Are you pondering over one question – Is any newspaper stock fit to buy? As the US Presidential elections approach, the top newspaper stocks have been in focus lately. For example, the New York Times Company has gained 9.63% during the past month and 43.57% year-to-date. Compare this with the S&P500 index that returned 3.99% during the past month and 1.49% year-to-date.
However, not all stocks have performed as well. News Corp, for example, has returned 10.02% for the past month. However, it has fallen by 7.27% year-to-date. The company was recently in the news as James Murdoch, son of Rupert Murdoch, had resigned from the company’s board over editorial differences. Similarly, Gannett Co Inc, a peer of the New York Times Company, has risen by 47.86% during the past month but fallen by a massive 72% year-to-date. The New York Times Company has been the best newspaper for stock market.
The concept of “all publicity is good publicity” seems to be working out well for the New York Times Company. Recently, two of its senior editors resigned, stoking controversy and making headlines in many other newspapers. Headlines are very important in the digital world driven by clicks. New York Times has also been focusing on digital as it has managed to sign up 5 million online customers.
Digital is really important because the circulation of physical newspapers is on a downtrend. In fact, it has gone down to the 1940 levels. Even then, the New York Times continues to be the third-largest newspaper by circulation. USA Today is number one while the Wall Street Journal is number two on the list. Those looking to buy newspaper stocks will, perhaps, find the performance of the New York Times Company to be the most encouraging.
