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LEE ENTERPRISES, Inc (LEE) stock analysis

LEENasdaqNewspapers: Publishing or Publishing & PrintingFiscal year ends September 29
Financials through Q3 FY2026, quarter ended Jun 28, 2026Last filing: 10-Q on Aug 7, 2026Score 3/30
$6.89−0.10 (-1.43%)

Close on Nov 11, 2026Market cap $153.59MP/E –Yield –

StockData Score

Prices as of Nov 11, 2026How the score works

Value1Growth1Performance0Health1Dividend0

Weak3 of 30 checks passed

Lee Enterprises passes 3 of the 30 checks behind our score; 17 could not be run for lack of data and count as not passed. Each dot in the shape is one check — hover it for the numbers.

Valuation
1/6
Growth
1/6
Past performance
0/6
Financial health
1/6
Dividend
0/6

What stands out

  • Guidance raised

    Lee Enterprises raised its FY26 cash paid for income taxes outlook on Aug 6, 2026.

  • P/S below the industry

    Lee Enterprises's price-to-sales of 0.30 is below the Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median of 0.57 (book value is negative, so we use sales).

  • Short-term assets cover short-term debts

    Current assets are 1.17 times current liabilities.

What to watch

  • Return on capital under 10%

    Return on invested capital was 4.2%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

  • Revenue growing under 10% a year

    Revenue grew -10.4% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

  • Interest not well covered

    Operating income covers interest expense 0.6 times; we look for at least 5.

  • Debt not well covered by cash flow

    Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals -0.0% of total debt; we look for at least 20%.

Valuation1/6

  • P/E against its history

    Not enough price and earnings history to compare.

  • P/E against the industry

    Needs positive earnings and enough profitable companies in the industry.

  • EV/EBITDA above its 5-year median

    Lee Enterprises's EV/EBITDA of 15.7 is above its 5-year median of 10.3.

  • P/S below the industry

    Lee Enterprises's price-to-sales of 0.30 is below the Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median of 0.57 (book value is negative, so we use sales).

  • Price against fair value

    We could not estimate a fair value: it needs at least two valuation methods with positive inputs.

  • Margin of safety

    Depends on the fair value estimate.

Growth1/6

  • Revenue growing under 10% a year

    Revenue grew -10.4% a year over the last three fiscal years, short of the 10% we look for.

  • EPS growth over 3 years

    Needs positive EPS three years ago and today.

  • Earnings acceleration

    Needs positive net income now, a year ago and five years ago.

  • Growing slower than the industry

    Revenue grew -11.1% over the last twelve months; the Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median is 1.1%.

  • Guidance raised

    Lee Enterprises raised its FY26 cash paid for income taxes outlook on Aug 6, 2026.

  • Gross margin trend

    This company does not report gross profit.

Past performance0/6

  • Return on equity

    Needs positive equity and five years of results.

  • Return on capital under 10%

    Return on invested capital was 4.2%, below the 10% that usually covers the cost of capital.

  • Return on equity against the industry

    Needs positive equity.

  • Earnings over 5 years

    Needs positive net income five years ago and in the latest year.

  • Net margin below its 5-year average

    Net margin was -1.8% over the last twelve months, against a 5-year average of -1.8%.

  • Net margin below the industry

    Lee Enterprises's net margin of -1.8% is below the Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median of 3.6%.

Financial health1/6

  • Debt level

    Needs debt and equity figures.

  • Debt trend

    Needs a balance sheet from five years ago with positive equity.

  • Debt not well covered by cash flow

    Operating cash flow over the last twelve months equals -0.0% of total debt; we look for at least 20%.

  • Interest not well covered

    Operating income covers interest expense 0.6 times; we look for at least 5.

  • Short-term assets cover short-term debts

    Current assets are 1.17 times current liabilities.

  • Elevated bankruptcy risk

    The Altman Z-score is 0.37; above 3 is the safe zone and below 1.8 the distress zone.

Dividend0/6

  • No dividend

    Lee Enterprises has not paid a dividend in the last twelve months.

  • Yield against Treasuries

    No dividend.

  • Yield against the market

    No dividend.

  • Dividend stability

    No dividend.

  • Earnings cover

    No dividend.

  • Cash-flow cover

    No dividend.

Scores of similar companies

Fair value

How we estimate it

We don't publish a fair value for Lee Enterprises. It needs a US-dollar share price, at least two valuation methods with positive inputs (earnings, EBITDA, book value or sales) and, for companies with several share classes, classes that trade at the same price.

Valuation over time

Using the earnings and balance sheet published at each date, not today's.

  • P/E at month end
  • Printing, Publishing, and Allied Industries median 17.7

An estimate from reported numbers and market multiples, not a price target or investment advice. It can be far off for companies whose profits are about to change sharply.

Market risk

From the past year of daily prices.

Liquidity

High risk

Average value traded per day
$223.88K
Value traded per 1% price move
$72.12K

Downside

Medium risk

Typical loss in a bad month
21.4%
Volatility (annualized)
79%
Sharpe ratio, 1 year
0.82
Beta to the S&P 500 (5Y)
0.65

Typical bad-month loss, week by week

25%: high

Margins

Share of revenue, fiscal years 2011 to 2025

Operating margin

-0.8%−9.0 pts over 5 years

Net margin

-6.7%−6.4 pts over 5 years

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