New York Times Co (NYT) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the New York Times Company's second-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions)

大家早安，歡迎參加紐約時報公司 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）

Please also note today's event is being recorded. At this time, I'd like to turn the floor over to Anthony DiClemente, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

另請注意今天的活動正在錄製中。現在，我想請投資者關係高級副總裁安東尼·迪克萊門特 (Anthony DiClemente) 發言。請繼續。

Thank you, and welcome, everyone, to the New York Times Company's second-quarter 2024 earnings conference call. On the call today, we have Meredith Kopit Levien, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Will Bardeen, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝並歡迎大家參加紐約時報公司 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。今天的電話會議有總裁兼執行長 Meredith Kopit Levien；執行副總裁兼財務長威爾‧巴丁 (Will Bardeen)。

Before we begin, I would like to remind you that management will make forward-looking statements during the course of this call. These statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions, which may change over time. Our actual results could differ materially due to a number of risks and uncertainties that are described in the company's 2023 10-K and subsequent SEC filings.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒您，管理層將在本次電話會議期間做出前瞻性陳述。這些陳述是基於我們目前的預期和假設，可能會隨著時間的推移而改變。由於公司 2023 年 10-K 和隨後的 SEC 文件中描述的許多風險和不確定性，我們的實際結果可能存在重大差異。

In addition, our presentation will include non-GAAP financial measures, and we have provided reconciliations to the most comparable GAAP measures in our earnings press release which is available on our website at investors.nytco.com. In addition to our earnings press release, we also have posted a slide presentation relating to our results on our website once again at investors.nytco.com.

此外，我們的簡報將包括非 GAAP 財務指標，並且我們在獲利新聞稿中提供了與最具可比性的 GAAP 指標的調整表，該新聞稿可在我們的網站 Investors.nytco.com 上取得。除了我們的收益新聞稿外，我們還再次在我們的網站 Investors.nytco.com 上發布了與我們的業績相關的幻燈片簡報。

And finally, please note that a copy of the prepared remarks from this morning's call will be posted to our investor website shortly after we conclude.

最後，請注意，今天上午電話會議準備好的評論副本將在我們結束後不久發佈到我們的投資者網站上。

With that, I will turn the call over to Meredith.

這樣，我會將電話轉給梅雷迪絲。

Thanks, Anthony, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝安東尼，大家早安。

It was a strong second quarter for the time, one in which we made further progress on the path to becoming the essential subscription for every curious person seeking to understand and engage with the world. Our Q2 results demonstrate that our strategy continues to work as designed. Let me describe how.

這是當時表現強勁的第二季度，我們在成為每個尋求了解和參與世界的好奇者的必備訂閱的道路上取得了進一步的進展。我們第二季的結果表明，我們的策略繼續按設計發揮作用。讓我描述一下如何。

First, our world-class news destination combined with our distinctive products in games, sports, cooking, and shopping advice, attracted large and passionate audiences in giant spaces. Together, these products gave many people multiple reasons to come to the times and numerous pathways by which to do so.

首先，我們世界一流的新聞目的地結合我們在遊戲、體育、烹飪和購物建議方面的獨特產品，在巨大的空間中吸引了大量熱情的觀眾。這些產品共同為許多人提供了來到這個時代的多種理由以及實現這一目標的多種途徑。

Second, our subscribers were deeply engaged. In Q2, we saw the share of subscribers on our sites and apps each week hit another multiyear high. That's a clear sign that we're delivering unique value to users and building long-term relationships with them.

其次，我們的訂戶深度參與。在第二季度，我們看到我們網站和應用程式上每週的訂閱者比例再創多年來新高。這是一個明顯的跡象，表明我們正在為用戶提供獨特的價值並與他們建立長期關係。

Third, we saw another quarter of increasing ARPU, further evidence of the distinctive nature of our journalism and that it's increasingly valuable to people over time. That also supports our conviction that we can keep growing digital-only ARPU year on year as we use our multiple pricing and monetization levers.

第三，我們看到 ARPU 又成長了四分之一，這進一步證明了我們新聞業的獨特性，隨著時間的推移，它對人們的價值越來越大。這也支持了我們的信念，即透過使用多種定價和貨幣化槓桿，我們可以保持純數位 ARPU 逐年成長。

And fourth, growth in Q2 across digital advertising, affiliate and licensing demonstrated the ability of our diverse product portfolio to power multiple revenue streams beyond subscription.

第四，第二季數位廣告、聯盟行銷和授權方面的成長證明了我們多元化的產品組合有能力推動訂閱之外的多種收入來源。

In sum, our high-quality increasingly diverse portfolio of products attracted tens of millions of people each week and engaged them deeply and we're showing that we can sustainably translate that interest into more direct relationships, more subscribers, growing revenue, and increasing profitability even as the market continues to experience significant audience headwinds driven by shifts in the platform landscape.

