Lee Enterprises vs Scholastic
Scholastic reported revenue of $1.6 billion in fiscal 2026, 2.8 times Lee Enterprises' $562 million in fiscal 2025. Lee Enterprises' revenue fell 8.0% in its latest year, and Scholastic's fell 2.7%. Lee Enterprises had an operating margin of -0.8%, against 1.0% at Scholastic. Free cash flow was −$7 million at Lee Enterprises and $2 million at Scholastic. Their fiscal years end in different months (September 28 and May 31), so the periods don't line up exactly.
Side by side
| Lee Enterprises | Scholastic | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Sep 28, 2025 | FY2026, May 31, 2026 |
| Revenue | $562M | $1.6B |
| Revenue growth | −8.0% | −2.7% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | −1.9% | 4.0% |
| Gross margin | — | 56.4% |
| Operating margin | −0.8% | 1.0% |
| Net margin | −6.7% | 3.6% |
| Free cash flow | −$7M | $2M |
| Free cash flow margin | −1.3% | 0.2% |
| Return on capital | −0.9% | 1.1% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 31.4x | −0.7x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0M | $286M |
| Change in diluted share count | 2.0% | −12.3% |
| Last close | $6.59 | $37.20 |
| P/E at the last close | — | 26.2× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | — | sold $14.3 million |
| Piotroski F-score | 2 of 8 | 7 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
Lee EnterprisesScholastic
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
Lee EnterprisesScholastic
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
Lee EnterprisesScholastic
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Lee Enterprises and Scholastic pages.