USA Today parent Gannett Co. Inc. reported Friday a wider net loss on revenue that fell more than some analysts expected, citing negative impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic as well as “general trends” hurting the publishing industry. The Net loss widened to $142.3 million, or $1.06 a share, from $80.2 million, or 61 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue dropped 18.1% to $777.1 million, as advertising and marketing services revenue declined 20.3% and circulation revenue fell 13.2% to $325.4 million. The average estimate of two analysts surveyed by FactSet were for a per-share loss of 13 cents and revenue of $792 million. Digital-only circulation revenue rose 46.7% to $23.2 million, while digital advertising and marketing services revenue reached $195.2 million or 25.2% of total revenue. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trading, has lost 5.7% over the past three months while the S&P 500 has gained 8.1%.
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