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Side-by-side financial comparison of LEE ENTERPRISES, Inc (LEE) and POWELL INDUSTRIES INC (POWL). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

POWELL INDUSTRIES INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($251.2M vs $130.1M, roughly 1.9× LEE ENTERPRISES, Inc). POWELL INDUSTRIES INC runs the higher net margin — 16.5% vs -4.3%, a 20.8% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, POWELL INDUSTRIES INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (4.0% vs -10.0%). POWELL INDUSTRIES INC produced more free cash flow last quarter ($41.6M vs $3.7M). Over the past eight quarters, POWELL INDUSTRIES INC's revenue compounded faster (-0.8% CAGR vs -5.8%).

Lee Enterprises, Inc. is a publicly traded American media company. It publishes 72 daily newspapers in 25 states, and more than 350 weekly, classified, and specialty publications. Lee Enterprises was founded in 1890 by Alfred Wilson Lee and is based in Davenport, Iowa.

Powell Industries, Inc. is a manufacturer of Integrated/Packaged Solutions and Electrical Equipment to monitor and control the distribution of electrical power in commercial and industrial markets founded in 1947. Its headquarters is in Houston, Texas.

LEE vs POWL — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
POWL
POWL
1.9× larger
POWL
$251.2M
$130.1M
LEE
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
POWL
POWL
+14.1% gap
POWL
4.0%
-10.0%
LEE
Higher net margin
POWL
POWL
20.8% more per $
POWL
16.5%
-4.3%
LEE
More free cash flow
POWL
POWL
$37.9M more FCF
POWL
$41.6M
$3.7M
LEE
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
POWL
POWL
Annualised
POWL
-0.8%
-5.8%
LEE

Income Statement — Q1 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Revenue
$130.1M
$251.2M
Net Profit
$-5.6M
$41.4M
Gross Margin
28.4%
Operating Margin
4.0%
17.0%
Net Margin
-4.3%
16.5%
Revenue YoY
-10.0%
4.0%
Net Profit YoY
66.5%
19.1%
EPS (diluted)
$-0.92
$3.40

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Q4 25
$130.1M
$251.2M
Q3 25
$139.1M
$298.0M
Q2 25
$141.3M
$286.3M
Q1 25
$137.4M
$278.6M
Q4 24
$144.6M
$241.4M
Q3 24
$158.6M
$275.1M
Q2 24
$150.6M
$288.2M
Q1 24
$146.6M
$255.1M
Net Profit
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Q4 25
$-5.6M
$41.4M
Q3 25
$-6.4M
$51.4M
Q2 25
$-1.9M
$48.2M
Q1 25
$-12.5M
$46.3M
Q4 24
$-16.7M
$34.8M
Q3 24
$-10.1M
$46.1M
Q2 24
$-4.3M
$46.2M
Q1 24
$-12.2M
$33.5M
Gross Margin
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Q4 25
28.4%
Q3 25
31.4%
Q2 25
30.7%
Q1 25
29.9%
Q4 24
24.7%
Q3 24
29.2%
Q2 24
28.4%
Q1 24
24.6%
Operating Margin
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Q4 25
4.0%
17.0%
Q3 25
-1.0%
21.2%
Q2 25
3.3%
21.0%
Q1 25
-3.3%
21.1%
Q4 24
-2.3%
14.7%
Q3 24
-2.3%
20.4%
Q2 24
3.3%
19.9%
Q1 24
-3.1%
15.5%
Net Margin
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Q4 25
-4.3%
16.5%
Q3 25
-4.6%
17.3%
Q2 25
-1.4%
16.8%
Q1 25
-9.1%
16.6%
Q4 24
-11.6%
14.4%
Q3 24
-6.4%
16.7%
Q2 24
-2.8%
16.0%
Q1 24
-8.3%
13.1%
EPS (diluted)
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Q4 25
$-0.92
$3.40
Q3 25
$-1.02
$4.23
Q2 25
$-0.31
$3.96
Q1 25
$-2.07
$3.81
Q4 24
$-2.80
$2.86
Q3 24
$-1.68
$3.77
Q2 24
$-0.73
$3.79
Q1 24
$-2.06
$2.75

