The Economist
The Economist is a British weekly news publication founded in 1843, providing global economic, geopolitical, and policy analysis through subscriptions to individual professionals and enterprise clients across financial services, education, media, and government worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1843
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What The Economist does
The Economist is a British weekly news publication and the operating entity of The Economist Group, founded in 1843 and headquartered in London with a Washington DC bureau. It delivers analysis on international business, economics, geopolitics, science, technology, and culture through a multi-format portfolio: the flagship weekly print and digital edition, the long-form 1843 biannual magazine, Economist Podcasts+ (daily and weekly shows including The Intelligence, Babbage, and Money Talks), over 20 specialist newsletters, Economist Insider video series, The World Ahead annual publication, and Economist Games. The underlying technology stack includes content management and subscription management systems, native iOS/Android applications, AI-assisted document analysis tools (including Reducto for investigative work), a RAND-built Integrated Strategic Forecasting system for geopolitical prediction, and the Economist Pro Content API that supports retrieval-augmented generation for enterprise private large language models and integrates with Microsoft Teams and Slack.
The business is principally subscription-driven. Consumer revenue comes from individual digital, print+digital, and premium Pro tiers sold direct-to-consumer through the website and mobile apps. Enterprise revenue comes from Economist Pro organizational subscriptions with workplace integration and single sign-on, content API licensing to enterprise LLMs on a usage basis, and PressReader distribution reaching 12,000+ organizations globally. Selected enterprise customers span financial services (Baillie Gifford, eToro, Ninety One, NIB), education (Imperial College London, British Council), media (NPR, Al Jazeera), and technology (Airship). Ownership is private, with Exor (the Agnelli family holding company) holding 43.4% and Stephen Smith's Smith Financial acquiring a 26.9% stake in March 2026, the first major ownership change in a decade.
The Economist firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Economist
- Legal name
- The Economist Newspaper Limited
- Website
- https://economist.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1843
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- The Economist is a British weekly news publication founded in 1843, providing global economic, geopolitical, and policy analysis through subscriptions to individual professionals and enterprise clients across financial services, education, media, and government worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Economist industry classification
Industry- Product category
- News and Media Publishing
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (51312)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Business, Financial & Trade News Publishers (MPAJADAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Data Journalism & News Intelligence Publishers (Indexes, Election/Market Data) (MPAJADAK)
Keywords
Where The Economist is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
The Economist business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Consumer Subscriptions: Individual digital and print subscriptions providing unlimited access to The Economist's journalism. Subscription tiers include digital-only, print+digital packages, and premium access.
- Enterprise Subscriptions (The Economist Pro): Organizational subscriptions for businesses providing team access, workplace integration, single sign-on, and enterprise-level features including MS Teams and Slack integration.
- Content Licensing to Enterprise LLMs: Licensing The Economist's content archive to corporate clients' private large language models. Opened API to enterprise clients with their own data for usage-based licensing.
- PressReader Distribution: Digital replica edition distribution through PressReader platform to corporate and government institutions. Exclusive rights for government institutions in new regions.
- AI Video Partnership: Partnership with Anthropic's Claude for video initiative, indicating emerging AI-generated content partnerships.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Individual Digital Subscription |
| Subscription | Annual | Print + Digital Subscription |
| Subscription | Annual | The Economist Pro (Enterprise) |
| Subscription | Annual | Audience Fellow Salary |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
The Economist product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Economist is a British weekly news publication founded in 1843 that delivers authoritative global analysis on politics, economics, business, science, and international affairs through print, digital, audio, and video formats. It operates a tiered subscription model including individual digital and print+digital subscriptions, the enterprise-focused Economist Pro tier with workplace integration and content API access, a portfolio of podcasts (The Intelligence, Babbage, Checks and Balance, Money Talks, Drum Tower), specialist newsletters, the 1843 long-reads magazine, and The World Ahead annual publication.
Product overview
The Economist operates a multi-platform media portfolio anchored by its core weekly publication (established 1843) and the enterprise-focused Economist Pro subscription. The product suite includes the flagship print/digital magazine, the Pro enterprise tier with API access and MS Teams/Slack integration, over 20 specialist newsletters (free and subscriber-only), the Economist Podcasts+ audio subscription with daily and weekly shows (The Intelligence, Babbage, Checks and Balance, Money Talks, Drum Tower), video content, the 1843 biannual long-reads magazine, The World Ahead annual publication, Economist Insider video series, and the Games intellectual property. The portfolio follows a tiered model: free/sponsored content drives audience acquisition while Pro subscriptions and licensing agreements (API, PressReader, enterprise LLMs) monetise the archive and premium analysis.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The Economist Pro: An organisational subscription providing access to The Economist's data-led reporting and analysis, built for businesses with options like workplace integration and single sign-on.
Quantifiable outcome
- One of only 4 major traditional media companies identified as successful digital survivors (with NYT, FT, WSJ)
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use The Economist
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
The Economist technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability7 records
Feature3 records
The Economist partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.