總而言之，我們的高品質、日益多樣化的產品組合每週吸引了數以千萬計的人並深入參與其中，我們正在證明我們可以將這種興趣可持續地轉化為更直接的關係、更多的訂戶、不斷增長的收入和不斷提高的獲利能力儘管市場繼續面臨因平台格局變化而帶來的巨大受眾阻力。

Halfway through 2024, we are on track for another year of higher AOP and margin expansion as well as strong free cash flow generation.

2024 年已過半，我們預計將迎來更高的 AOP 和利潤率擴張以及強勁的自由現金流生成。

I'll turn now to some of the details from the quarter, starting with subscribers. We added 300,000 net new digital subscribers marking further progress on the path to our next milestone of 15 million total subscribers. The key to driving subscriber growth is having products that are continuously becoming more differentiated and valuable. That starts with news where our ongoing investments in coverage mean the time is well prepared to follow the story wherever it goes.

我現在將討論本季的一些細節，從訂戶開始。我們淨新增 30 萬名數位訂戶，標誌著我們在邁向 1500 萬總訂戶這一下一個里程碑的道路上取得了進一步進展。推動用戶成長的關鍵是擁有不斷變得更加差異化和有價值的產品。首先是新聞報道，我們對報道的持續投資意味著我們已經做好了充分準備，可以隨時關注報道的進展。

In recent months, that's ranged from the historic events unfolding around the US presidential election, to the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine, to intensifying weather, to sweeping technological change. Alongside our broad and deep coverage of hard news, Times users are also benefiting from the increased client-backed health and wellness coverage, I mentioned last quarter and an enhanced culture report.

近幾個月來，從美國總統大選周圍發生的歷史性事件，到加薩和烏克蘭持續不斷的戰爭，到加劇的天氣，再到徹底的技術變革。除了我們對硬新聞的廣泛而深入的報道之外，《紐約時報》的用戶還受益於客戶支持的健康和保健報道的增加，我在上個季度提到了這一點，以及一份增強的文化報告。

An example of the latter was last month's ranking of the Best Book of the 21st century, which was read by millions and it included an array of features for people to create their own list and track what they read.

後者的一個例子是上個月的 21 世紀最佳圖書排名，該排名有數百萬人閱讀，其中包括一系列功能，供人們創建自己的清單並追蹤他們閱讀的內容。

We're also driving engagement through format innovations that make our coverage more accessible and compelling. That includes live three things that deliver real-time reporting and commentary during the biggest news moment, and more prominent use of video to demonstrate the expertise, and hard work of our reporters across feat. It also includes an expanded audio offering that makes much of our day-to-day coverage listenable and further experiments with AI-assisted translations into Spanish.

我們也透過格式創新來推動參與，使我們的報告更容易理解和引人注目。這包括在最大的新聞時刻提供即時報導和評論的直播三件事，以及更突出地使用影片來展示我們記者的專業知識和辛勤工作。它還包括擴展的音訊產品，使我們的大部分日常報道都可以收聽，並進一步嘗試將人工智慧輔助翻譯成西班牙語。

Game had another strong quarter in Q2 and contributed to our business in multiple ways. It drove new standalone game subscribers with the valuable funnel for new bundle subscribers, it generated meaningful advertising revenue, and have brought millions of prospects to the Times portfolio.

遊戲在第二季度再次表現強勁，並以多種方式為我們的業務做出了貢獻。它透過新的捆綁訂閱者的寶貴管道吸引了新的獨立遊戲訂閱者，產生了可觀的廣告收入，並為《紐約時報》投資組合帶來了數百萬潛在客戶。

Games had two notable product enhancements in the quarter. We brought our popular new word game Strands out of beta and into our mobile games' app, where we can reach an even bigger audience. And we added Wordle archives as a subscriber only benefit and an example of the kind of feature that entices audiences to pay and stay.

Games 在本季有兩項值得注意的產品增強。我們將流行的新文字遊戲《Strands》從測試版引入我們的手機遊戲應用程式中，這樣我們就可以吸引更多的受眾。我們也加入了 Wordle 檔案作為訂閱者獨有的福利，也是吸引觀眾付費並留下來的功能的一個例子。

We also made palpable progress on The Athletic's journey to become a household name among sports fans in the quarter with strong coverage of the Copa America and the Euros and substantial growth in both audience and revenue. We completed the first phase of the athletics technical migration to the Times web domain in the quarter, which enables us to better connect the athletic to the rest of our products. And just a few weeks ago, we launched a new multi-format NFL franchise called Scoop City.

本季度，我們在《The Athletic》成為體育迷家喻戶曉的品牌之路上也取得了顯著進展，對美洲杯和歐洲杯的大力報道以及觀眾和收入的大幅增長。我們在本季完成了向《泰晤士報》網路域的田徑技術遷移的第一階段，這使我們能夠更好地將田徑與我們的其他產品連接起來。就在幾週前，我們推出了一個名為 Scoop City 的全新多形式 NFL 特許經營權。

All of that progress helps keep the athletic on track for profitability by next year and underscores the generational opportunity we see to build a top destination for sports fans globally.

