Lee Enterprises (LEE) Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] (2011 - 2026)
Lee Enterprises' Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] came in at 4.63% for fiscal Q3 2026 (quarter ended Jun 28, 2026), up 6.07 percentage points from -1.44% a year earlier and up 1.54 percentage points from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Lee Enterprises (LEE) Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] (2011 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
For FY2025 (ended Sep 28, 2025), Lee Enterprises' Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] was -0.92%, down 1.66 percentage points from FY2024.
- Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] carries a five-year change of -0.92 percentage points (FY2020 to FY2025).
- Going back by fiscal year, Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] was 0.75% in FY2024 (-6.12 pp), 6.87% in FY2023 (+6.27 pp), 0.60% in FY2022 (-8.00 pp) and 8.60% in FY2021 (+8.60 pp).
- The fiscal Q3 2026 figure represents the highest quarterly Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] since fiscal Q2 2024.
- Year-over-year, Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] has increased for three consecutive quarters, with an average year-over-year change of -1.74 percentage points over the last eight quarters.
- The fastest year-over-year change in Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] over five years came in fiscal Q4 2021 (a gain of 8.77 percentage points), and the weakest in fiscal Q4 2022 (a drop of 8.50 percentage points).
- Business Quant data shows LEE's Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] at 3.08% (Q2 2026), 0.69% (Q1 2026) and -0.94% (Q4 2025) in the three fiscal quarters before Q3 2026.
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | ROIC (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warner Bros. Discovery | 77.70 Bn | 63.36 Bn | 4.10 Bn | -1.60% |
| 2 | Fox | 28.70 Bn | 14.61 Bn | - | 9.59% |
| 3 | Omnicom | 22.56 Bn | 4.63 Bn | 1.36 Bn | 3.96% |
| 4 | News | 17.11 Bn | 9.30 Bn | - | 6.61% |
| 5 | Pearson | 11.61 Bn | 8.74 Bn | - | - |
| 6 | New York Times | 11.17 Bn | 8.65 Bn | 394.61 Mn | - |
| 7 | Sirius Xm Holdings | 9.31 Bn | 8.89 Bn | 1.44 Bn | 5.82% |
| 8 | Skydance | 7.66 Bn | 5.58 Bn | - | - |
| 9 | Wpp | 5.73 Bn | -6.07 Bn | - | - |
| 10 | Lee Enterprises | 140.89 Mn | 7.85 Mn | - | 4.63% |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Jun 28, 2026 | 4.63% |
| Mar 29, 2026 | 3.08% |
| Dec 28, 2025 | 0.69% |
| Sep 28, 2025 | -0.94% |
| Jun 29, 2025 | -1.44% |
| Mar 30, 2025 | -1.45% |
| Dec 29, 2024 | -1.39% |
| Sep 29, 2024 | 0.77% |
| Jun 23, 2024 | 3.56% |
| Mar 24, 2024 | 4.95% |
| Dec 24, 2023 | 6.04% |
| Sep 24, 2023 | 6.87% |
| Jun 25, 2023 | 3.52% |
| Mar 26, 2023 | 2.72% |
| Dec 25, 2022 | 1.66% |
| Sep 25, 2022 | 0.26% |
| Jun 26, 2022 | 6.84% |
| Mar 27, 2022 | 7.82% |
| Dec 26, 2021 | 9.10% |
| Sep 26, 2021 | 8.77% |
API Access
Lee Enterprises Return on Invested Capital [ROIC] API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=return-on-invested-capital-%5Broic%5D&ticker=LEE&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "return-on-invested-capital-[roic]", "ticker": "LEE", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=return-on-invested-capital-%5Broic%5D&ticker=LEE&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();