The New York Times Co. reported a calamitous drop in its third-quarter net income Thursday and said revenue fell below analysts' expectations amid weakness in print and digital advertising.

The company's stock fell 21 percent in afternoon trading, the Associated Press reports.

The Times company, which publishes its flagship newspaper and the Boston Globe, earned $2.3 million, or 2 cents per share, in the July-September period. That's down 85 percent from $15.7 million, or 10 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

In the year-ago quarter, the Times Co. booked a one-time gain of $37.8 million, or 24 cents per share, from the sale of its stake in the Boston Red Sox and other sports holdings. This was partly offset by a charge of $27.5 million, or 18 cents per share, from its early repayment of a $250 million high-interest loan from Mexican telecommunications tycoon Carlos Slim Helu.

The company booked severance costs totaling $1.7 million, or a penny per share, in both quarters.

Not counting the severance expenses and the results of businesses it no longer owns, the Times Co. booked a loss of 1 cent per share in the latest quarter, the same as in the third quarter of 2011. Analysts were expecting third-quarter adjusted earnings of 8 cents per share.

Revenue fell less than 1 percent to $449 million from $451 million. Analysts, on average, were expecting revenue of $477 million, according to a poll by FactSet.

Advertising revenue fell 9 percent in the third quarter to $182.6 million from $200.5 million a year earlier. Circulation revenue rose 7 percent to $234.9 million from $218.6 million.