Goodwill and intangible assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2024

Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

NOTE 6 — Goodwill and intangible assets

Goodwill and intangible assets consisted of the following:


	December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023
In thousands	Gross carrying amount	Accumulated amortization	Net carrying amount	Gross carrying amount	Accumulated amortization	Net carrying amount
Finite-lived intangible assets:
Advertiser relationships	$445,356	$279,176	$166,180	$446,609	$236,168	$210,441
Other customer relationships	89,106	59,198	29,908	101,819	56,601	45,218
Subscriber relationships	250,820	183,895	66,925	251,099	155,528	95,571
Other intangible assets	66,870	66,212	658	68,780	62,536	6,244
Sub-total	$852,152	$588,481	$263,671	$868,307	$510,833	$357,474
Indefinite-lived intangible assets:
Mastheads			166,703			166,876
Total intangible assets			$430,374			$524,350
Goodwill			$530,028			$533,876

As of December 31, 2024, the weighted average amortization periods for amortizable intangible assets were 11.1 years for

advertiser relationships, 10.0 years for other customer relationships, 10.3 years for subscriber relationships, and 3.9 years for

other intangible assets. The weighted average amortization period in total for all amortizable intangible assets is 10.2 years.

For the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022, amortization expense was $88.1 million, $90.0 million, and $95.6

million, respectively.

As of December 31, 2024, the estimated future amortization expense for each of the five fiscal years was as follows: 2025 -

$80.7 million; 2026 - $62.2 million; 2027 - $60.9 million; 2028 - $26.0 million; and 2029 and thereafter - $33.8 million.

Changes in the carrying amount of Goodwill by segment are as follows:


In thousands	Domestic Gannett Media	Newsquest	Digital Marketing Solutions	Total
Balance at December 31, 2022	$401,106	$14,589	$117,471	$533,166
Acquisitions	—	30	—	30
Divestitures	(46)	(82)	—	(128)
Foreign exchange	(3)	811	—	808
Balance at December 31, 2023	$401,057	$15,348	$117,471	$533,876
Divestitures	(3,662)	—	—	(3,662)
Foreign exchange	13	(199)	—	(186)
Balance at December 31, 2024	$397,408	$15,149	$117,471	$530,028

As of both December 31, 2024 and 2023, the carrying amount of goodwill reflected accumulated impairment losses of

$340.8 million, $70.5 million and $44.1 million related to impairments at the Domestic Gannett Media, Newsquest and DMS

segments, respectively.

Annual impairment assessment

The Company performed its goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible impairment assessment in the fourth quarter of 2024

with the assistance of third-party valuation specialists. Determining fair value requires the exercise of significant judgments,

including judgments about appropriate discount rates, long-term growth rates, company earnings multiples and relevant

comparable transactions, as applicable, and the amount and timing of expected future cash flows. The cash flows employed in

the analysis are based on the Company's internal forecasts, which considered the current and expected future economic and

market conditions for each reporting unit. The long-term growth rates are dependent on various factors and could be adversely

impacted by a sustained decrease in overall market growth rates, the competitive environment, relative currency exchange rates

and a sustained increase in inflation, all of which the Company considered in determining the long-term growth rates used in

the 2024 analysis, which ranged from 0% to 3.0%. The discount rates for each reporting unit are determined based on the

inherent risks of each reporting unit's underlying operations and may be impacted by adverse changes in the macroeconomic

environment and volatility in the equity and debt markets. The Company considered these factors in determining the discount

rates used in the 2024 analysis, which ranged from 13.5% to 20.0%.

For goodwill, the Company determined the fair value of each reporting unit using a combination of a discounted cash flow

analysis and a market-based approach. During the fourth quarter of 2024, the Company compared the fair value of each

reporting unit to its carrying amount, which resulted in the fair value of all the reporting units being in excess of their carrying

values.

For mastheads, the Company applied a "relief from royalty" approach, a discounted cash flow model, reflecting current

assumptions, to determine the fair value of indefinite-lived intangible assets. During the fourth quarter of 2024, the Company

compared the fair value of each indefinite-lived intangible asset to its carrying amount, which resulted in the fair value of each

indefinite-lived intangible asset being in excess of its carrying value.

In addition to the annual impairment test, the Company is required to regularly assess whether a triggering event has

occurred under ASC 360, "Property, Plant and Equipment ("ASC 360"), which would require interim impairment testing. As of

December 31, 2024, the Company performed a review of potential indicators for its long-lived asset groups under ASC 360 and

it was determined that no indicators of impairment were present.

During 2023 and 2022, there were no impairments of goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets.

While the Company believes its judgments represent reasonably possible outcomes based on available facts and

circumstances, adverse changes to the assumptions, including those related to macroeconomic factors, comparable public

company trading values and prevailing conditions in the capital markets, could lead to future declines in the fair value of a

reporting unit. The Company continually evaluates whether current factors or indicators, such as prevailing conditions in the

business environment, capital markets or the economy generally, and actual or projected operating results, require the

performance of an interim impairment assessment of goodwill, as well as other long-lived assets. For example, any significant

shortfall, now or in the future, in advertising revenues or subscribers and/or consumer acceptance of our products could lead to

a downward revision in the fair value of certain reporting units.