This story was initially revealed in On Background with Mark Stenberg, a free, weekly publication that explores the important thing themes shaping the media trade. You may join it here.

Final week, I reported that Newsweek had seen its traffic decline almost 75% in a single 12 months, a collapse that coincided with layoffs throughout its gross sales, rankings, and video groups and the departures of two senior executives.

This week, chief govt Dev Pragad provided a counter-narrative: Regardless of the decline in readership, Newsweek is on tempo to surpass $100 million in income for the primary time in its 93-year historical past.

In a testomony to the deserves of income diversification, each issues are true. 

The writer whose turnaround was constructed on a complicated programmatic promoting enterprise has watched that basis erode. Income from its publishing division is predicted to say no between 20% and 25% this 12 months, in line with Pragad. 

However critically, the companies it bolted on over the previous two years—internally referred to by their shorthands, Nexus and AdPrime—have grown shortly sufficient to greater than cowl the distinction.

“When [traffic declines] come, they are surely disagreeable,” Pragad mentioned. “Regardless of that, this 12 months can be our highest income ever.”

The corporate is projecting at the very least 10% income development in 2026, up from roughly 3% in 2025, in line with Pragad, who declined to share a income breakdown by supply. Since taking up in 2018, he mentioned, Newsweek has generated greater than $500 million in cumulative income at revenue margins of roughly 20%.

Hostinger

The deserves of diversification 

The biggest driver of its income development is Adprime, the healthcare-focused demand-side platform Newsweek acquired in June 2025, when most publishers had been divesting their adtech belongings. 

The unit is pacing to greater than triple its income this 12 months, from $14.8 million to north of $40 million, at a revenue margin above 10%, pushed by healthcare promoting and related TV stock, in line with Pragad.

Such development would make Adprime, a enterprise Newsweek purchased with out elevating outdoors capital, accountable for roughly 40% of firm income in its first full 12 months beneath Newsweek possession.

Nexus, the business-to-business division housing its rankings enterprise and occasions, is rising slightly below 20% 12 months over 12 months, with rankings up roughly 15% and occasions between 40% and 50%, in line with Pragad. 

Namecheap Best Deals