News (NASDAQ:NWS) Announces Earnings Results

News (NASDAQ:NWS) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. News had a return on equity of 7.09% and a net margin of 6.35%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion.

Here are the key takeaways from News’ conference call:

• News Corp reported a strong start to fiscal 2027: revenue rose 6% to $2.3 billion, total segment EBITDA increased 19% to $403 million, and adjusted EPS rose to $0.28 from $0.22. The company said this marked its 14th consecutive quarter of year-over-year EBITDA growth.
• Dow Jones revenue grew 8% and EBITDA rose 11%, with growth in Risk & Compliance, digital subscriptions and advertising. Digital-only subscriptions increased 10% to nearly 6.5 million, and digital advertising grew 12%.
• Digital Real Estate Services revenue increased 10% and EBITDA rose 34%, despite pressured housing markets; REA benefited from higher yield, while Realtor.com reported its eighth consecutive quarter of revenue growth. However, Australian listings fell 2% in the quarter, U.S. leads declined 11%, and October listings remained down year over year.
• Book Publishing revenue rose 9% and EBITDA increased 29%, with audiobooks growing 13% and strong demand for new releases. Management said higher costs are expected to support its upcoming frontlist program.
• Executives said News Corp is pursuing AI licensing opportunities and expects the first payment from the $1.5 billion Anthropic settlement in the near term, while continuing to challenge alleged unauthorized use of its content. They did not quantify AI-related cost savings or potential licensing revenue.

News Stock Up 4.1%

Shares of NWS stock traded up $1.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $33.39. 1,807,430 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 916,585. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.42 and a beta of 1.00. News has a one year low of $25.49 and a one year high of $35.76. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NWS shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded News from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Zacks Research lowered shares of News from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

About News

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) is a global media and information services company with businesses spanning news, publishing, digital real estate services and subscription-based content. The company operates through a portfolio of brands that serve consumers, professionals and businesses across multiple markets.

Its major operations include Dow Jones, which provides business news, financial information and data through publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s; News Corp Australia and News UK, which publish newspapers and digital news platforms; and HarperCollins Publishers, a global book publishing company.