NEW YORK TIMES CO

Overview

The following table presents information about our financial position:

Financial Position Summary

Our primary sources of cash from operations were revenues from subscription and advertising sales. Subscription and advertising revenues provided approximately 69% and 20%, respectively, of total revenues in 2024. The remaining cash inflows were primarily from other revenue sources such as Wirecutter affiliate referrals, licensing, commercial printing, the leasing of floors in the Company Headquarters, our live events business, retail commerce, books, television and film and our student subscription sponsorship program.

Our primary uses of cash from operations were for employee compensation and benefits and other operating expenses. We believe our cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities balance and cash provided by operations, in combination with other sources of cash, will be sufficient to meet our financing needs over the next twelve months and beyond.

As of December 31, 2024, we had cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities of $911.9 million and approximately $350 million in available borrowings, and no amounts were outstanding under the Credit Facility. Our cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities balances increased in 2024, primarily due to cash proceeds from operating activities, partially offset by cash used for share repurchases, dividend payments, capital expenditures and taxes paid on behalf of employees resulting from share-based compensation tax withholding.

We have paid quarterly dividends on the Class A and Class B Common Stock since late 2013. In February 2025, the Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.18 per share, an increase of $0.05 per share from the previous quarter (see Note 18 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information). We currently expect to continue to pay cash dividends in the future, although changes in our dividend program will be considered by our Board of Directors in light of our earnings, capital requirements, financial condition and other factors considered relevant.

The Board of Directors approved Class A share repurchase programs in February 2022 ($150.0 million), February 2023 ($250.0 million) and February 2025 ($350.0 million). The authorizations provide that shares of Class A Common Stock may be purchased from time to time as market conditions warrant, through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions or other means, including Rule 10b5-1 trading plans. We expect to repurchase shares to offset the impact of dilution from our equity compensation program and to return capital to our stockholders. There is no expiration date with respect to these authorizations. Through February 19, 2025, the aggregate purchase price of repurchases under these programs totaled approximately $266.9 million (excluding commissions and excise taxes), fully utilizing the 2022 authorization and leaving approximately $483.1 million remaining under the 2023 and 2025 authorizations.

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During 2024, we made contributions of $13.2 million to certain qualified pension plans funded by cash on hand. As of December 31, 2024, our qualified pension plans had plan assets that were $71.3 million above the present value of future benefits obligations, a decrease of $11.7 million from $83.0 million as of December 31, 2023. We expect contributions made to satisfy the greater of minimum funding or collective bargaining agreement requirements to total approximately $13 million in 2025.

Capital Resources

Sources and Uses of Cash

Cash flows provided by/(used in) by category were as follows:

Operating Activities

Cash from operating activities is generated by cash receipts from subscriptions, advertising sales and other revenue. Operating cash outflows include payments for employee compensation, retirement and other benefits, raw materials, marketing expenses, interest and income taxes.

Net cash provided by operating activities increased in 2024 compared with 2023 due to higher net income, partially offset by higher tax payments and higher cash payments for incentive compensation.

Investing Activities

Cash from investing activities generally includes proceeds from marketable securities that have matured and the sale of assets, investments or a business. Cash used in investing activities generally includes purchases of marketable securities, payments for capital projects and acquisitions of new businesses and investments.

Net cash used in investing activities in 2024 was primarily related to $289.4 million in net purchases of marketable securities and $29.2 million in capital expenditures payments.

Financing Activities

Cash from financing activities generally includes borrowings under third-party financing arrangements, the issuance of long-term debt and funds from stock option exercises. Cash used in financing activities generally includes the repayment of amounts outstanding under third-party financing arrangements, the payment of dividends, the payment of long-term debt and capital lease obligations, and stock-based compensation tax withholding.

Net cash used in financing activities in 2024 was primarily related to share repurchases of $85.0 million, dividend payments of $82.9 million and share-based compensation tax withholding payments of $21.8 million.

See “— Third-Party Financing” below and our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for additional information on our sources and uses of cash.

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Free Cash Flow

Free cash flow is a non-GAAP financial measure defined as net cash provided by operating activities, less capital expenditures. The Company considers free cash flow to provide useful information to management and investors about the amount of cash that is available to be used to strengthen the Company’s balance sheet and for strategic opportunities including, among others, investing in the Company’s business, strategic acquisitions, dividend payouts and repurchasing stock. In addition, management uses free cash flow to set targets for return of capital to stockholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases.

The Company aims to return at least 50% of free cash flow to stockholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases over the next three to five years.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to free cash flow:

Free cash flow for 2024 was $381.3 million compared with $337.9 million in 2023. Free cash flow increased primarily due to higher cash provided by operating activities, as discussed above.

