USA TODAY Co. Q2 2026 Earnings: Cost Cuts Support Profit Despite Lower Revenue

USA TODAY Co. (NYSE: TDAY) reported Q2 2026 revenue of $536.3 million, down 8.3% from $584.9 million a year earlier, while diluted EPS fell to $0.06 from $0.52. The EPS comparison was heavily affected by a large prior-year tax benefit: pretax income improved to $14.5 million from a $9.1 million loss as expenses declined, while free cash flow increased approximately 11% to $19.6 million. The results cover the quarter ended June 30, 2026.

Core earnings data

Revenue remained under pressure across both digital and print-related operations, although the decline was more pronounced in print and commercial revenue. Management said operating expenses decreased approximately 8% year over year, helping the company generate its second consecutive quarter of positive net income.

The company reported $56.9 million of adjusted EBITDA and $11.0 million of adjusted net income, both non-GAAP measures. Adjusted EBITDA represented approximately 10.6% of quarterly revenue.

The steep decline in reported net income and EPS does not reflect the direction of pretax profitability because the prior-year quarter included an unusually large income tax benefit.

Business and segment performance

Print and commercial revenue produced most of the consolidated decline. It fell by $37.4 million, accounting for approximately three-quarters of the company’s $48.5 million total revenue reduction.

Digital revenue also declined, even as digital-only subscriptions and the company’s digital other businesses grew. Those areas were not sufficient to keep total digital revenue from decreasing during the quarter.

Digital represented 47.4% of total revenue. The company also reported 158 million average monthly unique visitors, including approximately 107 million from its U.S. media network and 51 million from its U.K. digital properties.

LocaliQ’s core platform revenue, adjusted EBITDA, average revenue per user, and average customer count all improved sequentially. However, the company did not provide year-over-year comparisons for these LocaliQ indicators.

Lower costs restored pretax profit, while the prior-year tax benefit distorted EPS

The main earnings distinction is between operating progress and the reported year-over-year decline in net income. In Q2 2025, USA TODAY Co. recorded a $9.1 million pretax loss but recognized an $87.5 million income tax benefit, resulting in $78.4 million of net income.

In Q2 2026, the company generated $14.5 million of pretax income and recorded a $5.3 million tax provision, leaving $9.1 million of net income. Consequently, net income and EPS fell sharply on a reported basis even though pretax results improved by approximately $23.5 million.

Lower expenses contributed to that improvement. Depreciation and amortization declined to $31.2 million from $42.6 million, integration and reorganization costs fell to $2.3 million from $12.3 million, and interest expense decreased to $20.9 million from $24.4 million. Other income also increased to $14.8 million from $6.9 million.

Cash flow and balance sheet

USA TODAY Co. generated $35.4 million of operating cash flow and $19.6 million of free cash flow in the quarter. Management said free cash flow increased approximately 11% year over year, providing some financial support while revenue continued to contract.

At June 30, the company held $86.7 million of cash and cash equivalents, compared with $90.2 million at the end of 2025. Total debt principal outstanding was $970.5 million, including $722.7 million of first-lien debt. First-lien net leverage declined 14% year over year to 2.3 times last-12-month adjusted EBITDA.

The lower leverage ratio and reduced interest expense represent progress, but the difference between total debt and available cash means debt service remains an important use of cash flow.

2026 outlook

Management reiterated its full-year 2026 outlook rather than changing its targets. The Q2 same-store revenue decline of 6.1% was steeper than the company’s full-year range, placing additional attention on whether revenue trends stabilize over the remainder of the year.

The outlook indicates that management expects digital growth, cost control, and cash generation to offset continued pressure elsewhere in the portfolio. No specific dollar ranges were provided.

Management perspective

Chairman and CEO Michael Reed said digital-only subscription revenue grew for a second consecutive quarter and digital-only average revenue per user reached another record. Management also expects digital other revenue to continue expanding as the company adds content-licensing partners and develops commerce opportunities.

The company is responding to shifts in consumer discovery beyond traditional search by expanding distribution through social platforms, video, and newsletters. It is also investing in first-party audience capabilities and technologies such as Palantir to improve audience analysis and monetization. Management believes the business is approaching a revenue inflection point, although the current quarter still showed declines in both reported and same-store revenue.

Recent insider transactions

The supplied Yahoo Finance data show that insiders purchased 116,577 shares across eight transactions and sold 13,471 shares in one transaction over the previous six months. Net purchases totaled 103,106 shares, equal to 0.8% of the 13.07 million shares reported as held by insiders.

The latest transaction list was otherwise dominated by director stock awards. The transaction data alone do not establish insiders’ views on the company’s valuation or future performance.

Risks investors should monitor

• Continued revenue contraction: Total revenue fell 8.3%, while same-store revenue declined 6.1%. Print and commercial operations remained the largest source of pressure.
• Digital growth has not yet offset legacy declines: Digital-only subscriptions and digital other revenue grew, but total digital revenue still decreased approximately 4.2%.
• Execution against the full-year outlook: The quarterly same-store decline was below the full-year objective of flat to down low single digits, increasing the importance of stabilization during the rest of 2026.
• Debt and interest obligations: Total debt principal of $970.5 million substantially exceeded cash of $86.7 million, leaving cash generation and debt management central to the financial outlook.
• Changing audience-discovery channels: The shift away from traditional search requires successful execution across social, video, newsletters, content licensing, and first-party audience monetization.

Conclusion

USA TODAY Co.’s Q2 2026 results combined lower revenue with improved pretax profitability and higher free cash flow. Cost reductions and lower restructuring, depreciation, and interest expenses helped offset declines in both digital and print-related revenue, while the prior-year tax benefit made the reported EPS comparison unusually unfavorable. The main issues to monitor are whether digital growth can lift total revenue, whether same-store trends move closer to the full-year outlook, and whether cash flow continues to support debt reduction.