Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy is a private global magazine and digital platform covering international relations and geopolitics, serving government policymakers, corporate executives, academics, and informed general readers through subscriptions, events, research, and sponsored content under Graham Holdings.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1970
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Foreign Policy does
Foreign Policy is a private global news and ideas magazine that covers international relations, geopolitics, and foreign policy for an audience of government officials, policy professionals, corporate executives, academic institutions, and an informed general readership. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., it is operated as Foreign Policy LLC, a division of Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company), and uses a WordPress VIP-based web platform, Google Analytics for traffic measurement, and Braintree for subscription payment processing.
The publication operates a platform-plus-modules architecture built around its core magazine product. Core offerings include a quarterly print magazine with a digital archive, a premium research platform (FP Analytics) producing special reports, issue briefs, power maps, Simulations & PeaceGames, and a graphics database, plus an FP Live events platform hosting UNGA81 sector forums and expert conversations. Supporting modules include topic newsletters (World Brief, China Brief, regional briefs, Situation Report, FP Weekend, The New Geopolitics), podcasts (Ones and Tooze, I Spy, Foreign Policy Live), FP Studios for sponsored content, FP Collections of downloadable topical PDFs, FP for Education for academic access, and country-specific sponsored reports. Many articles include audio versions and the site supports video content.
Foreign Policy generates revenue through five streams: digital and print individual subscriptions, a premium FP Insider tier, enterprise and group subscriptions (FP Enterprise), display advertising and sponsored content (FP Studios, Country Reports), and paid events and conferences. Its go-to-market combines self-serve direct-to-consumer subscriptions on its website with sales-led enterprise and event sales. It maintains distribution across five social platforms (X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Bluesky), ten-plus newsletters, and three podcast feeds. The business is GDPR- and CCPA-compliant and operates globally with no disclosed geographic restrictions.
Foreign Policy firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Foreign Policy
- Legal name
- Foreign Policy LLC
- Website
- https://foreignpolicy.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1970
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Foreign Policy is a private global magazine and digital platform covering international relations and geopolitics, serving government policymakers, corporate executives, academics, and informed general readers through subscriptions, events, research, and sponsored content under Graham Holdings.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Foreign Policy industry classification
Industry- Product category
- International Affairs Journalism and Analysis
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (513120)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines (MPAJAEAO)
Keywords
Where Foreign Policy is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Foreign Policy 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, Others
Revenue model
- Digital Subscriptions: Individual and institutional digital subscriptions providing access to premium content, analysis, newsletters, and archive access. The magazine offers group/enterprise subscriptions for teams.
- Print Magazine: Physical magazine subscriptions with quarterly or bi-annual issues, including the Summer 2026 issue and archive access.
- Events and Conferences: Revenue from FP Live events, UNGA forums, sector-specific forums (Energy, Tech & AI, Health), and peace games/simulations. Event registration includes networking opportunities.
- Advertising: Display advertising on the website and in the magazine, including targeted ads based on browsing history and user preferences. Third-party advertising networks including Google's DoubleClick are utilized.
- Sponsored Content and FP Studios: Custom branded content, country reports, and sponsored content packages offered through FP Studios and the sponsored content platform.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Individual Digital Subscription |
| Subscription | Annual | Print Magazine Subscription |
| Subscription | Annual | FP Insider Membership |
| Subscription | Annual | FP Enterprise / Group Subscriptions |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Foreign Policy product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Foreign Policy publishes a global magazine of news and ideas covering international relations, geopolitics, and foreign policy through print and digital subscriptions. Its core subscription product bundles premium articles, newsletters, podcasts, the print magazine, and archive access, and is sold both to individual consumers and to enterprise/government/academic teams via group subscriptions.
