# Washington Post Nears Breakeven After Hundreds of Millions in Losses

> The Washington Post expects to break even in 2027 after years of steep losses, with direct ad sales growing fastest since 2021.
- Title: Washington Post Nears Breakeven After Hundreds of Millions in…
- Summary: The Washington Post expects to break even in 2027 after years of steep losses, with direct ad sales growing fastest since 2021.
- Keywords: the washington post, direct advertising sales, programmatic revenue, jeff donofrio, matt murray, web summit, breaking even, 2027, advertising losses, newsroom hiring, Adweek
- Source: Adweek — https://adweek.com/media/the-washington-post-nears-breakeven-after-hundreds-and-hundreds-of-millions-in-losses
- Author: Mark Stenberg
- Published: 2026-11-12T00:02:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: the washington post, direct advertising sales, programmatic revenue, jeff donofrio, matt murray, web summit, breaking even, 2027, advertising losses, newsroom hiring
## Washington Post nears breakeven
The Washington Post is within striking distance of breaking even financially after years of steep losses.
## 2027 break-even target
Executive editor Matt Murray says the Post expects to break even in 2027 after years of steep losses.
## Direct ad sales growth
Direct advertising sales grew their strongest year-over-year growth since 2021 in the third quarter.
## Programmatic revenue up 48%
Programmatic revenue increased 48% year over year as of September, according to a company spokesperson.
## Newsroom hiring
The newsroom is hiring again, adding James Politi from the Financial Times, Nancy Cook from Bloomberg, and Ian Ward from Politico.
## Ben Bradlee award relaunch
The Post relaunches its Ben Bradlee award, honoring outstanding reporters like Hannah Natanson and Heidi Levine.
## Five years of turmoil
Murray reflects on five years of turmoil at The Post, including layoffs and leadership changes.
## Jeff D'Onofrio leadership
Jeff D'Onofrio, the new leader, brings a low-drama, data-oriented focus on fundamentals to The Post.
## Business turnaround
The Post has done the right-sizing needed to move from hundreds of millions in losses to break-even.
## Owning post-Trump Washington
Murray aims to own post-Trump Washington by focusing on millennials and Gen Z audiences.
## Podcast and newsletter strategy
The Post is reviving podcast and newsletter strategies to better monetize content.
## Le Monde's AI partnership
Le Monde signed with OpenAI in fall 2023, creating a new revenue stream for the newsroom.
## The Post's subscriber growth
The Post grew from 35,000 subscriptions before Trump to 3 million during the Trump era.
## 2027 break-even target
The Post expects to break even in 2027, with next year being their best year in seven years.
## Key takeaway

The Washington Post is within striking distance of breaking even in 2027 after years of steep losses, with direct ad sales growing fastest since 2.021.