News (NASDAQ:NWS) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Key Points

• News Corp beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.35 in EPS versus the $0.24 consensus, while revenue matched forecasts at $2.25 billion.
• Profitability and cash generation strengthened: Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue rose 11% to $2.3 billion, segment EBITDA increased 31% to $423 million, and full-year free cash flow climbed 42% to $811 million.
• Growth was led by Dow Jones, digital real estate and HarperCollins, while management highlighted expanding AI licensing partnerships and $643 million in fiscal 2026 share repurchases; risks include housing weakness, Middle East developments and higher near-term costs.

News (NASDAQ:NWS - Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.11, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.25 billion. News had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 6.12%.

Here are the key takeaways from News' conference call:

• Record profitability and cash generation: Fiscal Q4 revenue rose 11% to $2.3 billion and total segment EBITDA increased 31% to $423 million, while full-year free cash flow climbed 42% to $811 million.
• Core growth engines remained strong. Dow Jones EBITDA grew 20%, Digital Real Estate Services EBITDA surged 46%, and HarperCollins revenue increased 15%; management also reiterated its path toward $1 billion of Dow Jones EBITDA by fiscal 2030.
• News Corp repurchased $643 million of shares in fiscal 2026, more than four times the prior year’s amount, and said its strong balance sheet and cash flow provide flexibility for continued capital returns.
• AI licensing is expanding: Management said the Meta and OpenAI partnerships are contributing to the business, with additional horizontal and industry-specific deals in the pipeline, while litigation continues against companies accused of using News Corp content without authorization.
• Management flagged ongoing risks from Middle East developments, higher mortgage rates and challenging housing conditions, as well as incremental costs for the California Post rollout and a difficult first-quarter comparison in News Media.

News Price Performance

NWS stock traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,723,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,107,615. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $30.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.26. The company has a market capitalization of $18.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48 and a beta of 0.88. News has a 1 year low of $25.49 and a 1 year high of $35.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.59.

Institutional Trading of News

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NWS. L1 Capital Pty Ltd bought a new position in News in the third quarter valued at $117,040,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of News by 2,991.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,947,039 shares of the company's stock worth $57,691,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884,066 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of News in the 4th quarter worth about $17,701,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of News by 100.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,047,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,192,000 after purchasing an additional 525,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burkehill Global Management LP purchased a new position in shares of News during the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,820,000. 14.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NWS. Weiss Ratings raised shares of News from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research cut News from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, News currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy".

About News

News Corporation NASDAQ: NWS is a global media and information services company engaged in news and digital real estate, book publishing and other media businesses. The company's operations include print and digital newsbrands, business and financial information services, consumer platforms for property listings, and a major book publishing arm. Through its subsidiaries and brands, News Corp produces news content, market and financial reporting, online real-estate marketplaces and trade and consumer publishing products.

Key areas of activity include news and information, where the company publishes national and regional newspapers and operates business information services; book publishing through a well-known global publisher; and property-related digital businesses that operate online marketplaces for real estate listings.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source