What's the outlook for LEE's Q2 2025 EPS?

**Lee Enterprises' Q2 2025 EPS outlook is uncertain and bears significant risks.** Here's a detailed analysis:

1. **Legal Challenges and Project Uncertainty**: Summit Carbon Solutions, the company behind the proposed carbon dioxide pipeline, has faced extensive legal challenges, including hundreds of lawsuits against landowners. These lawsuits, concentrated in South Dakota, have led to significant opposition and legal hurdles that threaten the project's viability. The future of the pipeline project remains in doubt, which directly impacts LEE's potential business and revenue streams related to this project.
2. **Historical Stock Performance Indicators**: Analytical indicators for LEE's stock performance, such as negative EPS revisions and decelerating momentum compared to peers, suggest a poor future performance outlook. LEE has been rated as "Sell," which indicates a high risk of underperformance, especially when compared to the S&P 500. Over the past 10 years, stocks with similar ratings have averaged a 20% annual decline. These indicators do not bode well for a positive EPS in Q2 2025.
3. **Operational and Financial Challenges**: The company's operational and financial challenges, including legal costs associated with the pipeline lawsuits, could negatively impact earnings. The fact that LEE has been waiving April 2025 payments, as indicated by the SEC filing, suggests financial strain that could affect earnings potential. Such financial flexibility issues and the potential for increased expenses could further depress EPS in the coming quarters.

In conclusion, the combination of legal uncertainties, historical stock performance indicators, and operational challenges suggest that LEE's Q2 2025 EPS is likely to be under pressure. Investors should exercise caution and anticipate potential risks to earnings due to these factors.