News Corp Class A Earnings Call Signals Confident H2

News Corporation Class A ((NWSA)) has held its Q2 earnings call. Read on for the main highlights of the call.

News Corporation Class A’s latest earnings call struck an upbeat tone, as management highlighted broad-based revenue and EBITDA growth, record margins in key franchises, and strong free cash flow. While acknowledging pockets of weakness in print advertising and certain real estate markets, executives framed these as manageable against a backdrop of resilient B2B revenues and growing momentum in AI-driven opportunities.

Solid Top-Line Expansion and Margin Gains

Reported revenue rose 6% year over year to about $2.4 billion, while total segment EBITDA climbed 9% to $521 million. Profitability improved as well, with margins expanding 70 basis points to 22.1%, underscoring operational leverage across the portfolio despite mixed conditions in some legacy businesses.

Adjusted EPS Underscores Earnings Resilience

Adjusted earnings from continuing operations came in at $0.40 per share, up from $0.33 a year earlier. The improvement reflects healthier underlying profitability even though the prior year benefited from a nonrecurring gain, which makes the headline comparisons more challenging.

Dow Jones Delivers Record Quarter and Premium Margins

Dow Jones turned in a record quarter with revenue up 8% to $648 million and segment EBITDA up 10% to $191 million, pushing margins to roughly 29.5–30%. Digital accounted for 82% of segment revenue, as B2B and professional information grew 12% and risk and compliance surged 20%, while digital advertising hit a record $87 million, up 12%.

Digital Real Estate Sustains Growth Momentum

Digital real estate revenues climbed 8% to $511 million, with segment EBITDA up 11% to $206 million as profitability kept pace with growth. REA Australia revenue increased 7% to $368 million and Realtor.com revenue rose 10% to $143 million, supported by 13% growth in leads, stable user growth, and high engagement levels.

Book Publishing Recovery Driven by Frontlist Strength

HarperCollins revenue increased 6% to $633 million, helped by a stronger frontlist and robust Christian publishing performance. E-book sales grew 7%, and digital formats represented about 20% of consumer revenues, leading management to express greater confidence in the business trajectory for the back half of the year.

Accelerated Buybacks and Robust Cash Generation

The company repurchased $172 million of shares in the quarter, roughly four times the prior-year pace and $132 million higher in dollar terms. Management stressed that free cash flow and the balance sheet remain strong and signaled that buyback activity should be meaningfully higher in the second half.

Credit Upgrade and AI Positioning Enhance Strategic Appeal

Moody’s upgraded News Corp’s rating and moved its outlook to positive, reinforcing confidence in the company’s financial profile. Executives also highlighted the value of proprietary content in the AI era, underscoring active licensing and partnership deals that position Dow Jones and HarperCollins as premium data and content providers.

Eleven Quarters of Consistent EBITDA Growth

News Corp has now posted eleven consecutive quarters of year-over-year total segment EBITDA growth from continuing operations. Management sees positive visibility into the second half, anchored by its core pillars of Dow Jones, digital real estate, and HarperCollins, which are increasingly driving the group’s financial performance.

Headline Net Income Down on Tough Comparisons

Net income from continuing operations fell 21% to $242 million, and reported EPS declined to $0.34 from $0.40 a year earlier. The drop was largely due to the absence of an $87 million gain tied to REA’s previous sale of Property Guru, making the latest quarter look weaker on a reported basis despite better underlying trends.

One-Time Inventory Charge Hits HarperCollins Margins

HarperCollins booked a $16 million inventory write-off, mainly outside the U.S., which weighed on margins by about 260 basis points. As a result, segment EBITDA slipped 2% to $99 million and margins declined to 15.6%, although management framed the charge as a one-time clean-up rather than a sign of structural weakness.

News Media Feels Pressure from Weak Advertising

News media revenue was flat at $570 million, but segment EBITDA declined 5% to $70 million as print advertising remained under pressure. Modest strategic investments, including the California Post launch, also added to costs, and management warned that challenging ad trends are likely to persist.

Regional and Portfolio Headwinds Temper Real Estate Upside

Not all real estate assets performed smoothly, as REA India revenue fell following the sale of PropTiger and the closure of the housing edge business. In Australia, national new-buy listings were down 3% in the quarter and around 8% in January, reflecting ongoing softness in certain housing markets.

Advertising Mix and ARPU Require Careful Management

Dow Jones showed strong advertising growth, but management noted some ARPU pressure resulting from a greater mix of enterprise and corporate partnerships. While these deals are margin-accretive, they can dilute direct subscription ARPU in the short term, prompting a sharper focus on optimizing promotions and overall digital ARPU.

CapEx and Cost Growth Support Strategic Reinvestment

The company expects total capital expenditure to be moderately higher this year, even as Dow Jones-specific CapEx trends modestly lower. Management acknowledged a higher rate of cost growth in some areas as it reinvests for future gains, a trade-off they believe remains compatible with improving margins.

Optimistic Outlook and Stronger H2 Guidance

Executives described third-quarter prospects as auspicious and the second half as clearly positive, citing sustained B2B strength at Dow Jones and healthier real estate trends as conditions improve. Even with moderately higher CapEx, they forecast very strong free cash flow growth, a faster share repurchase pace in H2, and ongoing benefits from easier comps in publishing and firming real estate demand.

News Corp’s earnings call painted a picture of a company leaning into digital growth, recurring B2B revenue, and AI-related opportunities while managing through cyclical and legacy headwinds. For investors, the combination of improving profitability, accelerating buybacks, and a supportive credit backdrop suggests a constructive setup heading into the second half of the fiscal year.