Lee Enterprises Incorporated
NASDAQ: LEE · COMMUNICATION SERVICES · PUBLISHING
Updated 2026-06-05
Lee Enterprises Incorporated (LEE) Financial statements
SEC filings — annual and quarterly data.
Income statement — annual
| Item | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.13B | $1.13B | $1.03B | $842.03M | $780.65M | $756.10M | $710.49M | $674.74M | $656.70M | $648.54M | $614.36M | $566.94M | $543.96M | $509.85M | $618.00M | $794.65M | $780.97M | $691.14M | $611.38M | $562.34M |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | — | -0.1% | -8.8% | -18.2% | -7.3% | -3.1% | -6.0% | -5.0% | -2.7% | -1.2% | -5.3% | -7.7% | -4.1% | -6.3% | +21.2% | +28.6% | -1.7% | -11.5% | -11.5% | -8.0% |
| Cost of revenue | $400.21M | $408.60M | $525.58M | $72.31M | $55.86M | $59.08M | $52.00M | $43.48M | $37.99M | $30.26M | $26.11M | $24.90M | $24.95M | $22.24M | $24.24M | $29.77M | $30.10M | $25.35M | $16.81M | $247.82M |
| Gross profit | $728.44M | $719.06M | $503.29M | $769.72M | $724.79M | $697.03M | $658.48M | $631.26M | $618.70M | $618.28M | $588.25M | $542.04M | $519.01M | $487.62M | $593.76M | $764.87M | $750.87M | $665.79M | $594.57M | $314.52M |
| Gross margin | 64.5% | 63.8% | 48.9% | 91.4% | 92.8% | 92.2% | 92.7% | 93.6% | 94.2% | 95.3% | 95.8% | 95.6% | 95.4% | 95.6% | 96.1% | 96.3% | 96.1% | 96.3% | 97.2% | 55.9% |
| R&D | — | — | — | — | — | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| SG&A | $435.84M | $442.49M | $421.70M | $339.01M | $315.70M | $303.65M | $281.02M | $254.83M | $243.05M | $239.03M | $229.75M | $209.69M | $196.33M | $182.87M | $243.02M | $330.90M | $317.79M | $266.91M | $234.58M | $216.02M |
| Operating income | $204.03M | $20.12M | $-818.59M | $-173.39M | $147.19M | $-103.34M | $102.82M | $-57.32M | $113.20M | $109.37M | $104.00M | $92.55M | $88.52M | $74.73M | $50.28M | $56.56M | $24.85M | $37.17M | $4.55M | $19.88M |
| Operating margin | 18.1% | 1.8% | -79.6% | -20.6% | 18.9% | -13.7% | 14.5% | -8.5% | 17.2% | 16.9% | 16.9% | 16.3% | 16.3% | 14.7% | 8.1% | 7.1% | 3.2% | 5.4% | 0.7% | 3.5% |
| EBITDA | $299.18M | $113.71M | $-951.31M | $-90.08M | $219.61M | $-31.12M | $170.36M | $6.51M | $156.32M | $150.09M | $139.78M | $143.89M | $120.19M | $100.66M | $95.16M | $97.75M | $79.11M | $69.01M | $37.66M | $16.70M |
| EBITDA margin | 26.5% | 10.1% | -92.5% | -10.7% | 28.1% | -4.1% | 24.0% | 1.0% | 23.8% | 23.1% | 22.8% | 25.4% | 22.1% | 19.7% | 15.4% | 12.3% | 10.1% | 10.0% | 6.2% | 3.0% |
| EBIT | $210.30M | $20.12M | $-1.04B | $-169.68M | $146.43M | $-102.45M | $104.44M | $-49.13M | $107.81M | $104.52M | $96.33M | $102.61M | $88.42M | $71.33M | $59.02M | $54.91M | $42.56M | $38.39M | $10.05M | $-2.14M |
| Interest expense | $0.00 | $0.00 | $67.97M | $75.42M | $63.12M | $52.70M | $83.08M | $89.45M | $102.65M | $77.84M | $64.23M | $57.57M | $52.84M | $54.70M | $59.71M | $44.77M | $41.77M | $41.47M | $41.23M | $40.51M |
| Income tax | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Effective tax rate | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Net income | $70.83M | $81.00M | $-879.91M | $-180.25M | $46.10M | $-146.87M | $-21.27M | $-78.32M | $6.79M | $23.32M | $34.96M | $27.48M | $45.77M | $14.27M | $-1.98M | $22.75M | $-2.02M | $-5.27M | $-25.84M | $-37.59M |
| Net income growth (YoY) | — | +14.4% | -1186.3% | +79.5% | +125.6% | -418.6% | +85.5% | -268.3% | +108.7% | +243.1% | +49.9% | -21.4% | +66.5% | -68.8% | -113.8% | +1251.6% | -108.9% | -161.1% | -390.7% | -45.5% |
| Profit margin | 6.3% | 7.2% | -85.5% | -21.4% | 5.9% | -19.4% | -3.0% | -11.6% | 1.0% | 3.6% | 5.7% | 4.8% | 8.4% | 2.8% | -0.3% | 2.9% | -0.3% | -0.8% | -4.2% | -6.7% |
Frequently asked questions
What is Lee Enterprises Incorporated's revenue?
Lee Enterprises Incorporated's trailing twelve-month revenue is $532.42M. Revenue is the top line the whole model builds on, and at this scale the question shifts from how fast it grows to whether margins hold as it compounds.
How profitable is LEE?
In its most recent fiscal year, LEE ran a gross margin of 55.93%, an operating margin of 3.53%, and a net margin of -6.69%. Margins this high mean most of each extra dollar of revenue drops through to profit, which is the signature of real pricing power.
How much free cash flow does LEE generate?
LEE produced $-7.08M in free cash flow in its most recent fiscal year. Free cash flow is what is left after running and reinvesting in the business, and it is the cash that actually funds buybacks, dividends, and a stronger balance sheet.
Is LEE's balance sheet healthy?
LEE holds $9.99M in cash and equivalents against $455.47M in long-term debt, on $-43.31M of shareholder equity. That debt is best read against the cash flow the business throws off each year.