USA Today parent Gannett tops profit estimates but sales fall short
USA Today parent Gannett Co. Inc. said Monday it had net income of $10.6 million, or 9 cents a share, in the third quarter, down from $13.4 million, or 11 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue fell to $635.6 million from $711.7 million. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 4 cents and revenue of $666 million. The company said digital revenue came to 38% of total revenue, while digital advertising and marketing services revenue came to 53% of total advertising and marketing services revenue. "We were pleased to see our ReachLocal segment return to same store revenue growth led by strong gains at WordStream and our local markets," Chief Executive Paul Bascobert said in a statement. "We expect continued improvement within our digital advertising and marketing services revenues as we head into the fourth quarter." The company lowered its full-year revenue forecast to $2.61 billion to $2.63 billion, down from earlier guidance of $2.74 billion to $2.81 billion. Shares were not yet active premarket, but have gained 26% in 2019, while the S&P 500 has gained 22%.
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