Well, folks, it looks like The New York Times just took a 9% nosedive in the stock market after reporting fewer-than-expected digital subscribers. Who would’ve thought that in a quarter filled with juicy political drama, people wouldn’t be flocking to buy subscriptions to the Gray Lady? Shocking, I know. 

(Source: Giphy) 

In short, while Trump gave the left-wing media plenty of excuses to clickbait readers into “sophisticated” diss tracks, while Harris’ celebrity line-up gave them a truckload of faces to cover - NYT only added 260,000 digital-only subscribers last quarter. Which on the surface, sounds pretty decent, but according to Wall Street - it’s piss poor. 

(Source: New York Post) 

Simply put, analysts had their hearts set on 280,200 new subs, and when that number didn’t hit, carnage followed. Shares plunged from $57.52 to $52.25 (-9.18%) in less than four hours earlier this morning. What’s actually comical about this is that despite Wall Street’s knee-jerk reaction, digital ad sales for the NYT are actually up 8.8%, a.k.a. The best bump in over two years.

(Source: The Wrap)

The reason? Well apparently the Times’ lifestyle offerings like The Athletic and Wirecutter are more appealing to read than political fake news in 2024. So yeah, that’s the good news - now here’s more of the bad news: If the lack of new subscribers wasn’t enough of a crippling blow to the NYT’s share value, the Times’ tech union decided it was the perfect moment to go on strike LOL. 

That’s right, just ahead of today’s major election, 600 tech workers hit the picket line, demanding better pay and more remote work flexibility. Because, why not? If you’re going to strike, why not do it when the newsroom is about to be flooded with election coverage? Nothing says “let’s negotiate” like threatening to break the website on the most important news day of the year.

(Source: Giphy) 

What’s more, is that it’s not like these tech workers are rubbing pennies together like Tim Cooks’ overseas minions. For instance, NYT tech workers are pulling in an average of $190,000 a year—$40k more than the journalists. But hey, they want more remote work days and some extra perks. Who doesn’t? The Times, unsurprisingly, isn’t thrilled about the timing. But they assure us that they have “robust plans” in place to make sure the election coverage goes off without a hitch. Yeaaaaaah, sure, ok. 

(Source: Fox News) 

Meanwhile, management and the union are still sparring over things like job security, remote work policies, and, wait for it… pet bereavement leave. No you didn’t read that wrong… pet friggin’ bereavement. At one point, they were negotiating for up to seven days off if Fluffy the cat goes to the great scratching post in the sky. That request has since been dropped, but it’s a pretty good indicator of how wild these negotiations have been.

(Source: Giphy) 

So given all of this, what’s next for the Times on Election Day and onward? More Strikes? More missed subscriber targets? We don’t really know - assuming the tech workers don’t initiate carnage on the site first. But one thing we do know is all bets are off as we approach the next few days. Election results, volatility, and wild sh*t is in the air, so make sure you have your ducks in order, friends.

And as always, stay safe and stay frosty! Until next time… 

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Stocks.News does not hold positions in any companies mentioned in the article.