NWSA Q4 Earnings Meet Expectations, Revenue Rises Year-Over-Year

Overview of News Corporation’s Fourth-Quarter Fiscal 2025 Performance

News Corporation (NWSA) reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings of 19 cents per share, which matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate. This marks a 5% decline compared to the same period in the previous year. Despite this, the company saw a 1% increase in revenues, reaching $2.11 billion, which exceeded the consensus forecast by 0.26%. The growth was primarily fueled by gains in the Digital Real Estate Services and Dow Jones segments.

Following the release of these results, NWSA shares experienced a 0.75% increase during after-hours trading. Year-to-date, the stock has gained 6.3%, slightly underperforming the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector, which rose by 6.8%.

Key Financial Highlights

Adjusted revenues for the quarter, which exclude the effects of foreign currency fluctuations, acquisitions, and divestitures, remained flat on a year-over-year basis. However, total EBITDA increased by 6% to $329 million, reflecting improved operational efficiency across the company.

Segment Analysis

Digital Real Estate Services

The Digital Real Estate Services segment recorded a 4% year-over-year revenue increase, reaching $466 million. This growth was driven by higher revenues at REA Group and continued improvement in Move’s performance, with revenues rising for the third consecutive quarter. Adjusted revenues and adjusted segment EBITDA both saw significant gains, increasing by 6% and 16%, respectively.

Move’s revenues climbed 3% to $148 million, attributed to strong performance in seller services, new homes, and rentals. The partnership with Zillow and the success of RealPRO Select contributed to this growth. However, average monthly unique users of Realtor.com’s web and mobile sites fell by 3% to 72 million, while lead volume decreased by 13% due to high mortgage rates and affordability challenges.

REA Group’s revenues also rose by 4% to $318 million, supported by higher Australian residential revenues from price increases and better market penetration. Despite this, national residential buy listing volumes in Australia declined by 8% year over year, with Sydney seeing a 10% increase and Melbourne experiencing an 11% drop.

Dow Jones

The Dow Jones segment posted a 7% year-over-year revenue increase, reaching $604 million. This growth was driven by higher circulation and subscription revenues, particularly from digital platforms and continued expansion in the professional information business. Digital revenues accounted for 83% of total revenues, up from 81% in the prior year.

Circulation and subscription revenues grew by 8%, with a 10% increase in the professional information business. This was led by 21% growth in Risk & Compliance revenues to $92 million, which included contributions from recent acquisitions like Dragonfly Intelligence and Oxford Analytica. Additionally, Dow Jones Energy revenues rose by 12% to $73 million.

Digital circulation revenues made up 75% of total circulation revenues, up from 71% in the previous year. Advertising revenues increased by 2% year over year, supported by a 3% rise in print advertising and a 1% increase in digital advertising. Digital advertising accounted for 65% of total ad revenues, slightly down from 66% in the prior year.

Total average subscriptions to Dow Jones’ consumer products reached 6.3 million, marking a 7% increase compared to the previous year. Digital-only subscriptions grew by 9% to over 5.7 million. The Wall Street Journal saw its total subscriptions rise by 7% to more than 4.5 million, with digital-only subscriptions growing by 9% to over 4.1 million, representing 91% of total subscriptions.

Book Publishing

The Book Publishing segment generated $494 million in revenues, a 4% decline compared to the previous year. This was attributed to softer consumer spending and fewer notable frontlist titles. Key titles in the quarter included Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, The Griffin Sisters’ Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner, and Watch Me by Tahereh Mafi.

Digital sales dropped by 3% year over year, primarily due to a 7% decrease in audiobook sales. Digital sales accounted for 25% of total consumer revenues, up slightly from 24% in the prior year. Backlist sales represented approximately 65% of consumer revenues, compared to 62% in the previous year.

News Media

Revenues in the News Media segment fell by 4% year over year to $545 million. This decline was influenced by the transfer of third-party printing revenue contracts to News UK and DMG’s joint venture, as well as lower advertising revenues. Adjusted revenues for the segment also decreased by 4% year over year.

Circulation and subscription revenues increased by 1% year over year, largely due to a $5 million positive impact from foreign currency fluctuations. Advertising revenues declined by 4% year over year, with lower print advertising at News Corp Australia partially offset by higher advertising at The New York Post.

Digital revenues accounted for 38% of the News Media segment’s revenues, up from 37% in the prior year. For the newspaper mastheads, digital revenues represented 36% of combined revenues.

As of June 30, 2025, The Times and Sunday Times had 640,000 closing digital subscribers, including the Times Literary Supplement, up from 594,000 in the previous year. The New York Post’s digital network reached 90 million unique users in June 2025, down from 117 million in the prior year. The Sun’s digital offering reached 87 million global monthly unique users, a decrease from 112 million in the previous year.

Additional Financial Information

At the end of the fiscal fourth quarter, News Corp held $2.4 billion in cash and cash equivalents, with borrowings totaling $1.94 billion and stockholder equity of $8.77 billion.

Investment Considerations

Currently, News Corp carries a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). In the broader sector, Amer Sports (AS), Nexstar Media Group (NXST), and Ralph Lauren Corporation (RL) are better-ranked stocks, each holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). These companies have outperformed the market, with AS gaining 35.8%, NXST rising 18.5%, and RL increasing by 29.6% year to date.

Investors should keep an eye on upcoming earnings reports, including Amer Sports’ second-quarter 2025 results on August 19, Nexstar Media Group’s second-quarter 2025 results on August 7, and Ralph Lauren’s first-quarter fiscal 2026 results on the same date.