News NASDAQ: NWS reported record fourth-quarter profitability for fiscal 2026, with revenue rising 11% year over year to $2.3 billion and total segment EBITDA increasing 31% to $423 million. Net income from continuing operations climbed 167% to $230 million, while reported earnings per share rose to $0.33 from $0.09 a year earlier and adjusted EPS increased to $0.35 from $0.19.
For the full fiscal year, revenue increased 7% to $9 billion and total segment EBITDA rose 15% to more than $1.6 billion. The company’s annual margin expanded to 18% from 16.7%, while free cash flow grew 42% to $811 million. Reported EPS for the year rose 23% to $1.03 and adjusted EPS increased 33% to $1.18.
Chief Executive Robert Thomson said the results marked the company’s 12th consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue growth and its 13th consecutive quarter of total segment EBITDA growth from continuing operations. He said News Corp has shifted toward a majority-digital business with expanded premium recurring revenue streams.
Chief Financial Officer Lavanya Chandrashekar said 61% of fiscal 2026 revenue was digital. She also pointed to three consecutive years of mid-teens profit growth on a continuing-operations basis and said the company sees “substantial runway” for further margin improvement.
Capital returns and AI strategy
News Corp stepped up share repurchases during the year, buying back $184 million of stock in the fourth quarter and $643 million for fiscal 2026, compared with $150 million in fiscal 2025. Chandrashekar said the annual repurchase total benefited from approximately $380 million in repayments of Foxtel shareholder loans.
Thomson said the company believes its intellectual property and professional content are important inputs for artificial-intelligence products. News Corp has content relationships with OpenAI and Meta and is in advanced discussions with other companies, he said.
At the same time, Thomson said the company is pursuing legal action against AI companies it alleges have improperly used its copyrighted material, specifically citing Perplexity and Brave. He said News Corp’s claims against Brave focus on alleged use of web crawlers and the repackaging of copyrighted articles for enterprise customers.
In response to an analyst question, Thomson said the company views its AI agreements as partnerships rather than merely transactional arrangements. He said future agreements could include both broad arrangements with major AI companies and sector-specific deals. Chandrashekar said the Meta agreement announced in March is now contributing to the business at both Dow Jones and News Media.
Dow Jones advances B2B growth
Dow Jones posted fourth-quarter revenue of $644 million, up 7% from the prior year. Chandrashekar said the segment’s EBITDA was $181 million, up 20%, with margin expanding 310 basis points to 28.1%. Digital revenue represented 84% of segment revenue, compared with 83% a year earlier.
Professional information revenue increased 5%, led by an 11% increase in Risk & Compliance revenue to $102 million. Dow Jones Energy revenue grew 4% to $76 million, with management citing the Middle East conflict and timing of new contracts as factors affecting growth. Chandrashekar said the pipeline for new energy contracts is robust and that the company expects improved growth in the first quarter.
Digital-only subscriptions rose 9% to nearly 6.3 million, including approximately 194,000 sequential net additions, driven by enterprise news subscriptions. Digital advertising grew 10%, helping total advertising revenue rise 5% to $109 million despite a 6% decline in print advertising.
The company increased the full price of a new Wall Street Journal digital subscription to $44.99 from $39.99 and raised introductory offer pricing. Chandrashekar said these actions have supported accelerated growth in digital direct-subscription average revenue per user.
Real estate and publishing results
Digital Real Estate Services revenue increased 19% to $553 million, while segment EBITDA rose 46% to $222 million. On an adjusted basis, revenue rose 10% and EBITDA increased 33%.
REA revenue rose 21%, or 9% in constant currency, aided by price increases, add-on product growth and an 11% increase in Australian residential new-buy listings. Realtor.com revenue grew 13% to $167 million, its seventh consecutive quarter of revenue growth.
Management said Realtor.com’s growth was driven by core real estate products, particularly its RealPro Select premium marketing product, as well as a focus on higher-priced listings. Adjacent categories including new homes, rentals and sellers accounted for 22% of Realtor.com revenue during the quarter.
HarperCollins revenue increased 15% to $566 million and EBITDA rose 14% to $57 million. Digital revenue grew 12%, including a 16% increase in audiobook revenue and an 11% increase in e-book revenue. Chandrashekar said stronger frontlist demand, higher backlist sales and deluxe editions supported the quarter.
Outlook
For fiscal 2027, News Corp said it expects continued strong revenue performance at Dow Jones and improved B2B revenue growth, particularly at Dow Jones Energy. The company also expects continued margin expansion supported by disciplined reinvestment.
Chandrashekar said Australian residential new-buy listings declined 2% in July. At Realtor.com, the company expects potential revenue improvement, though a broader housing recovery could be affected in the near term by rising mortgage rates.
News Corp expects HarperCollins to benefit from a strong frontlist and an easier comparison with the prior year. In News Media, the company expects incremental expenses tied to the continued rollout of the California Post, partly offset by benefits from new content-licensing revenue.
About News (NASDAQ:NWS)
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.
Before you consider News, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and News wasn't on the list.
While News currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
MarketBeat just released its list of the 7 hottest IPOs expected to hit Wall Street in 2026. See which companies are preparing to go public and why investors are watching closely.
Get This Free Report
