Quad Graphics (NYSE:QUAD) outlined its strategy to transition from its traditional print foundation into a broader marketing experience platform, highlighting direct-mail technology, packaging expansion, in-store retail media and a continued focus on debt reduction.
Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Tony Staniak said the company, founded in 1971, now generates approximately $2.4 billion in revenue, serves more than 2,100 clients and employs 10,000 people. Quad historically grew through print operations focused on magazines, retail inserts, catalogs and direct mail before becoming a public company through its 2010 acquisition of World Color Press.
“We are the ones in the U.S. that have the full offering, all the way through creative, through design, through ultimately execution of the campaign,” Staniak said, contrasting Quad’s model with advertising agencies that may outsource production or print-focused companies that lack creative capabilities.
Data, AI and Direct Mail
Executive Director of Corporate Development and Investor Relations Julie Fraundorf said Quad’s data platform includes more than 3 billion continuously revalidated data points, covering approximately 97% of the U.S. adult population and 92% of U.S. households. The company said it touches 10% of U.S. Postal Service volume excluding first-class letters and packages.
Fraundorf said the company is incorporating artificial intelligence into production scheduling, waste planning, creative work and internal processes. Its audience-building tool includes natural-language prompting powered by Snowflake AI, which she said enables agency employees to use data attributes and personas without requiring advanced technical training.
Quad formally launched its Direct full-service direct-mail agency earlier this year. The offering combines strategy, audience identification, creative development, pre-market testing, production, postal optimization and campaign measurement. Fraundorf said the platform is designed to unify services that are often handled separately and to support direct-mail campaigns alongside digital and email channels.
Packaging and Postal Optimization
The company is also expanding its packaging footprint. Quad expects a new 100,000-square-foot folding-carton facility in Salt Lake City to become operational during the fourth quarter of 2026. The facility will join existing folding-carton operations in Franklin, Wisconsin, and Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Fraundorf said the Salt Lake City location was selected for its access to western transportation routes, proximity to consumer packaged goods companies and co-manufacturers, and potential to reduce lead times for West Coast customers. Quad also operates packaging facilities in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and has packaging partnerships in Central America and Asia.
In April 2025, Quad acquired select co-mail assets, client volume and technology from Enru, a third-party co-mail and logistics provider. Fraundorf said the acquisition enables Quad to bring third-party mail volume into its facilities, increasing mailing pool sizes and potentially producing greater postal discounts.
She noted that U.S. postage rates have increased more than 55% since 2020, according to the company’s presentation. In an example presented by Quad, combining its co-mailing, householding and postal-promotion programs reduced postage costs by 27%.
In-Store Media and Financial Targets
Quad has also been developing In-Store Connect by Quad, a retail media network that places digital screens in brick-and-mortar grocery stores and sells advertising time to consumer packaged goods brands. The company launched the offering in late 2024 and said it currently has four retailers live, with expansions at two of them and two additional grocers expected to join.
Fraundorf said Quad has observed sales lifts in some campaigns, including gains into the 20% range for certain frozen-food and in-aisle consumer packaged goods products. She said the company has also seen single-digit sales increases in more stable product categories such as laundry detergent.
Wakefern, which Quad described as the nation’s largest retailer and grocery cooperative, has engaged the company for paid-media strategy, content creation and in-store retail media services. Quad said it is deploying In-Store Connect screens in 30 ShopRite locations as part of the relationship.
Staniak said Quad views 2028 as an anticipated revenue “inflection point,” when it expects to return to year-over-year revenue growth. The company expects large-scale print to decline as a percentage of revenue while targeted print, packaging and integrated marketing solutions become larger contributors.
Quad reported adjusted EBITDA of $196 million in 2025 and projected a midpoint of $195 million for the current year. It also projected midpoint free cash flow of $50 million, compared with $51 million in 2025. Staniak said the company expects net debt leverage to reach 1.5 times by year-end, at the low end of its long-term target range of 1.5 times to 2 times.
The company said it has generated more than $870 million from asset sales since the beginning of the decade, using proceeds to reduce debt. It also said it intends to continue investing in capital expenditures, pursue smaller tuck-in acquisitions, pay dividends and repurchase shares.
About Quad Graphics (NYSE:QUAD)
Quad Graphics, Inc (NYSE: QUAD) is a global provider of print and related marketing services, serving a diverse range of clients in the publishing, retail, e-commerce and consumer packaged goods sectors. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span traditional print production, supply chain management and digital marketing support. Quad Graphics leverages a network of production facilities and distribution centers to deliver high-quality printed materials and integrated marketing programs that help clients reach their target audiences across multiple channels.
The company’s core offerings include magazine and catalog printing, direct mail, retail inserts, shopper marketing materials, custom packaging and point-of-sale displays.
