LEE
Lee Enterprises, Incorporated
LEE offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
VZ
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ has a slight edge over LEE overall on the model score.
LEE Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Under pressure | |
| Stable | |
| Under pressure | |
| Weak |
LEE's profitability is currently stable, but its revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are under pressure.
VZ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure |
VZ's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
LEE PE Valuation
LEE has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
VZ PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8.3x | $32.43 | -30% |
| Forward | 9x | $46.55 | — |
| Fair | 11x | $43.63 | -6.3% |
| Current | 12x | $46.55 | — |
| Expensive | 14x | $56.75 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VZ's PE is in its fair range at 12x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 9.0x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
LEE Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for LEE to show an outlook.
VZ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect VZ's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
LEE Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | -$1.89 | +$4.97 |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.41 | +$4.87 |
| Q4 2025 | -$4.32 | +$2.95 |
| Q3 2025 | -$6.20 | -$1.85 |
| Q2 2025 | -$6.86 | -$3.86 |
| Q1 2025 | -$7.28 | -$5.26 |
| Q4 2024 | -$7.27 | -$6.30 |
| Q3 2024 | -$4.35 | -$3.45 |
LEE is still losing money, but far less than before: $1.89 per share over the past year, against $7.28 at its worst in early 2025.
VZ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.19 | +32% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.93 | -16% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.85 | -10% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.11 | -2.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.06 | -1.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.68 | +103% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.29 | +61% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.20 | +57% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.14 | +51% |
VZ has the edge over LEE on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
LEE Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $126M | -11% |
| Q1 2026 | $122M | -11% |
| Q4 2025 | $130.1M | -10% |
| Q3 2025 | $139.1M | -12% |
| Q2 2025 | $141.3M | -6.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $137.4M | -6.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $144.6M | -7.1% |
| Q3 2024 | $158.6M | -3.3% |
LEE's revenue has slid since its 2020 peak: $126M last quarter, down 11% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 6.8% | +3.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 7% | +10 points |
| Q4 2025 | 4% | +6.3 points |
| Q3 2025 | -1.1% | +1.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 3.3% | 0 points |
| Q1 2025 | -3.3% | -0.2 points |
| Q4 2024 | -2.3% | -7.3 points |
| Q3 2024 | -2.3% | -9 points |
LEE's operating margin was 6.8% last quarter, up 3.5 points from the same quarter a year ago.
VZ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $34.3B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $34.3B | -0.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $34.4B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $36.4B | +2% |
| Q3 2025 | $33.8B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $34.5B | +5.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $33.5B | +1.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $35.7B | +1.6% |
VZ has the edge over LEE on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 25% | +1.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 21% | -2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 24% | +0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | -7.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 24% | +6.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 24% | -0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 24% | +1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +19 points |
VZ has the edge over LEE on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
LEE Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | $6.8M | -17% |
| Q1 2026 | -$6.8M | -$4.7M |
| Q4 2025 | $3.7M | +$12.6M |
| Q3 2025 | -$4.3M | -$1.4M |
| Q2 2025 | $8.3M | +$13.8M |
| Q1 2025 | -$2.2M | -273% |
| Q4 2024 | -$8.9M | -$7.9M |
| Q3 2024 | -$2.9M | -$561K |
LEE's free cash flow was −$578,000 over the past year, against −$6M the year before.
VZ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $11.5B | +2.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.4B | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $8B | +2.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.1B | -13% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.3B | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $9B | -5.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.8B | +9.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | +20% |
VZ has the edge over LEE on cash generation, producing positive trailing cash flow while its opponent burns cash.
LEE Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +62% | +8.5M shares |
| 1 year | +265% | +16.2M shares |
| 3 years | +277% | +16.4M shares |
| 5 years | +281% | +16.4M shares |
| Available history | +292% | +16.6M shares |
LEE has 22M diluted shares, up 265% from a year ago.
VZ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -10M shares |
| 1 year | -1.7% | -72M shares |
| 3 years | -1.3% | -55M shares |
| 5 years | +0.4% | +17M shares |
| Available history | +0.5% | +21M shares |
VZ has the edge over LEE on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $500M |
| Q2 2026 | $1B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.5B |
LEE Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 11.2x | High |
| Q1 2026 | 12.8x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 22.1x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 31.4x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 30.4x | High |
| Q1 2025 | 25.1x | High |
| Q4 2024 | 22.1x | High |
| Q3 2024 | 13.6x | High |
LEE's net debt is about 11 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from more than 20 years a year ago.
VZ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 3.0x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.0x | Elevated |
VZ has the edge over LEE on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
LEE Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 47.3 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 23.6 | Neutral |
LEE's weekly RSI is 47 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 24 (neutral).
VZ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 44.6 | Neutral |
VZ's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 45 (neutral).
LEE PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | LEE | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 16x | — |
LEE has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
VZ PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | VZ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 12x | 16x | 28% below |
| PE % | 58 | 26 | 32 pts above |
VZ is trading at 12x earnings, a 28% discount to the Communication Services sector's median of 16x.
LEE Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $6.71 | 6.3% above |
| 20 week MA | $7.50 | 4.9% below |
| 50 week MA | $7.46 | 4.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $7.54 | 5.4% below |
| 200 week MA | $9.89 | 28% below |
LEE has bounced recently, but its long-term trend is still down: it's above its 8-week average, but 28% below its 200-week average.
VZ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $45.1 | 3.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $46.3 | 0.5% above |
| 50 week MA | $46.1 | 1.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $44.2 | 5.4% above |
| 200 week MA | $41.4 | 12% above |
VZ has the edge over LEE on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
LEE Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $13.9 | $11.8 | -15% |
| 2021 | $11.8 | $39.0 | +230% |
| 2022 | $39.0 | $17.5 | -55% |
| 2023 | $17.5 | $7.87 | -55% |
| 2024 | $7.87 | $14.7 | +86% |
| 2025 | $14.7 | $3.74 | -74% |
| 2026 YTD | $3.74 | $7.13 | +91% |
LEE has the edge over VZ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
VZ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $61.5 | $58.8 | -4.4% |
| 2021 | $58.8 | $52.7 | -10% |
| 2022 | $52.7 | $38.4 | -27% |
| 2023 | $38.4 | $37.7 | -1.8% |
| 2024 | $37.7 | $39.9 | +5.9% |
| 2025 | $39.9 | $40.5 | +1.4% |
| 2026 YTD | $40.5 | $46.6 | +15% |
VZ has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's up 15% so far in 2026.