所有這些進展都有助於讓體育運動在明年之前走上盈利的軌道，並強調了我們看到的為全球體育迷打造頂級目的地的世代機會。

The quarter's year-on-year ARPU growth I noted earlier was a function of our ongoing success at transitioning bundle subscribers to higher prices. This reflects our strategy and actions as we steadily add value to our journalism and products, people engage more and value them more. This strengthens our ability to transition subscribers to higher prices over time, and it gives us confidence that we'll see continued year-on-year ARPU growth.

我之前提到的本季度 ARPU 年成長率是我們在將捆綁訂戶轉向更高價格方面不斷取得成功的結果。這反映了我們的策略和行動，因為我們穩步增加我們的新聞和產品的價值，人們更參與並更加重視他們。隨著時間的推移，這增強了我們將訂戶轉向更高價格的能力，並讓我們有信心看到 ARPU 持續同比增長。

Advertising revenue in the quarter was in line with guidance, reflecting growth in our sub-brands and a modest pickup in overall demand despite the continued impact of some marketers avoiding certain hard news topics. And we continue to build new ad products that can drive even more value to marketers.

本季的廣告收入符合預期，反映出我們的子品牌的成長以及整體需求的小幅回升，儘管一些行銷人員迴避某些硬新聞話題的持續影響。我們持續開發新的廣告產品，為行銷人員帶來更多價值。

Last month, we launched BrandMatch, an AI-powered tool to pair advertisers with the most relevant, high-performing content and audiences for their campaigns.

上個月，我們推出了 BrandMatch，這是一個人工智慧驅動的工具，可以將廣告主與其廣告活動中最相關、效果最好的內容和受眾配對。

Revenue beyond subscriptions and advertising exceeded guidance, driven by a strong quarter for Wirecutter and licensing. Wirecutter is providing product reviews across more categories, spotlighting more deals and delivering more advice to help people get the most out of what they buy, all of which increases its value over time.

在 Wirecutter 和授權業務強勁的季度推動下，訂閱和廣告之外的收入超出了預期。 Wirecutter 正在提供更多類別的產品評論、聚焦更多優惠並提供更多建議，以幫助人們充分利用他們所購買的產品，所有這些都會隨著時間的推移而增加其價值。

Our costs in the quarter reflected ongoing discipline even as we continue to invest in the areas that differentiate our journalism and products. That discipline, combined with strong execution resulted in another quarter of AOP growth and healthy free cash flow generation.

我們本季的成本反映了持續的紀律，儘管我們繼續投資於使我們的新聞和產品脫穎而出的領域。這種紀律與強大的執行力相結合，導致 AOP 又成長了一個季度，並產生了健康的自由現金流。

I'll wrap by reminding you of what we're working to do every day, make journalism and products so valuable that people will seek them out, ask for them by name and form direct relationships and daily habits. The combination of our world-class news destination plus market-leading lifestyle products means we have complementary offerings in big spaces, each with multiple growth levers fueling multiple revenue streams. Together, we believe these make the Times resilient in a changing media landscape and well positioned for continued value creation.

最後，我將提醒您我們每天正在努力做的事情，使新聞和產品變得如此有價值，以至於人們會尋找它們，透過名字詢問它們並形成直接的關係和日常習慣。我們的世界級新聞目的地與市場領先的生活方式產品相結合，意味著我們在廣闊的空間中擁有互補的產品，每個產品都有多種成長槓桿，可推動多種收入來源。我們相信，這些共同努力使《紐約時報》能夠在不斷變化的媒體格局中保持彈性，並為持續創造價值做好準備。

Now let me turn it over to Will for more detail.

現在讓我把它交給威爾了解更多細節。

Thanks, Meredith, and good morning, everyone.

謝謝梅雷迪思，大家早安。

As Meredith stated, our Q2 financial results keep us on track to deliver another year of healthy revenue growth, AOP growth, margin expansion, and free cash flow generation. Q2 also demonstrated how our portfolio of market-leading news and lifestyle products is working to drive these economics.

正如梅雷迪思所說，我們第二季度的財務業績使我們有望在新的一年實現健康的收入成長、AOP 成長、利潤率擴張和自由現金流產生。第二季也展示了我們市場領先的新聞和生活方式產品組合如何推動這些經濟發展。

Our growing subscriber base along with increasing subscriber engagement enabled us to strengthen our multiple revenue streams. As our subscriber base is scaled, we've driven operating leverage even as we continue to prioritize strategic investments aimed at further differentiating our high-quality journalism and digital products.

我們不斷增長的訂閱者基礎以及不斷增加的訂閱者參與度使我們能夠加強我們的多種收入來源。隨著我們的用戶群規模擴大，我們不斷提高營運槓桿，同時我們繼續優先考慮旨在進一步區分我們的高品質新聞和數位產品的策略投資。

We grew overall revenue in the quarter by approximately 6% as increasing digital subscription, digital advertising, affiliate and licensing revenue more than offset ongoing declines in print. AOP grew by approximately 14% year over year and AOP margin expanded by approximately 110 basis points to 16.7%.

