LEE Enterprises, Inc key statistics and ratios

In fiscal 2025, LEE Enterprises, Inc had an operating margin of -0.8% and a current ratio of 0.79. Each ratio below is calculated from the figures on its income statement, balance sheet and cash flow pages.

Financial ratios

US$ thousands unless shown otherwise. Fiscal years, plus the last twelve months (LTM) when newer.

LEE Enterprises, Inc: financial ratios, annual
Fiscal year	2009Sept 2009	2010Sept 2010	2011Sept 2011	2012Sept 2012	2013Sept 2013	2014Sept 2014	2015Sept 2015	2016Sept 2016	2017Sept 2017	2018Sept 2018	2019Sept 2019	2020Sept 2020	2021Sept 2021	2022Sept 2022	2023Sept 2023	2024Sept 2024	2025Sept 2025	LTMJun 2026
Operating margin	−20.6%	19.9%	−14.0%	14.6%	−8.5%	17.1%	16.9%	16.9%	15.7%	15.8%	14.7%	8.1%	7.1%	3.2%	5.4%	0.7%	−0.8%	4.0%
Net margin	−14.6%	6.2%	−20.3%	−2.4%	−11.6%	1.0%	3.6%	5.7%	4.8%	8.4%	2.8%	−0.3%	2.9%	−0.3%	−0.8%	−4.2%	−6.7%	−1.8%
Free-cash-flow margin	7.4%	12.7%	12.9%	10.2%	11.9%	10.4%	10.0%	11.7%	12.0%	9.8%	10.2%	6.8%	5.4%	−0.6%	−1.2%	−1.3%	−1.3%	−0.1%
Return on equity	—	114.7%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	−7.2%	−29.1%	—	—	—
Return on assets	—	3.2%	−11.3%	−1.5%	−8.3%	0.8%	3.0%	5.0%	4.3%	7.7%	2.5%	−0.3%	2.7%	−0.3%	−0.7%	−3.8%	−6.0%	−1.5%
Asset turnover	—	0.52	0.56	0.64	0.72	0.81	0.83	0.87	0.88	0.91	0.90	0.87	0.93	0.98	0.95	0.90	0.90	0.84
Current ratio	—	0.65	0.12	1.11	0.98	0.81	0.79	0.78	0.69	0.91	0.99	0.76	0.77	0.83	0.93	0.85	0.79	1.17
Debt to equity	0.0%	>999%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	>999%	>999%	>999%	—	—	—
Interest cover (operating income ÷ interest)	n/m	2.4x	n/m	1.2x	n/m	1.4x	1.5x	1.6x	1.5x	1.6x	1.6x	1.1x	1.3x	0.6x	0.9x	0.1x	n/m	0.6x
Effective tax rate	—	39.2%	—	—	—	—	—	—	28.9%	—	33.3%	—	22.6%	87.8%	—	—	—	—
Capital spending as % of revenue	1.4%	1.2%	1.0%	1.1%	1.4%	2.1%	1.5%	1.2%	0.7%	1.1%	1.2%	1.3%	0.9%	1.0%	0.7%	1.5%	0.3%	0.1%
Free cash flow ÷ net income	—	206.6%	—	—	—	>999%	277.8%	206.2%	248.2%	116.4%	362.9%	—	187.3%	—	—	—	—	—
Dividends ÷ net income	—	0.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Dividends and buybacks ÷ free cash flow	13.7%	0.0%	0.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

US$ thousands unless shown otherwise. Fiscal quarters.

LEE Enterprises, Inc: financial ratios, quarterly
Quarter	2024 Q4Sept 2024	2025 Q1Dec 2024	2025 Q2Mar 2025	2025 Q3Jun 2025	2025 Q4Sept 2025	2026 Q1Dec 2025	2026 Q2Mar 2026	2026 Q3Jun 2026
Operating margin	−2.3%	−2.3%	−3.3%	3.3%	−1.0%	4.0%	7.0%	6.9%
Net margin	−6.4%	−11.6%	−9.1%	−1.4%	−4.6%	−4.3%	−1.8%	3.7%
Free-cash-flow margin	−1.8%	−6.1%	−1.6%	5.9%	−3.1%	2.9%	−5.6%	5.4%
Current ratio	0.85	0.78	0.80	0.82	0.79	0.74	1.14	1.17

Returns use average equity or assets over the year. Return on equity is left blank when equity is negative or so small that the ratio says nothing (above ±200%); interest cover is left blank above 200 times. Price-based ratios such as P/E are on the valuation page.

Financial health

1 of 5 checks passed · June 28, 2026

What it owns · $625m

Short-term assets $121mLonger-term assets $503m

What it owes, and who funded it · $625m

Short-term liabilities $104mLonger-term liabilities $521mShareholders' equity $-2m

Short-term assets cover short-term liabilities $121m of assets due within a year against $104m of liabilities due within a year.
Short-term assets cover long-term liabilities $121m short-term assets against $521m of longer-dated liabilities.
More cash than debt $59m of cash against $455m of debt.
Debt below 40% of shareholders' equity Equity or debt not reported. Not assessable.
Debt burden no higher than five years ago Five-year comparison not available. Not assessable.
A year's operating cash flow covers at least 20% of debt −$167,000 of operating cash flow against $455m of debt.
Operating profit covers interest at least five times over Operating income of $21m against $34m of interest.

From LEE Enterprises, Inc's latest balance sheet as filed. Checks are fixed, documented rules (methodology), counted only where the company reports the figures — a dot means the filing doesn't break the item out. Descriptions of reported data, not advice.

Moat

7 /100

Weak moat

How hard LEE Enterprises's competitive advantage looks for rivals to wear away, judged from 10 years of its own filings: returns on capital, pricing power, profit durability, cash conversion and discipline.

Returns on capital 0 / 20

Net income has been a median 0.6% of total assets over 10 years.
Durability 0 / 20

Operating margin has been a median 5.8%; its worst year was -1.2%.
Cash conversion 8 / 20

Free cash flow was positive in 6 of 10 years, at a median 3.1% of revenue.
Discipline 10 / 20

The diluted share count rose 114.4% over five years; stock-based pay has been a median 0.2% of revenue.

AI disruption exposure: High. In this industry, the core product is information work that AI systems increasingly perform. The score above includes a 15-point deduction for that exposure (22 before it).

A rules-based reading of reported figures, not a forecast and not investment advice. How the score is built: methodology.

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Figures from LEE Enterprises, Inc's SEC filings (10-K and 10-Q), retrieved October 29, 2026. How we read and check them: methodology and data sources. Not investment advice. Back to LEE Enterprises, Inc.