New York Times NYSE: NYT leaders used the company’s 2026 annual meeting of stockholders to highlight subscriber gains, digital revenue growth, and ongoing investment in journalism and new formats, while also fielding shareholder questions on accountability practices and coverage issues.
Leadership emphasizes mission and reporting scale
Chairman A.G. Sulzberger opened the meeting by noting that discussion could include forward-looking statements and that related risks are detailed in the company’s SEC filings, including its 2025 annual report. Sulzberger introduced directors attending virtually and said members of the executive team and representatives of Ernst & Young, the company’s independent auditor, were also available for questions.
Sulzberger framed the year as a convergence of milestones: the United States’ 250th year and The New York Times’ 175th anniversary. He emphasized the role of “truth, understanding, and accountability” in supporting democracy and said the company’s journalists covered major global events and trends, with correspondents “on the ground in 155 countries.”
He cited investigative work that “led to important reforms,” including making wildfire fighting safer and organ donations fairer, and said The Times published “53,000 articles, 7,000 videos, and 1,100 podcast episodes” over the last year. He also detailed output from other products, including The Athletic, Games, Wirecutter, and Cooking, and said the company’s archives contain “upward of 20 million original works.”
Sulzberger also described efforts to expand formats and workflows, including making the brand “as compelling to watch” as to read or listen, and said journalists are using AI in reporting, including for navigating large datasets. He pointed to work by the Standards desk to help readers understand how editorial decisions are made, and he highlighted product developments across the portfolio, including Games’ launch of “our first multiplayer game, Crossplay,” which he said “immediately hit No. 1 in the App Store.”
Subscriber growth and financial milestones highlighted
President and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien said 2025 was “a great year” driven by execution against the company’s long-term strategy. She reiterated that the company added “1.4 million net new digital subscribers,” bringing total subscribers to “12.8 million,” and said the results move the company toward its next milestone of 15 million subscribers.
Kopit Levien said strong engagement across the portfolio contributed to “significant growth in digital advertising.” She also reported that The Times generated “more than $2 billion in total digital revenues for the first time,” while adjusted operating profit grew “more than 20%,” and margin expanded to “19.5%.”
She said the media environment remains challenging, describing a “polarized, low-trust environment” shaped by major platforms that create headwinds for publishers. Still, she argued the company is well-positioned due to investments and what she described as several advantages, including large market opportunities across news and lifestyle products, the ability to produce original journalism and content at scale, and ongoing innovation in formats such as video and AI-enabled accessibility.
Looking to 2026, Kopit Levien said priorities include continuing independent coverage of major stories, expanding into more formats and places “especially with video,” adding value across products through new shows, coverage areas, games, and features, and navigating technological change to make The Times “even more valuable to more people.” She said the company expects 2026 to be “another year of subscriber growth, revenue growth, AOP growth, margin expansion, and strong free cash flow.”
Shareholders approve directors, auditor, and executive pay advisory vote
Michael Brown, vice president, assistant general counsel, and assistant secretary, reviewed voting matters and meeting procedures. He said Broadridge Financial Solutions representatives served as inspectors of election and confirmed a quorum.
Brown outlined three proposals put to shareholders:
- Election of 13 director nominees (four elected by Class A stockholders and nine by Class B stockholders).
- Ratification of Ernst & Young LLP as auditors for the 2026 fiscal year.
- A non-binding advisory vote by Class B stockholders to approve compensation for named executive officers.
Brown reported preliminary results showing that all director nominees were elected with at least a majority of votes cast, Ernst & Young was ratified as auditor, and stockholders approved executive compensation on an advisory basis. He said final results will be posted on the company’s website and filed with the SEC on Form 8-K.
Q&A addresses public editor request, meeting format, and coverage concerns
During Q&A, shareholder Michael Petrelis again urged the company to reinstate the public editor role, arguing that the scale of the newsroom warrants “equally robust accountability.” Sulzberger said the company takes reader trust “extremely seriously,” but does not view a public editor as the best approach. He said the role could amount to “outsourcing accountability” to a single person, while The Times aims instead to make trust “a core part of the expectations for all of our journalists,” including through high reporting and editing standards, conflict-of-interest rules, ethical guidelines, explanations of journalistic decisions, and feedback channels. He added that the company has expanded investment in these areas, including “significantly expanding” what he described as the Trust and Standards team.
Another shareholder, Scott Kalben, asked about participation in virtual versus in-person meetings. Brown said the company believes the virtual format allows stockholders to join “regardless of location” in a cost-effective way and said the company evaluates the format each year. Kalben also suggested bringing back printed letters to The New York Times Magazine; Sulzberger said he would share the suggestion with magazine editor Jake Silverstein.
Shareholder Brooke Williams asked about accountability related to Times reporting on transgender people and referenced a loss of “news-only subscribers” in recent years. Sulzberger disputed the premise, saying, “We actually have more news subscribers than at any point in our history,” and said the number continued to grow last year. He said editors and reporters have spent time exploring concerns and meeting with critics, and that he believes the coverage has been “fair and comprehensive,” “rigorously reported and edited,” and “respectful.” Sulzberger said The Times has reported “hundreds of stories” on prejudice and attacks facing the trans community, as well as stories about trans rights and community members, and added that the editorial page “has explicitly championed trans rights for many years.”
With no further questions submitted, the meeting concluded shortly before noon Eastern Time.
About New York Times NYSE: NYT
The New York Times Company is a publicly traded media organization best known for publishing The New York Times newspaper and operating the NYTimes.com digital platform. The company produces daily print and digital journalism covering national and international news, opinion pieces, feature stories, and multimedia content. Alongside its flagship newspaper, the firm offers a range of subscription-based services, including Times Cooking, NYT Games, podcasts and newsletters, designed to engage a broad audience of readers and advertisers.
Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, The New York Times has built a reputation for in-depth reporting and investigative journalism.
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