Product overview
Foreign Policy is a global news and analysis publication organized as a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering is the Foreign Policy Magazine (print and digital), supported by premium digital products including FP Analytics (research reports, power maps, simulations), FP Live (events and expert conversations), and FP Events (conferences including UNGA forums). Additional modules include newsletters, podcasts (Ones and Tooze, I Spy, Foreign Policy Live), FP Studios (sponsored content), Country Reports, FP Collections (topic-based PDFs), and education programs. Subscription tiers include FP Insider (premium), FP Enterprise (team/groups), and standard individual subscriptions.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- FP Analytics: In-depth special reports, issue briefs, power maps, and interactive microsites for geopolitical analysis
- FP Live
- FP Studios
- FP Enterprise
- FP Insider
Products and services
- Foreign Policy Magazine
Companies that use Foreign Policy
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Foreign Policy technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability2 records
Feature4 records
Foreign Policy partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Graham Holdings CompanycoreForeign Policy is a division of Graham Holdings Company (formerly The Washington Post Company), providing institutional backing and media industry expertise.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Foreign Policy competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Foreign Affairs: Published by the Council on Foreign Relations, Foreign Affairs is the most direct comparable — a flagship print and digital magazine covering US foreign policy and international affairs, with subscription, advertising, and event-based monetization aimed at the same policy professional and executive audience.
- The Economist: A global weekly news and analysis publication with a strong foreign policy and economics focus, a paid subscription model, events business, and a similar high-income professional audience — the leading large-scale benchmark for subscription-led international affairs media.
Broad incumbents
- The Atlantic: A US-based magazine with significant foreign policy, politics, and ideas coverage that competes for the same engaged, educated subscriber base via digital subscriptions, a print magazine, events, and a podcast portfolio; broader in scope than FP but operating the same subscription-plus-events playbook.
- Politico: Politico covers politics and policy with a paid professional subscription product (Politico Pro) that competes head-to-head with FP Enterprise and FP Analytics for government and corporate policy buyers, and runs a major events business.
- Axios: Axios operates a similar digital-first newsletter and subscription media model (Axios Pro) targeting professionals in policy and business, with comparable use of Smart Brevity, events, and sponsored content to monetize a B2B audience.
- Bloomberg: Bloomberg offers deep global news, geopolitical analysis, and the Bloomberg Terminal as a premium intelligence product for corporate and government decision-makers — the largest scaled competitor for FP's enterprise intelligence value proposition.
- Reuters: Reuters provides global news and professional information services (including Reuters Connect) to media, corporate, and government clients, competing for the same international affairs intelligence budgets.
Regional players
- Nikkei Asia: Nikkei Asia is a paid subscription publication covering Asian geopolitics, trade, and policy from a regional lens; comparable to FP in format and audience but anchored in Asia rather than globally distributed.
Emerging players
- The Diplomat: The Diplomat is a digital-first magazine covering Asia-Pacific geopolitics and international relations with a subscription and advertising model; a closer niche peer to FP, though smaller in scale and reach.
- War on the Rocks: War on the Rocks publishes long-form analysis on defense, foreign policy, and national security with a podcast network and events — a smaller, digitally native peer competing for the same policy professional audience and enterprise sponsorship dollars.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Foreign Policy social profiles
Digital presenceForeign Policy compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Foreign Policy financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Foreign Policy leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Foreign Policy funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Foreign Policy M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Foreign Policy
What does Foreign Policy do?
Foreign Policy publishes a global magazine of news and ideas covering international relations, geopolitics, and foreign policy through print and digital subscriptions. Its core subscription product bundles premium articles, newsletters, podcasts, the print magazine, and archive access, and is sold both to individual consumers and to enterprise/government/academic teams via group subscriptions.
Is Foreign Policy a public or private company?
Foreign Policy is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Foreign Policy founded?
Foreign Policy was founded in 1970. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Foreign Policy based?
Foreign Policy is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
How does Foreign Policy make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Digital Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are print Magazine, events and Conferences, advertising and sponsored Content and FP Studios.
Who are Foreign Policy's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Foreign Affairs and The Economist. Broad incumbents are The Atlantic, Politico, Axios, Bloomberg and Reuters. Nikkei Asia is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are The Diplomat and War on the Rocks.
Does Foreign Policy have an API?
No public API is recorded for Foreign Policy.
What industry is Foreign Policy in?
Foreign Policy's product category is International Affairs Journalism and Analysis. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAEAO, News, Politics & Current Affairs Magazines. Its NAICS code is 513120 and its SIC code is 2721.