- PressReadercorePressReader renewed and expanded its five-year agreement with The Economist, securing exclusive rights to distribute the publication's digital replica edition. Expansion extends access to corporate and government institutions across Latin America, Asia-Pacific, and Africa for the first time. Government institutions in these regions receive exclusive access. PressReader serves over 12,000 organizations worldwide.
- Anthropic (Claude)strategicThe Economist partnered with Anthropic's Claude for a new video initiative, marking a cautious but strategic engagement with AI technology. The publication maintains a cautious stance on licensing deals, citing concerns over revenue, traffic, and brand integrity, but chose partnership over litigation with AI developers.
- LinkedInminorLinkedIn announced BrandLink platform expansion featuring publisher partnerships including BBC Studios, TED, The Economist, and Vox Media. The Economist's content featured in LinkedIn's branded content platform.
- MCN (Middle East Communications Network)minorMCN partnership with Arabian Travel Market 2025 included exclusive session featuring The Economist and proprietary research from McCann Truth Central on tourism trends.
- FlourishminorSenior figure from The Economist joined Flourish's advisory team as part of landmark expansion. Flourish is an agentic operating system for brand-safe marketing.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
The Economist competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Financial Times: The FT is the closest direct peer to The Economist: a globally distributed, subscription-based business and financial news publication with a similar professional/enterprise audience, premium pricing, and growing B2B/licensing strategy. Both compete for the same international executive readership.
- The Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones): WSJ competes directly with The Economist in business news, US politics coverage, and premium subscription tiers. Both target executive and professional readers and have invested in newsletters, podcasts, and enterprise access.
- The New York Times: The NYT is a direct subscription-driven news peer, often cited alongside The Economist as one of the four successful digital survivors. It overlaps on world affairs, business coverage, and enterprise subscriptions, with significantly larger US subscriber scale.
Emerging players
- Semafor: Semafor is a global news startup targeting professional readers with a subscription model and AI-augmented newsroom tools, competing with The Economist for executive readership and digital-native subscribers.
- The Information: The Information is a subscription-based tech and business news outlet that overlaps with The Economist's premium professional reader model and has pioneered high-priced B2B news subscriptions in the tech category.
- Politico: Politico is an emerging player in premium political and policy journalism with a strong B2B subscription product (Politico Pro). It overlaps with The Economist's policy and government audience but is narrower in geographic and topic scope.
Broad incumbents
- Bloomberg: Bloomberg is a broad incumbent in business and financial news with a strong enterprise B2B model (terminal/data) and consumer subscriptions. It overlaps with The Economist on financial/business journalism and competes for enterprise knowledge budgets.
- Reuters: Reuters is a global news wire and consumer-facing business news outlet with international coverage similar to The Economist. It overlaps on world affairs and business intelligence, with broader newsroom scope including real-time markets coverage.
- The Washington Post: The Washington Post competes for the same premium US/global-affairs subscriber segment and is investing in AI-integrated news products. It is a broad incumbent rather than a pure business-news specialist.
Regional players
- Barron's: Barron's (Dow Jones) targets US-centric investors and business professionals with weekly analysis, overlapping with The Economist's US business audience but with a more US/equities focus and narrower international scope.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
The Economist social profiles
Digital presenceThe Economist financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Economist leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
The Economist subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
The Economist funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Economist M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Economist
What does The Economist do?
The Economist is a British weekly news publication founded in 1843 that delivers authoritative global analysis on politics, economics, business, science, and international affairs through print, digital, audio, and video formats. It operates a tiered subscription model including individual digital and print+digital subscriptions, the enterprise-focused Economist Pro tier with workplace integration and content API access, a portfolio of podcasts (The Intelligence, Babbage, Checks and Balance, Money Talks, Drum Tower), specialist newsletters, the 1843 long-reads magazine, and The World Ahead annual publication.
Is The Economist a public or private company?
The Economist is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was The Economist founded?
The Economist was founded in 1843. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is The Economist based?
The Economist is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does The Economist make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Consumer Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are enterprise Subscriptions (The Economist Pro), content Licensing to Enterprise LLMs, pressReader Distribution and AI Video Partnership.
Who are The Economist's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones) and The New York Times. Emerging players are Semafor, The Information and Politico. Broad incumbents are Bloomberg, Reuters and The Washington Post. Barron's is listed as a regional player.
Does The Economist have an API?
Yes. The Economist Pro Content API enables organisations to integrate The Economist's information into internal systems at scale. The API supports large-scale text and data mining (TDM) to identify patterns, filtered discovery to surface specific topics across the archive, and usage-based licensing for AI applications. The publication also opened its API to corporate clients' private large language models (LLMs) in August 2025, allowing enterprise clients to access archived reporting for RAG and other AI use cases. Developer documentation is at www.economist.com/pro.
What industry is The Economist in?
The Economist's product category is News and Media Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAC, Business, Financial & Trade News Publishers, with a secondary code of MPAJADAK, Data Journalism & News Intelligence Publishers (Indexes, Election/Market Data). Its NAICS code is 51312 and its SIC code is 2721.