Shares in Reach PLC (LSE:RCH) fell 10% to 50.91p after it reported a 6.9% fall in group revenue in the first quarter of 2026, with digital income declining sharply as Google search and referral traffic continued to deteriorate.
The publisher of the Daily Mirror, Daily Express and more than 100 regional titles said digital revenue fell 8.1% in the three months to 31 March, with indirect revenues, primarily programmatic advertising, dependent on traffic volumes, down 10.5% and direct revenues off 4.5%.
Reach is far from alone in feeling the pressure. Google organic search traffic to publishers fell by a third globally in the year to November 2025, driven largely by the rollout of AI Overviews, the AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of search results and answer queries directly, reducing the need for users to click through to news sites.
Google's share of traffic sent to news publishers has more than halved since 2023, and industry surveys suggest publishers expect search referrals to fall by nearly half again over the next three years.
For Reach, the disruption first emerged in the summer of 2025 and has continued into 2026, with on-platform referral volumes from Google described as materially lower across the quarter.
The company said it was responding by growing off-platform audiences, expanding video content and rolling out premium subscriptions, which are now live across 11 of its sites.
Print revenue fell 6.6%, with circulation revenue down 5.5% and print advertising off 12.8%, though a cover price increase and strong promotional activity provided some support.
Reach said on-platform audiences were showing signs of stabilisation and expressed confidence in meeting full-year market expectations through cost reductions.
Chief executive Piers North said the company was navigating the shifting digital referral landscape with the benefit of scale and a portfolio of trusted brands reaching 35 million people each month.
"We are undoubtedly in the middle of yet another big shift in the media world," he said, "but we are navigating this uncertainty appropriately."
In the past year, the stock has dropped 30% and has collapsed by almost 80% in the past five years.
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