We were required to maintain $14.4 million of restricted cash as of December 31, 2024, and $13.7 million as of December 31, 2023, substantially all of which is set aside to collateralize workers’ compensation obligations.

Capital Expenditures

Capital expenditures totaled approximately $31 million and $23 million in 2024 and 2023, respectively. The increase in capital expenditures in 2024 was primarily driven by higher expenditure related to improvements in the Company Headquarters and at our College Point, N.Y., printing and distribution facility. The cash payments related to the capital expenditures totaled approximately $29 million and $23 million in 2024 and 2023, respectively, due to the timing of the payments. In 2025, we expect capital expenditures of approximately $40 million, which will be funded from cash on hand. The capital expenditures will be primarily driven by expenditures related to our College Point, N.Y., printing and distribution facility, improvements in our Company Headquarters and investments in technology to support our strategic initiatives.

Third-Party Financing

On July 27, 2022, we entered into a $350.0 million five-year unsecured Credit Facility that amended and restated a prior facility. Certain of our domestic subsidiaries have guaranteed our obligations under the Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2024, there was approximately $0.6 million in outstanding letters of credit and the remaining committed amount remains available. As of December 31, 2024, there were no outstanding borrowings under the Credit Facility and the Company was in compliance with the financial covenants contained in the Credit Facility. See Note 10 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for information regarding the Credit Facility.

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Contractual Obligations

The information provided is based on management’s best estimate and assumptions of our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2024. Actual payments in future periods may vary from those reflected in the table.

(1) See Note 16 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information related to our operating leases.

(2) Represents purchase commitments for the use of digital content delivery services from August 1, 2023 through July 31, 2028.

(3) The Company’s general funding policy with respect to qualified pension plans is to contribute amounts at least sufficient to satisfy the minimum amount required by applicable laws and regulations and Guild contracts. Contributions for our qualified pension plans and future benefit payments for our unfunded pension and other postretirement benefit payments have been estimated over a 10-year period; therefore, the amounts included in the “Later Years” column only include payments for the period of 2030-2034. For our funded qualified pension plans, estimating funding depends on several variables, including the performance of the plans’ investments, assumptions for discount rates, expected long-term rates of return on assets, rates of compensation increases (applicable only for the Guild-Times Adjustable Pension Plan that has not been frozen) and other factors. Thus, our actual contributions could vary substantially from these estimates. While benefit payments under these plans are expected to continue beyond 2034, we have included in this table only those benefit payments estimated over the next 10 years. Benefit plans in the table above also include estimated payments for multiemployer pension plan withdrawal liabilities. See Note 9 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information related to our pension and other postretirement benefits plans.

Other Liabilities — Other in our Consolidated Balance Sheets include liabilities related to (1) deferred compensation, primarily related to our deferred executive compensation plan (the “DEC”) and (2) various other liabilities, including our contingent tax liability for uncertain tax positions and contingent consideration. These liabilities are not included in the table above primarily because the timing of the future payments is not determinable. See Note 10 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

The DEC previously enabled certain eligible executives to elect to defer a portion of their compensation on a pre-tax basis. The deferred amounts are invested at the executives’ election in various hypothetical investment options. The fair value of deferred compensation is based on the hypothetical investments elected by the executives. The fair value of deferred compensation was $13.2 million as of December 31, 2024. The DEC was frozen effective December 31, 2015, and no new contributions may be made into the plan. See Note 10 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on Other Liabilities — Other.

Our liability for uncertain tax positions was approximately $7 million, including approximately $2 million of accrued interest as of December 31, 2024. Until formal resolutions are reached between the Company and the taxing authorities, determining the timing and amount of possible audit settlements relating to uncertain tax positions is not practicable. Therefore, we do not include this obligation in the table of contractual obligations. See Note 11 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding income taxes.

The contingent consideration represents contingent payments in connection with the acquisition of substantially all of the assets and certain liabilities of Serial Productions, LLC. The Company estimated the fair value of the contingent consideration liability using a probability-weighted discounted cash flow model. The estimate of the fair value of contingent consideration requires subjective assumptions to be made regarding probabilities assigned to operational targets and the discount rate. The contingent consideration balance of $1.6 million as of December 31, 2024, is included in Accrued expenses and other, in our Consolidated Balance Sheets. See Note 8 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.

We have a contract through the end of 2025 with Domtar Corporation, a large global manufacturer and distributor of paper, market pulp and wood products. The contract requires the Company to purchase annually the lesser of a fixed number of tons or a percentage of our total newsprint requirement at market rate in an arm’s-length transaction. Since the quantities of newsprint purchased annually under this contract are based on our total newsprint requirement, the amount of the related payments for these purchases is excluded from the table above.

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