News (NASDAQ:NWS) Posts Earnings Results

News (NASDAQ:NWS) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.11, FiscalAI reports. News had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 7.07%. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion.

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 Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of News stock traded down $1.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $32.76. The company had a trading volume of 353,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,495,956. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.59. News has a fifty-two week low of $25.49 and a fifty-two week high of $35.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $30.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.28. The firm has a market cap of $17.94 billion, a PE ratio of 31.81 and a beta of 0.88.

News Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a yield of 60.0%. News’s payout ratio is presently 9.95%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On News

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in News by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,906,428 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,487,000 after acquiring an additional 362,355 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in News during the fourth quarter worth $908,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of News by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 28,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $847,000 after buying an additional 4,499 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of News by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 20,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $597,000 after acquiring an additional 2,122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in News by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 12,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907 shares in the last quarter. 14.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NWS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded News from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Zacks Research downgraded News from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.