Lee Enterprises

Lee Enterprises, Inc. – owner of the QC Times, the Dispatch-Argus and some 70 other newspapers and online new sites nationally – lost $37.5 million during its 2025 fiscal year ended Sept. 29.

For the fourth quarter, the media company headquartered in Davenport lost $6.4 million.

Despite the underwater earnings, Lee President and CEO Kevin Mowbray pronounced in the earnings news release Nov. 26 that the company "was pleased with our fourth quarter results as we continue to outperform the industry.

"Digital subscription revenue increased 16 percent on a same-store basis, marking five consecutive years of industry-leading performance," Mowbray stated. "This consistent strength reflects the effectiveness of our Three Pillar Digital Growth Strategy and the exceptional execution of our team."

Lee Enterprises, Inc. – parent company of the Quad City Times and Dispatch/Argus newspapers – slashed compensation costs by $12 million in the third quarter, but still lost $2 million during the three-month period ended June 29.

The company narrowed its third quarter red ink from a year ago, a loss of 31 cents per share ($2 million) compared to a loss of 73 cents per share ($4.4 million) for the same period a year ago.

Lee Enterprises, Inc. – owner of the Quad City Times and Dispatch/Argus – hopes increasing digital advertising and subscription revenues will eventually offset the steady decline in the media company's print ad and subscription revenue.

But the latest quarterly report shows the difficulty in jumping from print to online revenue streams.

The company lost $16.9 million for the first quarter as print ad revenues plunged more than 19 percent compared to the same period a year ago. A year ago, the company lost $1.6 million during the first quarter.

Lee Enterprises, Inc. – owner of the QC Times and Daily Dispatch/Argus – says it hit a "revenue inflection point" with more digital than print revenue in its third quarter.

But despite the transition milestone in digital revenue, the company lost $3.7 million (73 cents per share) during the three-month period ended June 23. The previous year, Lee reported third quarter net income of $2.1 million (26 cents per share).

“Our investment thesis is grounded in this transformation as we replace print revenue and margin with digital revenue and margin that are growing at a rapid clip," Kevin Mowbray, Lee's President and Chief Executive Officer, stated in the company earnings news release. "Total digital revenue has grown 17 precent annually over the last three years, and we expect this strong growth to continue.”