terms including a 25-year maturity, a fixed annual interest rate of 9.0%, no fixed principal payments, and no financial performance covenants. The $50 million private placement of common stock closed in February 2026, which made operative certain amendments to the Credit Agreement with BH Finance, resulting in the fixed annual interest dropping to 5% from 9% for a five-year period⁽³⁾.

As of and for the period ended December 28, 2025:

• The principal amount of debt totaled $455 million.

• Cash on the balance sheet totaled $13 million. Debt, net of cash on the balance sheet, totaled $443 million.

• Capital expenditures totaled $1 million for the quarter. We expect up to $5 million of capital expenditures in FY26.

• We expect cash paid for income taxes to total between $2 million and $8 million in FY26.

• We do not expect any pension contributions in the fiscal year.

• The Company is executing a strategic termination of our fully funded benefit pension plan, eliminating the long-term volatility tied to interest rate movement, mortality assumptions and asset performance, while preserving participant benefits and improving balance sheet flexibility.
  
  

Conference Call Information:

As previously announced, we will hold an earnings conference call and audio webcast today at 9 a.m. Central Time. The live webcast will be accessible at www.lee.net and will be available for replay 24 hours later. Analysts have been invited to ask questions on the call. Questions from other participants may be submitted by participating in the webcast. To participate in the live conference call via telephone, please register here. Upon registering, a dial-in number and unique PIN will be provided to join the conference call.

About Lee:

Lee Enterprises is a major subscription and advertising platform and a leading provider of local news and information, with daily newspapers, rapidly growing digital products and nearly 350 weekly and specialty publications serving 72 markets in 25 states. Lee's markets include St. Louis, MO; Buffalo, NY; Omaha, NE; Richmond, VA; Lincoln, NE; Madison, WI; Davenport, IA; and Tucson, AZ. Lee Common Stock is traded on NASDAQ under the symbol LEE. For more information about Lee, please visit www.lee.net.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS — The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a “safe harbor” for forward-looking statements. This release contains information that may be deemed forward-looking that is based largely on our current expectations, and is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Among such risks, trends and other uncertainties, which in some instances are beyond our control, are:

• Our ability to manage declining print revenue and circulation subscribers;

• The impact and duration of adverse conditions in certain aspects of the economy affecting our business;

• Changes in advertising and subscription demand;

• Changes in technology that impact our ability to deliver digital advertising;

• Potential changes in newsprint, other commodities and energy costs;

• Interest rates;

• Labor costs;

• Significant cyber security breaches or failure of our information technology systems;

• Our ability to achieve planned expense reductions and realize the expected benefit of our acquisitions;

• Our ability to maintain employee and customer relationships;

• Our ability to manage increased capital costs;

• Our ability to maintain our listing status on NASDAQ;

• Competition;

• We may be required to indemnify the previous owners of BH Media or The Buffalo News for unknown legal and other matters that may arise;

• The impacts of changes to our leadership and corporate governance; and

• Other risks detailed from time to time in our publicly filed documents.
  
  

Any statements that are not statements of historical fact (including statements containing the words “may”, “will”, “would”, “could”, “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “intends”, “plans”, “projects”, “considers” and similar expressions) generally should be considered forward-looking statements. Statements regarding our plans, strategies, prospects and expectations regarding our business and industry and our responses thereto may have on our future operations, are forward-looking statements. They reflect our expectations, are not guarantees of performance and speak only as of the date the statement is made. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are made as of the date of this report. We do not undertake to publicly update or revise our forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Contact:
[email protected]
(563) 383-2100

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(UNAUDITED)

DIGITAL / PRINT REVENUE COMPOSITION
(UNAUDITED)

RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
(UNAUDITED)

The tables below reconcile the non-GAAP financial performance measure of Adjusted EBITDA to Net loss, its most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure:

The table below reconciles the non-GAAP financial performance measure of Cash Costs to Operating expenses, the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure:

The table below reconciles the non-GAAP financial performance measure of Same-store Revenues to Operating Revenues, its most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measure:

NOTES