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Polaris Media ASA

POL.OL
43
Publishing · Communication Services
Price
kr 60.00
+0.00 (+0.00%)
Market Cap
kr 2.93B
Exchange
Oslo Stock Exchange
Winston Score
43
Winston is serious
Mixed quality — meaningful strengths and weaknesses.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Weak
Growth
Mixed
Cash Flow
Strong
Stability
Strong
Valuation
Weak
Dividends
Exceptional

Winston Score History

The full picture

Polaris Media ASA is a Norwegian media company that publishes newspapers and runs news websites across Norway. It owns a large portfolio of regional and local newspapers, making it one of the biggest regional media groups in the country. Its titles cover communities across Norway, and its readers are mostly everyday Norwegian consumers looking for local news.

The company earns money through a mix of digital and print subscriptions, advertising sales, and printing services for other publishers. It operates almost entirely within Norway, which makes it heavily dependent on the health of the Norwegian media market. The high gross margin reflects the shift toward digital subscriptions, but the very low operating and return margins show that costs are still significant. The key challenge going forward is converting print readers to paying digital subscribers fast enough to offset the long-term decline in print advertising revenue.

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+4.7% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

-1.4% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

kr 0/ year

0.0% of revenue

Below sector average (12%)

Research and development spending

Insider Activity

80.1%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

kr 1.2B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Polaris Media ASA is growing revenue at 5% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Share count broadly stable

0.1% over 4y

The share count has stayed roughly flat over this period — little dilution or buyback activity.

Diluted shares outstanding: 48.9M (2021) → 48.9M (2025)

Score breakdown

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
37.0%
Modest — 37.0% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
4.5%
Thin — 4.5% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
4.0%
Weak — 4.0% return on capital

ROIC between 0% and 5%. They earn a few cents back per dollar invested in the business.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+1.3%
Nearly flat sales (+1.3% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
-88.4%
Earnings shrinking (-88.4% YoY)

Earnings per share down more than 10%. Either a bad year, or a real decline.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
5/8 quarters
Mixed — about half the quarters showed growth

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
2478%
Turns 2478% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
5.8%
Thin free cash flow (5.8%)

FCF margin between 0% and 10%. Some cash from sales, but not a lot.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.00
Conservative — low debt load (0.00)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
2.42x
Tight — interest eats into profit (2.4x)

Interest coverage between 1 and 3. Profits cover interest, but with little room to spare.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
272.7x
Expensive — P/E 272.7

P/E over 35. The market is pricing in heavy, sustained growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
N/A
not available
Data not available

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Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
5.50%
Healthy income — 5.50% yield

Generous yield. Worth checking whether the payout is sustainable.

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
+289.0%
Dividend growing fast (289.0% YoY)

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