我們本季的整體收入成長了約 6%，因為數位訂閱、數位廣告、聯盟行銷和授權收入的增加足以抵消印刷品持續下降的影響。 AOP 年成長約 14%，AOP 利潤率擴大約 110 個基點至 16.7%。

Consistent with our capital allocation strategy and the strength of our free cash flow generation, we have returned $82 million to shareholders in the first six months of the year. This included approximately $42 million in share repurchases and $40 million in dividends.

根據我們的資本配置策略和自由現金流產生的實力，我們在今年前六個月向股東返還了 8,200 萬美元。其中包括約 4,200 萬美元的股票回購和 4,000 萬美元的股息。

Now I'll discuss the second quarter's key results, followed by our financial outlook for the third quarter of 2024. Please note that all comparisons are to the prior year period unless otherwise specified. I'll start with the discussion of our subscription business. We added approximately 300,000 net new digital subscribers in the quarter with growth coming from multiple products across our portfolio. Bundle and multiproduct subscribers now make up approximately 45% of our total base along the path to exceeding 50% by the end of next year.

現在，我將討論第二季的主要業績，然後是我們對 2024 年第三季的財務展望。我將從我們的訂閱業務的討論開始。本季我們淨新增約 30 萬名數位用戶，成長來自於我們產品組合中的多種產品。捆綁包和多產品訂閱用戶目前約占我們總用戶數的 45%，到明年年底這一比例將超過 50%。

Total digital-only ARPU grew 2.1% year over year to $9.34 as we continue to step up subscribers from promotional to higher prices and raised prices on tenured non-bundled subscribers. As Meredith highlighted, the value we're we've added to our products across our portfolio in Q2 led to higher levels of subscriber engagement. This strong subscriber engagement, combined with the encouraging results we're seeing in pricing step-up points gives us confidence that modest year-over-year ARPU expansion will continue for the remainder of the year.

由於我們繼續增加訂戶促銷力度，提高價格，並提高了長期非捆綁訂戶的價格，純數位 ARPU 總額年增 2.1% 至 9.34 美元。正如梅雷迪思所強調的那樣，我們在第二季度為我們的產品組合添加的價值導致了更高的訂戶參與度。這種強勁的訂閱者參與度，加上我們在定價提升點上看到的令人鼓舞的結果，讓我們相信，ARPU 將在今年剩餘時間內繼續溫和成長。

As a result of both higher digital subscribers and digital-only ARPU in the second quarter, digital-only subscription revenues grew approximately 13% to $305 million, and total subscription revenues grew approximately 7% to $439 million. Both were in line with the guidance we provided last quarter.

由於第二季度數位用戶數量和純數位 ARPU 的增加，純數位訂閱收入成長約 13% 至 3.05 億美元，總訂閱收入成長約 7% 至 4.39 億美元。兩者都符合我們上季度提供的指導。

Now turning to advertising. Total advertising revenues for the quarter were $119 million, an increase of approximately 1%. Digital advertising revenues increased approximately 8% to $80 million. Both digital advertising and total advertising revenues were within the guidance ranges we provided last quarter.

現在轉向廣告。該季度廣告總收入為 1.19 億美元，成長約 1%。數位廣告收入成長約 8%，達到 8,000 萬美元。數位廣告和廣告總收入均在我們上季度提供的指導範圍內。

Other revenues exceeded our guidance, increasing approximately 5% to $66 million as Wirecutter affiliate and licensing revenues continued to perform well in Q2. Adjusted operating costs came in within our guidance range of 4% to 5%, increasing by approximately 4.4%.

由於 Wirecutter 附屬公司和授權收入在第二季度繼續表現良好，其他收入超出了我們的指導，成長了約 5%，達到 6,600 萬美元。調整後的營運成本在我們 4% 至 5% 的指導範圍內，增加了約 4.4%。

Looking at each of the lines, cost of revenue increased approximately 4%, sales and marketing costs decreased approximately 1.5%, product development costs increased approximately 11% and adjusted G&A costs increased approximately 5%. Adjusted diluted EPS in Q2 increased $0.07 to $0.45, primarily driven by higher operating profit and higher interest income.

從每條產品線來看，收入成本增加了約 4%，銷售和行銷成本減少了約 1.5%，產品開發成本增加了約 11%，調整後的 G&A 成本增加了約 5%。第二季調整後攤薄每股收益增加 0.07 美元至 0.45 美元，主要是由於營業利潤和利息收入增加。

I'll now look ahead to Q3 for the consolidated New York Times Company. Digital-only subscription revenues are expected to increase 12% to 15% compared with the third quarter of 2023, and total subscription revenues are expected to increase 7% to 9%. Digital advertising revenues are expected to increase high single digits and total advertising revenues are expected to be flat to increase low single digits.