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$12.6M
$500.8M
Total DebtLower is stronger
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$-48.7M
$668.9M
Total Assets
$592.6M
$1.1B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Q4 25
$12.6M
$500.8M
Q3 25
$10.0M
$475.5M
Q2 25
$14.1M
$433.0M
Q1 25
$4.7M
$389.3M
Q4 24
$6.1M
$373.4M
Q3 24
$9.6M
$358.4M
Q2 24
$13.4M
$374.0M
Q1 24
$16.1M
$365.3M
Stockholders' Equity
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Q4 25
$-48.7M
$668.9M
Q3 25
$-43.3M
$640.8M
Q2 25
$-40.5M
$594.9M
Q1 25
$-38.9M
$541.4M
Q4 24
$-26.7M
$496.3M
Q3 24
$-9.9M
$483.1M
Q2 24
$4.0M
$436.7M
Q1 24
$7.9M
$393.8M
Total Assets
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Q4 25
$592.6M
$1.1B
Q3 25
$601.7M
$1.1B
Q2 25
$622.7M
$1.0B
Q1 25
$623.9M
$965.4M
Q4 24
$633.0M
$912.7M
Q3 24
$649.2M
$928.2M
Q2 24
$677.5M
$869.0M
Q1 24
$684.8M
$849.6M

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$4.5M
$43.6M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$3.7M
$41.6M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
2.9%
16.6%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.6%
0.8%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
1.05×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$1.5M
$161.5M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Q4 25
$4.5M
$43.6M
Q3 25
$-6.3M
$61.1M
Q2 25
$8.9M
$47.4M
Q1 25
$-790.0K
$22.4M
Q4 24
$-7.3M
$37.1M
Q3 24
$-261.0K
$-6.0M
Q2 24
$-1.9M
$13.8M
Q1 24
$3.2M
$17.0M
Free Cash Flow
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Q4 25
$3.7M
$41.6M
Q3 25
$-8.3M
$59.3M
Q2 25
$8.3M
$42.3M
Q1 25
$-2.2M
$18.3M
Q4 24
$-8.9M
$34.9M
Q3 24
$-2.9M
$-14.4M
Q2 24
$-5.5M
$12.4M
Q1 24
$1.3M
$16.1M
FCF Margin
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Q4 25
2.9%
16.6%
Q3 25
-6.0%
19.9%
Q2 25
5.9%
14.8%
Q1 25
-1.6%
6.6%
Q4 24
-6.1%
14.4%
Q3 24
-1.8%
-5.3%
Q2 24
-3.6%
4.3%
Q1 24
0.9%
6.3%
Capex Intensity
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Q4 25
0.6%
0.8%
Q3 25
1.4%
0.6%
Q2 25
0.4%
1.8%
Q1 25
1.0%
1.5%
Q4 24
1.1%
0.9%
Q3 24
1.7%
3.1%
Q2 24
2.4%
0.5%
Q1 24
1.3%
0.4%
Cash Conversion
LEE
LEE
POWL
POWL
Q4 25
1.05×
Q3 25
1.19×
Q2 25
0.98×
Q1 25
0.48×
Q4 24
1.07×
Q3 24
-0.13×
Q2 24
0.30×
Q1 24
0.51×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

LEE
LEE

Advertising And Marketing Services$60.0M46%
Subscription And Circulation$57.7M44%
Other$12.4M10%

POWL
POWL

Oil And Gas Service$97.9M39%
Electricity$69.3M28%
Commercial And Other Industrial$40.6M16%
Petrochemical$22.8M9%
Other Customers$12.0M5%
Light Rail Traction Power Customer$8.6M3%

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