The New York Times Company

The New York Times Company is a publicly traded American media company founded in 1896 by Adolph Ochs, headquartered in New York City. Under Chairman and Publisher A.G. Sulzberger (fifth generation), NYT trades on NYSE (NYT) with $11.6B market cap and $2.75B trailing revenue. The company operates The New York Times, Wirecutter, NYT Cooking, and The Athletic, with 12.78M total subscribers and dual-class share structure ensuring Sulzberger family control.

The New York Times Company was founded in 1896 when Adolph Ochs acquired The New York Times newspaper for $75,000 and incorporated it as a separate company. Ochs, who had previously owned the Chattanooga Times, moved to New York and established the company to provide financial stability and professional management for the newspaper while maintaining its journalistic mission. This acquisition marked the beginning of the Ochs family's stewardship of what would become one of America's most influential media organizations.

Throughout the early 20th century, The New York Times Company expanded its operations and modernized the newspaper's production and distribution systems. The company invested heavily in new printing technology, expanded its coverage areas beyond local news to include national and international reporting, and developed new business lines including classified advertising and syndication services. Under Ochs's leadership, the newspaper established its reputation for quality journalism and comprehensive news coverage, setting standards that would influence American journalism for decades.

The mid-20th century saw the Sulzberger family gain control of the company as Arthur Hays Sulzberger, Adolph Ochs's son-in-law, took over leadership in 1935. The Sulzberger era brought significant editorial and business changes, including the development of the modern newspaper format, expanded international coverage, and the establishment of the newspaper's reputation for quality journalism and investigative reporting. During this period, the company implemented the famous "All the News That's Fit to Print" motto and expanded its coverage to include cultural reporting, lifestyle content, and comprehensive international news gathering.

The 1970s brought significant digital transformation challenges as television became the dominant news medium and increased competition emerged from other media organizations. The New York Times Company invested in early digital technologies and online platforms while maintaining its print operations and journalistic standards. The company launched its first online edition in 1996 and began developing digital content delivery systems that would eventually become crucial to its survival and growth in the digital age.

Recent decades have seen The New York Times Company successfully transition to a digital-first media company, developing a strong subscription model and expanding its digital product offerings while maintaining The New York Times as its flagship publication. Under the leadership of A.G. Sulzberger, who became Publisher in 2018 and Chairman in 2021, representing the fifth generation of family leadership, the company has accelerated its digital transformation and expanded its content ecosystem to include Wirecutter, NYT Cooking, The Athletic, and various audio and multimedia offerings.

In 2025, The New York Times Company achieved remarkable digital growth, adding 1.4 million digital-only subscribers including about 450,000 in the last quarter of the year. The company ended 2025 with 12.78 million total subscribers, putting it on pace to reach its stated goal of 15 million subscribers. This exceptional growth demonstrates the effectiveness of the company's digital subscription strategy and expanded content ecosystem, with digital-only subscriber growth accelerating as readers increasingly prefer online access to news and content.

In 2026, The New York Times Company continues to lead the media industry in digital transformation, with a market capitalization of approximately $11.6 billion and trailing twelve-month revenue of $2.75 billion. The company's dual-class share structure, established through the Ochs-Sulzberger Family Trust, ensures that the Sulzberger family maintains voting control while allowing public ownership of non-voting shares. This structure protects editorial independence and allows the company to focus on long-term journalistic integrity rather than quarterly profit targets, ensuring that The New York Times can continue its mission of providing quality journalism in an increasingly complex media landscape.