我現在將展望合併後的紐約時報公司的第三季。與 2023 年第三季相比，純數位訂閱收入預計將成長 12% 至 15%，總訂閱收入預計將成長 7% 至 9%。數位廣告收入預計將成長高個位數，而廣告總收入預計將持平，以低個位數成長。

Other revenues are expected to increase 9% to 11% as we expect licensing and Wirecutter affiliate revenues to be even stronger drivers of growth in Q3. Adjusted operating costs are expected to increase 5% to 6%, which takes into account the opportunity we're seeing in the quarter to lean into marketing investment during a period of strong returns.

其他收入預計將成長 9% 至 11%，因為我們預計授權和 Wirecutter 附屬收入將成為第三季成長的更強勁驅動力。調整後的營運成本預計將增加 5% 至 6%，這考慮到我們在本季度看到的在強勁回報期間進行行銷投資的機會。

While cost growth rates can fluctuate quarter-to-quarter, particularly on individual lines, we remain focused on sustaining healthy revenue growth, AOP growth and margin expansion for this year and beyond through a disciplined approach to cost management. We expect to continue investing in our high-quality journalism and digital product portfolio while reallocating resources to the areas that create the most value for our audience.

雖然成本成長率可能會按季度波動，尤其是個別產品線，但我們仍然致力於透過嚴格的成本管理方法，在今年及以後維持健康的收入成長、AOP 成長和利潤率擴張。我們希望繼續投資我們的高品質新聞和數位產品組合，同時將資源重新分配到為觀眾創造最大價值的領域。

I'll close by noting that our results demonstrate our essential subscription strategy is working as designed, and we remain on track to achieve our previously stated midterm targets for subscribers, AOP growth, and capital returns.

最後我要指出的是，我們的結果表明我們的基本訂閱策略正在按設計發揮作用，並且我們仍然有望實現先前規定的訂閱者、AOP 成長和資本回報的中期目標。

With that, we are happy to take your questions.

因此，我們很樂意回答您的問題。

(Operator Instructions) David Karnovsky, JPMorgan.

（操作員指示）David Karnovsky，摩根大通。

Hey. Thank you. Just on the digital subscription guide for Q3, it looks healthy acceleration over Q2 at the midpoint. Meredith, maybe you could speak to the puts and takes of that. How much of the lift or growth you're seeing there is a product of the promotional bundle subs graduate in the higher tiers? And what are you seeing for the cohort so far? And then just one for Will on the guide. The acceleration in other revenue in the third quarter, maybe just can you give some detail around that. Thanks.

嘿。謝謝。就第三季的數位訂閱指南而言，它看起來比第二季的中點健康加速。梅雷迪思，也許你可以談談其中的細節。您看到的提升或成長有多少是來自較高層級的促銷捆綁訂閱產品？到目前為止，您對這群人有何看法？然後指南上只寫了一篇給威爾的。第三季其他收入的加速，也許你可以提供一些細節。謝謝。

I mean I'll just make a broad comment, which is I think you're seeing the model kind of play out as designed, with net adds coming from a number of places, bundle in single product and the trajectory of being able to transition those bundle subscribers to higher prices, broadly going very well. Will, you might add the detail he's asking in the second part of the question.

我的意思是，我只想發表一個廣泛的評論，我認為您看到的模型是按設計進行的，淨增加來自多個地方，捆綁在單一產品中以及能夠過渡的軌跡這些捆綁訂戶以更高的價格獲得，整體進展順利。威爾，你可以在問題的第二部分添加他所詢問的細節。

For other income. Yeah, David, as you know, that other revenue line have several different components in it, which can create some natural variability quarter to quarter. I think in Q3, in particular, Wirecutter affiliate revenue can be seasonally stronger in certain periods, and we've been investing there, as Meredith said in her prepared remarks, to create more value there, and we're seeing good returns.

用於其他收入。是的，大衛，正如你所知，其他收入線有幾個不同的組成部分，這可能會產生一些季度與季度之間的自然變化。我認為，特別是在第三季度，Wirecutter 附屬公司的收入在某些時期可能會出現季節性強勁，正如梅雷迪思在她準備好的講話中所說，我們一直在那裡投資，以在那裡創造更多價值，並且我們看到了良好的回報。

In addition, the timing of our licensing revenue can be somewhat lumpy. I think the important thing, stepping back, as we've said in our remarks, we expect both affiliate and license to deliver growth in 2024, and you're seeing that in the Q3 guide.

此外，我們的授權收入的時間安排可能有些不穩定。我認為重要的是，正如我們在評論中所說，我們預計附屬公司和許可證將在 2024 年實現增長，您可以在第三季度指南中看到這一點。

Thomas Yeh, Morgan Stanley.

