Lee Enterprises (LEE) Operating Margin (2010 - 2026)
Lee Enterprises' (LEE) quarterly Operating Margin came in at 7.0% in Q1 2026, up 1028.0% YoY from 0.62% in Q1 2025, and up 74.91% on a QoQ basis from 4.0% in Q4 2025.
Lee Enterprises (LEE) Operating Margin (2010 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
Lee Enterprises (LEE) has 17 years of Operating Margin data on file, last reported at 7.0% in Q1 2026.
- Quarterly Operating Margin rose 1028.0% year-over-year to 7.0% in Q1 2026, while the trailing twelve-month figure through Mar 2026 was 3.18% (up 430.0% YoY) and the FY2025 annual result came in at 0.83%, down 157.0% from the prior year.
- Operating Margin rose to 7.0% in Q1 2026, from 4.0% in the prior quarter.
- In the past five years, Operating Margin ranged from a high of 7.13% in Q2 2023 to a low of 3.28% in Q1 2025.
- A 5-year average of 1.87% and a median of 3.27% in 2024 frame the typical range for Operating Margin.
- Annual changes were most pronounced in 2024 — Operating Margin slumped 897 bps — and 2026, when it soared 1028 bps.
- Tracing LEE's Operating Margin over 5 years: stood at 6.04% in 2022, then declined by 17 bps to 5.03% in 2023, then sank by 146 bps to 2.32% in 2024, then surged by 273 bps to 4.0% in 2025, then jumped by 75 bps to 7.0% in 2026.
- The last three Operating Margin figures came in at 7.0% (Q1 2026), 4.0% (Q4 2025), and 1.05% (Q3 2025), per Business Quant data.
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Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | Operating Margin (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York Times | 10.69 Bn | 10.03 Bn | 394.61 Mn | 15.48% |
| 2 | Pearson | 10.59 Bn | 9.98 Bn | 1.18 Bn | 13.94% |
| 3 | John Wiley & Sons | 2.72 Bn | 2.64 Bn | 337.86 Mn | 24.59% |
| 4 | Usa Today | 957.47 Mn | 870.81 Mn | 208.25 Mn | 9.61% |
| 5 | Scholastic | 952.03 Mn | 817.13 Mn | 285.70 Mn | 10.80% |
| 6 | Lee Enterprises | 181.86 Mn | 122.43 Mn | 63.89 Mn | 6.85% |
| 7 | Educational Development | 11.62 Mn | 9.81 Mn | 2.82 Mn | -26.81% |
| 8 | TNL Mediagene | 687,810.81 | -1.24 Mn | - | - |
Historic Data
Download Data| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Jun 28, 2026 | 6.85% |
| Mar 29, 2026 | 7.00% |
| Dec 28, 2025 | 4.00% |
| Sep 28, 2025 | -1.05% |
| Jun 29, 2025 | 3.30% |
| Mar 30, 2025 | -3.28% |
| Dec 29, 2024 | -2.32% |
| Sep 29, 2024 | -2.31% |
| Jun 23, 2024 | 3.27% |
| Mar 24, 2024 | -3.11% |
| Dec 24, 2023 | 5.03% |
| Sep 24, 2023 | 6.66% |
| Jun 25, 2023 | 7.13% |
| Mar 26, 2023 | 1.67% |
| Dec 25, 2022 | 6.04% |
| Sep 25, 2022 | -1.79% |
| Jun 26, 2022 | 3.30% |
| Mar 27, 2022 | -1.70% |
| Dec 26, 2021 | 12.42% |
| Sep 26, 2021 | 6.99% |