LEE Enterprises

LEE on Nasdaq. Lee Enterprises sells news and advertising to readers and businesses. Market value $158m.

Watch this stockFree. We tell you when something changes.

Price checks use the past 12 months to June 2026. Some use the latest annual report instead, as marked. Quality checks use five annual reports, the latest for the year to September 2025.

Should I look at this?

Not a fit for our list right now

Why it could be worth it

Owned by GAMCO Investors and Cannell Capital, two long-term investors we follow.

What to watch out for

Expensive right now: it scores 6 of 100 on price, and our list needs 60.
Business quality below our bar: it scores 13 of 100, and our list needs 70.

See Media & telecom stocks that passed both tests

This is not advice. Check the numbers below.

Compare with another stock

Cash yield

annual report to September 2025

-4.5%low

For every $100 of what the whole company costs, it produced $-4.49 of spare cash last year. A savings account pays about $4.

Price to profit

past 12 months to June 2026

26.4×full

You pay 26.4 years of operating profit for the business. The average large US company costs around 18.

Return on capital

five annual reports to September 2025

4.3%five-year median

Each dollar kept in the business earns 4 cents a year. Above 10 is good.

Quality score: 13 of 100. Price score: 6 of 100. Our list needs 70 on quality and 60 on price.

$7.07 a share, 112% above its 1-year low

Pays no dividend

Prices from Tuesday’s close (6 October).

Five years of cash, in billions

0.0

-0.0

20212022202320242025

Revenue
Revenue	$795m	$781m	$691m	$611m	$562m
Operating margin
Operating margin	7.1%	3.2%	5.4%	0.7%	-0.8%
Debt to equity
Debt to equity	11.74	30.83	21.46	n/a	n/a
Shares outstanding
Shares outstanding	0.01bn	0.01bn	0.01bn	0.01bn	0.02bn

Health checks

Free cash flow positive1 of 5 years
Accounting looks honest (Beneish)Not enough data
Financial strength (Piotroski)2 of 8 checks we could run
Profit backed by cash (accruals)Yes
DebtUnknown
Revenue growth, five yearsShrinking, 1.9% a year
Buying back its own sharesNo, 273% more shares since 2021

The quarter to June 2026

How the business did, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.

Sales: $126 million last quarter, down 11% on a year ago.
Profit: $5 million, after a loss of $2 million a year ago.
It keeps 4 cents of each $1 of sales as operating profit, after losing 1 cents a year earlier.
265% more shares than a year ago. Each share owns a bit less of the company.
Debt is $395 million more than cash, down from $442 million a year ago.
Sales did not grow on a year ago in any of the last 4 quarters.

Sales by quarter

$141m

$126m

Sales by quarter
Quarter to	Amount
September 2024	$159m
December 2024	$145m
March 2025	$137m
June 2025	$141m
September 2025	$139m
December 2025	$130m
March 2026	$122m
June 2026	$126m

Profit by quarter

-$2m

$5m

Profit by quarter
Quarter to	Amount
September 2024	-$10m
December 2024	-$17m
March 2025	-$13m
June 2025	-$2m
September 2025	-$6m
December 2025	-$6m
March 2026	-$2m
June 2026	$5m

From the company's quarterly reports to the SEC.

Dates

Next results (estimated): n/a
Last annual report (10-K): 26 November 2025
Next quarterly (estimated, 10-Q): 6 November 2026

Who owns it

2 long-term investors we follow own it, unchanged from 2 last quarter. 50 funds in all.

Jun '25

Dec '25

Jun '26

GAMCO InvestorsMario Gabelli
Value
$5m
Share of fund
<0.1%
Cannell CapitalJ. Carlo Cannell
Value
$3m
Share of fund
2.2%
Cut

Fund	Value	Share of that fund	Change
GAMCO InvestorsMario Gabelli	$5m	<0.1%
Cannell CapitalJ. Carlo Cannell	$3m	2.2%	Cut

Largest holders overall

From 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.

Big holders and activists

3 investors own more than 5%.

Jerrilyn M. Hoffmann Revocable Trust dated May 30, 2001 (the "Trust")
Insider or founder
at least 53.5%+1.6 pts
(filed with 2 related holders)
Since 3 March 2026
Quint Digital Ltd
Passive investor
at least 14.6%+2.3 pts
(filed with 3 related holders)
Since 5 February 2026
Kupperman Harris
Passive investor
at least 4.7%
(filed with 5 related holders)
Since 3 March 2025
GAMCO Asset Management Inc.
Passive investor
Sold down below 5%
Since 5 February 2026
What they said
The Reporting Persons file the long form Schedule 13D pursuant to Section 13d-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Act") even though they may be technically eligible to file the short form Schedule G. Because the Reporting Persons may regularly communicate with the…
Read the filing
TETON ADVISORS, LLC
Passive investor
Sold down below 5%
Since 14 November 2025
What they said
The Reporting Persons file the long form Schedule 13D pursuant to Section 13d-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Act") even though they may be technically eligible to file the short form Schedule G. Because the Reporting Persons may regularly communicate with the…
Read the filing
Teton Advisors, Inc.
Passive investor
Sold down below 5%
Since 11 November 2025
What they said
The Reporting Persons file the long form Schedule 13D pursuant to Section 13d-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Act") even though they may be technically eligible to file the short form Schedule G. Because the Reporting Persons may regularly communicate with the…
Read the filing