湯瑪斯葉，摩根士丹利。

Great. Thanks so much. Yes, I really appreciate all the color on the ARPU expansion for the remainder of the year. Going off of what Dave was asking I noticed the bundle in multiproduct ARPU saw a sequential uptick. I know that's somewhat dictated by the inflows of new starts on promotional rates kind of going forward. But can you just give us an update on how the phasing of graduating promotional bundle subscribers has gone. I think you alluded to that cohort building in terms of just the eligibility through the year. Is that still the case?

偉大的。非常感謝。是的，我真的很欣賞今年剩餘時間內 ARPU 擴張的所有色彩。根據 Dave 的要求，我注意到多產品 ARPU 中的捆綁包出現了連續上升。我知道這在某種程度上是由新開工的流入決定了未來的促銷價格。但您能否向我們介紹即將畢業的促銷捆綁訂戶的最新進展。我認為您提到了這一年的資格建設。現在還是這樣嗎？

And then as a follow-up for Will, you mentioned leaning into marketing efforts. I think historically, during periods of elevated new cycle, you've actually kind of leaned off. I was just wondering if there's any change in dynamic there in terms of the ROI that you see from marketing spend. Appreciate it. Thank you.

然後，作為威爾的後續行動，你提到了傾向於行銷工作。我認為從歷史上看，在新周期上升的時期，你實際上已經有所傾斜。我只是想知道從行銷支出中看到的投資回報率方面動態是否有任何變化。欣賞它。謝謝。

Sure, Thomas. I'll take both of those. So on the first one, you've highlighted that, that sequential growth in bundle and multiproduct ARPU, we're really pleased, as Meredith and I both said with how the bundle step-ups are going for the cohorts, and that's the primary driver of the increase in the bundle and multiproduct ARPU we're seeing.

當然，托馬斯。我會接受這兩個。因此，在第一個方面，您強調了捆綁包和多產品ARPU 的連續增長，我們真的很高興，正如梅雷迪思和我都談到的捆綁包升級對群組的影響，這是主要的這是我們看到的捆綁包和多產品 ARPU 成長的驅動力。

Having said that, I just want to step back and say, as we've said before, we're not overly focused on sequential growth in any one subscriber bucket, the really important metric that we are focused on and we want everyone focused on is that year-over-year growth in total digital-only ARPU.

話雖如此，我只是想退一步說，正如我們之前所說，我們並沒有過度關注任何一個訂閱者群體的連續增長，這是我們關注的真正重要的指標，我們希望每個人都關注是純數字ARPU 總額的年增率。

So I'd say kind of leave it with our big -- the bigger pictures that those ARPU increases reflects our strategy and action as we steadily improve our journalism products, people engage more and place higher value on the service and that just continues to strengthen our ability to transition subscribers to higher prices over time and gives us confidence that we'll continue to see that year-over-year ARPU growth going forward.

所以我想說，還是把它留給我們的大局吧——這些ARPU 增加的更大的圖景反映了我們的策略和行動，因為我們穩步改進我們的新聞產品，人們更多地參與並對服務賦予更高的價值，而且這種情況還在繼續加強隨著時間的推移，我們有能力將訂戶轉向更高的價格，這讓我們相信，我們將繼續看到 ARPU 的逐年增長。

I'm going to add one little beat, which is just all the products are getting more valuable as we go and our ability to get people to engage with them gets better as we go, which is why in our prepared remarks, we both talked about the strength of engagement.

我要補充一點，那就是隨著我們的發展，所有產品都變得越來越有價值，並且隨著我們的發展，我們讓人們與他們互動的能力也會變得更好，這就是為什麼在在我們準備好的演講中，我們都談到了關於參與的強度。

Yes. And then on the marketing ROI what I'd say is what we've often said is in practice, sort of the growth rates can fluctuate quarter to quarter as we've seen over the last several quarters in marketing spend. And we're really ROI focused on that.

是的。然後，關於行銷投資報酬率，我想說的是我們在實踐中經常說的，成長率可能會按季度波動，正如我們在過去幾個季度的行銷支出中所看到的那樣。我們確實非常注重投資報酬率。

So while just to step back, while the vast majority of our starts are coming in organically, we always consider every quarter whether to lean in a bit when we see particularly strong returns. And as I noted in my prepared remarks, that appears to be the case so far in Q3. So this may well be one of those quarters we lean in.

因此，雖然我們的絕大多數啟動都是有機的，但我們每季都會考慮當我們看到特別強勁的回報時是否要稍微傾斜一點。正如我在準備好的發言中指出的那樣，第三季度到目前為止的情況似乎是如此。因此，這很可能是我們所關注的領域之一。

I think stepping back, the most important thing, any time we're talking about costs is to just keep in mind that we expect to see year-over-year AOP growth and margin expansion this year and beyond. That's kind of the fundamental focus. And we are just really focused on that long-term investment strategy of investing in the high-quality journalism and digital product portfolio, which enables us to -- that's the core of the growth driver and we are reallocating resources to the areas that create the most value for our audience.

