New York Times Company

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel deployed roughly $23.5 billion into nine publicly traded companies last quarter, marking the conglomerate's first quarter as a net buyer of stocks since 2022. The largest investment was Alphabet, with a $10 billion private placement in June plus an additional $5 billion to $7 billion in open-market purchases, making it Berkshire's third-largest marketable equity holding. Other U.S. additions included Macy's, Delta Airlines, Lennar, New York Times, and a new position in D.R. Horton, while earlier disclosures revealed increased stakes in Japanese trading houses Mitsubishi, Marubeni, and Sumitomo. The article highlights Alphabet as the best of the bunch, citing its $514 billion contracted revenue backlog, expanding cloud operating margin to 35.6%, and a forward earnings multiple of 16.5 times.

Berkshire Hathaway increased its holdings in Delta Air Lines, Lennar, and The New York Times Company during the second quarter, according to its latest 13F filing. CEO Greg Abel, who succeeded Warren Buffett at the start of the year, raised the conglomerate's stake in Delta by 44% to 57.3 million shares, now worth about $5 billion and representing 8.7% of the airline. Berkshire also grew its Lennar position by 43%, holding 13.4 million shares of Class A and Class B stock valued at almost $1.2 billion, and lifted its New York Times stake by 4% to 15.7 million shares, a 9.8% ownership worth just over $1 billion. The moves come as Berkshire's overall portfolio expanded from $263 billion to $299 billion, with Abel also increasing the Alphabet position by 83% to more than $36 billion.

Disney reported second-quarter revenues of $25.25 billion, up 6.8% year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations by 0.6% but beating EPS estimates. Among the seven consumer discretionary media stocks tracked, News Corp was the best performer with revenues of $2.34 billion, up 10.8% year on year and beating estimates by 4.1%, while Scholastic was the weakest with revenues of $476.1 million, down 6.3% year on year and missing estimates by 7.9%. Warner Music Group reported revenues of $1.86 billion, up 10.4% year on year and beating estimates by 3.8%, and The New York Times reported revenues of $762.5 million, up 11.2% year on year and beating estimates by 1.4%. As a group, revenues missed analysts' consensus estimates by 0.8%, and share prices have held steady on average since the latest earnings results.

The New York Times Company reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of US$762.46 million and net income of US$93.42 million, while completing a US$110.48 million share repurchase program covering 1,488,255 shares that was announced in February 2025. The results showed higher year-on-year earnings per share, reinforcing the company's digital-first subscription and advertising model. Management is balancing digital investment with direct capital returns to shareholders through buybacks and dividends. The earnings strength highlights continued growth in digital-driven revenue, though risks remain from AI-driven content aggregation and shifting news consumption patterns.

The New York Times and several other newspaper groups have asked a federal court in Manhattan to impose sanctions on OpenAI in connection with a copyright lawsuit. The newspaper groups allege that OpenAI made false statements about its system's search capabilities and concealed the fact that it had been searching for copyrighted content prior to the lawsuit. They also claim that OpenAI deleted or rendered unsearchable billions of ChatGPT conversation logs, and are seeking sanctions including legal fees, as well as a finding that the chat logs prove unauthorized use of content. An OpenAI spokesperson countered that the NYT is trying to violate the privacy of unrelated individuals with false claims, even though the NYT has weakened its allegations and withdrawn certain demands.

Consumer confidence saw a marginal improvement in June but remains near historic lows, prompting a recommendation for defensive consumer staples stocks. The consumer confidence index rose to 91.2 from a downwardly revised 90.6, while the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index increased to a final reading of 49.5 from 44.8. The uptick follows a temporary halt in U.S.-Iran hostilities that eased oil prices, though inflation and labor market concerns persist. Private sector payrolls added 98,000 jobs in June, below estimates, and markets are pricing in a 25-basis-point Federal Reserve rate hike by year-end. Zacks Investment Research highlights John Wiley & Sons, Tyson Foods, Arko Corp., and The New York Times Company as low-beta picks with positive earnings estimate revisions and Zacks Ranks of 1 or 2.

A Discounted Cash Flow analysis by Simply Wall St estimates New York Times shares are undervalued by 24.6%, with an intrinsic value of US$94.02 per share compared to a recent close of US$70.88. The model projects free cash flow of US$564.6 million in 2026 and US$631.0 million in 2030, based on the latest twelve-month free cash flow of about US$544.7 million. However, the stock trades at a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.01 times, above the Simply Wall St Fair Ratio of 21.05 times and the media industry average of 24.72 times, indicating overvaluation on that metric. The article also presents bull and bear case narratives, with fair values of US$95.00 and US$60.00 respectively, reflecting differing assumptions about digital subscription growth and valuation multiples.

U.S. inflation surged past 4% in May for the first time since early 2023, driven by higher energy prices from the Middle East conflict, making a Federal Reserve rate hike likely. Zacks Investment Research recommends four defensive stocks with positive earnings estimate revisions and strong Zacks Ranks: Duke Energy, Coca-Cola, Arko Corp., and The New York Times Company. Duke Energy has a beta of 0.39 and a dividend yield of 3.37%, Coca-Cola has a beta of 0.35 and a yield of 2.63%, Arko Corp. has a beta of 0.98 and a yield of 1.56%, and The New York Times Company has a beta of 0.95 and a yield of 1.29%. The personal consumption expenditures price index rose 4.1% year over year in May, with core PCE up 3.4%, the highest since October 2023. Markets are pricing in a 25-basis-point rate hike by year-end, which could weigh on the economy and keep markets volatile.

Berkshire Hathaway nearly tripled its stake in the New York Times during its first full quarter under Greg Abel, adding roughly 199% to its Class A position. The move came in the same quarter the firm tripled its Alphabet stake and initiated a Delta Air Lines position. The New York Times, a 175-year-old publisher with an $11.7 billion market cap, generated $550.51 million in free cash flow in 2025 and carries $1.1 billion in cash with zero debt. The company reported digital-only subscription revenue of $389.04 million in the first quarter of 2026, up 16.1% year over year, and digital advertising growth of 31.6%. The stock trades at roughly 4 times sales, well below Alphabet's 11 times sales multiple.

The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged in the 3.5–3.75% range at its June policy meeting, while signaling a possible rate cut later this year amid persistent inflation. Against this backdrop, Zacks Investment Research recommends four low-beta defensive stocks from the consumer staples sector that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions in the past 60 days and carry a Zacks Rank #2, or Buy. The picks are American States Water Company, with a beta of 0.60 and a dividend yield of 2.61%; Consolidated Edison, with a beta of 0.27 and a yield of 3.34%; The Coca-Cola Company, with a beta of 0.35 and a yield of 2.67%; and The New York Times Company, with a beta of 0.95 and a yield of 1.26%. The Fed removed earlier wording that had hinted at additional rate cuts, and policymakers suggested future rate increases could still be on the table if needed, after cutting rates by 75 basis points at the end of 2025. Inflation remains a key concern, with the Consumer Price Index rising 0.5% in May following a 0.6% increase in April, and the Iran conflict pushing oil prices to record levels.

New York Times Co. has returned 7.3% year-to-date, outperforming the Consumer Staples sector's average return of 6.6%. The company holds a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), and its full-year earnings consensus estimate has risen 5.1% over the past quarter. Within the sector, the Publishing - Newspapers industry, of which New York Times Co. is the sole member, has lost an average of 0.6% year-to-date. Another Consumer Staples stock, United Natural Foods, has returned 47.5% year-to-date and also carries a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).