Holder	Stake	Since
Jerrilyn M. Hoffmann Revocable Trust dated May 30, 2001 (the "Trust") Insider or founder	at least 53.5%+1.6 pts (filed with 2 related holders)	3 March 2026
Quint Digital Ltd Passive investor	at least 14.6%+2.3 pts (filed with 3 related holders)	5 February 2026
Kupperman Harris Passive investor	at least 4.7% (filed with 5 related holders)	3 March 2025
GAMCO Asset Management Inc. Passive investor	Sold down below 5%	5 February 2026	What they said The Reporting Persons file the long form Schedule 13D pursuant to Section 13d-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Act") even though they may be technically eligible to file the short form Schedule G. Because the Reporting Persons may regularly communicate with the… Read the filing
TETON ADVISORS, LLC Passive investor	Sold down below 5%	14 November 2025	What they said The Reporting Persons file the long form Schedule 13D pursuant to Section 13d-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Act") even though they may be technically eligible to file the short form Schedule G. Because the Reporting Persons may regularly communicate with the… Read the filing
Teton Advisors, Inc. Passive investor	Sold down below 5%	11 November 2025	What they said The Reporting Persons file the long form Schedule 13D pursuant to Section 13d-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Act") even though they may be technically eligible to file the short form Schedule G. Because the Reporting Persons may regularly communicate with the… Read the filing

From Schedule 13D and 13G filings: anyone owning more than 5% must file one.

What insiders did

In the last 12 months, 1 insider bought $5m of shares on the open market. 2 sold $479,060.

MOLONEY HERBERT W III
Director
Sold
Date
11 June 2026
Shares
24,000
Price
$9.82
Value
$235,680
Hoffmann David Henry
Director
Bought
Date
11 June 2026
Shares
1,566
Price
$9.82
Value
$15,378
Hoffmann David Henry
Director
Bought
Date
10 June 2026
Shares
1,500
Price
$10.47
Value
$15,705
Hoffmann David Henry
Director
Bought
Date
9 June 2026
Shares
2,500
Price
$10.80
Value
$27,000
Hoffmann David Henry
Director
Bought
Date
8 June 2026
Shares
6,925
Price
$10.86
Value
$75,206
Hoffmann David Henry
Director
Bought
Date
5 June 2026
Shares
18,200
Price
$10.85
Value
$197,470
Hoffmann David Henry
Director
Bought
Date
4 June 2026
Shares
18,200
Price
$11.08
Value
$201,656
Hoffmann David Henry
Director
Bought
Date
3 June 2026
Shares
18,200
Price
$10.58
Value
$192,556
Hoffmann David Henry
Director
Bought
Date
2 June 2026
Shares
18,200
Price
$10.90
Value
$198,380
Hoffmann David Henry
Director
Bought
Date
29 May 2026
Shares
13,700
Price
$11.74
Value
$160,838

Date	Who	Did	Shares	Price	Value
11 June 2026	MOLONEY HERBERT W III Director	Sold	24,000	$9.82	$235,680
11 June 2026	Hoffmann David Henry Director	Bought	1,566	$9.82	$15,378
10 June 2026	Hoffmann David Henry Director	Bought	1,500	$10.47	$15,705
9 June 2026	Hoffmann David Henry Director	Bought	2,500	$10.80	$27,000
8 June 2026	Hoffmann David Henry Director	Bought	6,925	$10.86	$75,206
5 June 2026	Hoffmann David Henry Director	Bought	18,200	$10.85	$197,470
4 June 2026	Hoffmann David Henry Director	Bought	18,200	$11.08	$201,656
3 June 2026	Hoffmann David Henry Director	Bought	18,200	$10.58	$192,556
2 June 2026	Hoffmann David Henry Director	Bought	18,200	$10.90	$198,380
29 May 2026	Hoffmann David Henry Director	Bought	13,700	$11.74	$160,838

From Form 4 filings: insiders must report trades in their own company's shares within two days.

Warning signs in its filings

Problems the company itself reported to the SEC, in its own words.

None of the serious warning signs we check for were found. 1 thing worth knowing.

We look for five warning signs: doubt it can keep going, weak checks on its own accounts, a notice that its past accounts can't be relied on, a change of auditor, and one customer bringing in a big share of sales. We don't check lawsuits, investigations or debt yet.

We checked the auditor's report, internal controls, restatement notices, auditor changes and big customers in the 10-K filed 26 Nov 2025, plus the 10-Q filed 7 Aug 2026 and 17 later 8-Ks.

Changed auditor
Worth knowing
The company changed its auditor (the firm that checks its books) in the last two years.
“On September 2, 2026, upon the completion of a competitive evaluation process in consideration of a potential audit firm rotation, the Audit and Risk Management Committee (the “Audit Committee”) of the Board of Directors of Lee Enterprises, Incorporated (the “Company”) approved the dismissal of BDO USA, P.C. (“BDO”) as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm”
From an 8-K filed 9 September 2026: Change of auditor. Read it in the filing

A 10-K is the yearly report every US company files with the SEC. An 8-K is a short notice of a big event.

What could go wrong

Sales have shrunk: 1.9% a year.
It owes more than it owns on paper (negative equity). Often that's from borrowing to buy back shares.
It isn't cheap on profits: 26.4× operating profit.

Whether the price already reflects the risks is what the deep dive is for.

The deep dive

Everything above is arithmetic on public filings. The deep dive reads the last ten years of annual reports, the proxy statements, and the earnings calls, then argues the case the way Buffett, Klarman, and Hohn would, and checks every claim against the source.

What the business is worth, as a range, and the margin of safety at today’s price
Prices to start buying, buy, and buy hard
The three things that would make this a mistake
Every number footnoted to the filing it came from

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What a finished deep dive looks like

Not advice. Numbers on this page come from SEC filings and are updated each night; prices are updated again after the US market closes. The five-year figures are rounded.