我認為退一步來說，最重要的是，任何時候我們談論成本時都要記住，我們預計今年及以後將看到 AOP 同比增長和利潤率擴張。這是基本的焦點。我們真正專注於投資高品質新聞和數位產品組合的長期投資策略，這使我們能夠——這是成長動力的核心，我們正在將資源重新分配到創造對我們的觀眾來說最有價值。

Jason Bazinet, Citi.

傑森·巴齊內特，花旗銀行。

Yeah. I appreciate the capital returns, the buybacks and the dividends. But it seems like your cash balance has been gradually growing since you did the acquisition of the athletic back in the first quarter of '22. And so my question is, what do you think will end up happening with that cash?

是的。我很欣賞資本回報、回購和股息。但自從您在 22 年第一季收購該運動品牌以來，您的現金餘額似乎一直在逐漸成長。所以我的問題是，你認為這筆現金最終會發生什麼事？

Yeah, I appreciate the question since we're really pleased, as you can imagine, with the strong cash flow generation we're seeing, and it's reinforcing -- it's only reinforcing our confidence in our capital allocation strategy, and that remains unchanged.

是的，我很欣賞這個問題，因為正如你可以想像的那樣，我們對看到的強勁現金流產生感到非常高興，而且它正在增強——它只會增強我們對資本配置策略的信心，而這一點點仍然沒有改變。

So let me just make sure I remind everyone is that our top priority is first to continue that high return of organic investment to grow our essential subscription strategy. We see a lot of running room in those huge spaces we're in.

因此，讓我確保提醒大家，我們的首要任務是先繼續保持有機投資的高回報，以發展我們的基本訂閱策略。我們在我們所處的巨大空間中看到了很多運行空間。

Second, as you noted, returning at least 50% of our free cash flow to shareholders of the midterm between stock buybacks and dividends. And I think what you're hitting on here is the value we also see in the third leg of our capital allocation strategy, which is the balance sheet and having a really strong balance sheet. We have a really high bar for M&A.

其次，正如您所指出的，在股票回購和股利之間的中期，我們將至少 50% 的自由現金流返還給股東。我認為你在這裡談到的價值是我們在資本配置策略的第三部分中看到的價值，即資產負債表和擁有非常強大的資產負債表。我們對於併購的門檻非常高。

But what we see is a real benefit in sustaining a balance sheet that provides us with a lot of strategic optionality. We think that's an important advantage during a period of market dynamism where we see ourselves on the path to becoming among a small handful of scaled global digital subscription services, and that flexibility is really, really important.

但我們看到的是維持資產負債表的真正好處，為我們提供了許多策略選擇。我們認為，在市場充滿活力的時期，這是一個重要的優勢，我們認為自己正在躋身少數規模化的全球數位訂閱服務之列，而靈活性確實非常重要。

Vasily Karasyov, Cannonball Research.

瓦西里·卡拉瑟夫，砲彈研究。

Thank you. Wanted to ask you to provide more color if possible into the variability of Wirecutter revenue from quarter-to-quarter and what drives that. And maybe that will help us better understand the acceleration in underwriting your digital guiding too.

謝謝。如果可能的話，希望您能提供更多關於 Wirecutter 收入逐季度變化的信息以及推動這一變化的因素。也許這也將幫助我們更好地理解承保數位導遊的加速。

And another question, Meredith, you touched on it, that advertisers are still avoiding certain categories of news. And then you said that you are working on other products. So do we -- would it be correct to understand that you figured out a way to work around this situation because it seems that your advertising revenue is stronger this quarter. And the press release does not call out any weakness in like last quarter.

梅雷迪思，你提到的另一個問題是，廣告商仍然在迴避某些類別的新聞。然後你說你正在開發其他產品。我們也是如此——您找到了解決這種情況的方法是否正確，因為您本季的廣告收入似乎更強了。新聞稿並沒有指出上季的任何弱點。

Yeah. Both good questions. On Wirecutter, I would say, step-back point for us, broadly, we're super happy with that business. I think some of the variability is just like how and when people shop and that follows the broad trends in the marketplace. You got back to school in Q3. We tend around holiday time to see a lot of activity around gift buying. And I think the track of the business reflects that.

是的。兩個問題都很好。對於 Wirecutter，我想說，對我們來說，總的來說，我們對這項業務非常滿意。我認為有些變化就像人們購物的方式和時間以及遵循市場的廣泛趨勢。你在第三季度回到了學校。在假期期間，我們往往會看到許多圍繞著禮物購買的活動。我認為該業務的發展軌跡反映了這一點。

And we've been -- we've owned that company now for, what, seven, eight years. And we've been really deliberate about investing to harness what remains very strong demand for high-quality product reviews. So just kind of working on every dimension. And I would think about it kind of quarter on quarter is just reflecting the broader trends in when people go out and shop. So I think that's what you're getting at there.

