Gannett Missed on Earnings, But It Looks Like a Turnaround Story

All in all, I believe the company's turnaround story is still intact. Here's why.

In 2019, Gannett completed its merger with New Media Investment Group, the parent company of Gatehouse Media, to become the largest newspaper publisher in the country. Gannett owns big newspaper brands like USA Today, The Detroit Free Press, and other large regional properties, along with hundreds of smaller newspapers. Management likely saw the increased scale as necessary to survive and succeed in what has become an incredibly difficult industry. But to make the merger happen and pay off other obligations, Gannett took a $1.8 billion term loan with a high 11.5% interest rate.

While the company paid off very little of this debt during the worst part of the pandemic, Gannett has since paid down more than $330 million, leaving it with outstanding debt of roughly $1.4 billion at the end of Q3. Gannett has also taken advantage of the low-rate environment to refinance the debt and now has a blended interest rate of 7.12%.

Source Fool.com