我們已經擁有那家公司七、八年了。我們一直在深思熟慮地進行投資，以利用對高品質產品評論的強勁需求。所以只是在每個維度上努力。我認為季度環比只是反映了人們外出購物的更廣泛趨勢。所以我認為這就是你所得到的。

On advertising, I'll say a few things. as Will said in his prepared remarks, we did see a modest pickup in demand in the second quarter, which was, of course, pleasing to see. There's kind of a lot of dynamics at play here. There's a lot of confidence in the sort of basic strength of our ad products are big premium canvases with first-party data to the products we've been building and executing on for four or five years now.

關於廣告，我簡單說幾句。正如威爾在他準備好的演講中所說，我們確實看到第二季度的需求略有回升，這當然是令人高興的。這裡有很多動力在發揮作用。人們對我們的廣告產品的基本優勢充滿信心，這些產品的基本優勢是大型優質畫布，其中包含我們四到五年來建立和執行的產品的第一方數據。

They really work for marketers, and we are extending those products to our sub-brands across the whole portfolio, even cooking and Wirecutter now in a bigger way. But I'd say games and sports are places where we're seeing real strength in that.

它們確實對行銷人員有用，我們正在將這些產品擴展到整個產品組合中的子品牌，甚至現在更大規模地擴展到烹飪和 Wirecutter。但我想說的是，遊戲和運動是我們看到真正力量的地方。

And then on the other side, we've continued to see some amount of marketer news avoidance on certain topics. But broadly, I would say, we remain confident in the ad product portfolio. We've got US specifically, I think about BrandMatch, which I referred to in my prepared remarks, that is a new targeting tool set that is AI powered and I would say that will operate in addition to all the first-party data we have.

另一方面，我們繼續看到行銷人員在某些主題上迴避新聞。但總的來說，我想說，我們對廣告產品組合仍然充滿信心。具體來說，我們有美國，我想到了BrandMatch，我在準備好的演講中提到了它，這是一套由人工智慧驅動的新定位工具集，我想說，除了我們擁有的所有第一方數據之外，它還將運行。

So it gives -- uses AI to give marketers even more ways to sort of target across coverage, across the products and across audiences. And we have a lot of optimism that, that will help be a growth driver.

因此，它使用人工智慧為行銷人員提供更多方式來跨覆蓋範圍、跨產品和跨受眾進行目標排序。我們非常樂觀地認為，這將有助於成為成長動力。

Doug Arthur, Huber Research Partners.

道格‧阿瑟 (Doug Arthur)，Huber 研究合作夥伴。

Yeah, thanks. Meredith, just a quick comment on The Athletic. It seems like the bottom line is moving to breakeven quickly than expected. And the take rate based on the sub numbers you threw out the bundle product better than expected or at least a nice tone to it. So I'm wondering if you could just sort of talk about the bottom line for the Athletic over the next year or so, expectations.

是的，謝謝。梅雷迪思，我對《The Athletic》做一個簡短的評論。看起來損益平衡的速度比預期的快。採納率是基於你拋出的捆綁產品的子數字，比預期的要好，或至少是一個不錯的基調。所以我想知道你是否可以談談未來一年左右競技隊的底線和期望。

Yeah. Great question. I mean the broadest thing to say is we're very happy with how it's going. It's big important test for us. We're playing a very long game to be a household name among sports fans to really build awareness in audience for The Athletic that's gone well.

是的。很好的問題。我的意思是，最廣泛的說法是我們對事情的進展感到非常滿意。這對我們來說是一個非常重要的考驗。我們正在進行一場漫長的比賽，希望成為體育迷中家喻戶曉的名字，真正提高觀眾對 The Athletic 的認識，一切進展順利。

And I'd say still relatively early as far as the path to profitability. We are very descriptive about that at the point of acquisition 2.5 years ago, and I think we are well on that path. And as you hear us talk about, feel really good about where we are, and it's been a nice -- this past quarter was a great. You saw some of that reflected in the quarter as we grew audience and revenue in sort of every dimension.

我想說，就獲利之路而言，還相對較早。在 2.5 年前收購時，我們對此進行了非常詳細的描述，我認為我們在這條道路上進展順利。當你聽到我們談論時，你會對我們所處的位置感到非常滿意，這很好——過去的一個季度非常棒。隨著我們在各個方面增加觀眾和收入，您會在本季度看到其中的一些反映。

So broadly happy with how it's going and kind of well on track to what we put out initially and looking to build something really big in the world and at The New York Times in terms of our ability to be a leading global destination for sports fans.

我們對它的進展非常滿意，並且在我們最初推出的內容上進展順利，並希望在世界上和《紐約時報》上打造真正偉大的東西，使我們有能力成為全球領先的體育迷目的地。

Great. Well, thanks, everyone, for joining our second-quarter earnings call. We'll see you next quarter.

偉大的。好的，謝謝大家參加我們第二季的財報電話會議。我們下季見。

Ladies and gentlemen, the conference call has now concluded. We thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect your lines.

女士們、先生們，電話會議現已結束。我們感謝您參加今天的演講。現在您可以斷開線路。