News Corporation Class A ((NWSA)) has held its Q3 earnings call. Read on for the main highlights of the call.
Meet Samuel – Your Personal Investing Prophet
- Start a conversation with TipRanks’ trusted, data-backed investment intelligence
- Ask Samuel about stocks, your portfolio, or the market and get instant, personalized insights in seconds
News Corporation Class A delivered an upbeat earnings call, underscoring broad-based momentum across its highest-margin digital franchises and disciplined capital deployment. Executives emphasized double-digit profit growth, widening margins, and robust free cash flow, while acknowledging pressure in legacy print and near-term housing-related headwinds that temper, but do not derail, the growth story.
Company-wide Revenue and Profit Growth
News Corp reported a 9% year-over-year rise in revenue to $2.2 billion, translating into an 18% increase in total segment EBITDA to $343 million as margins expanded from 14.4% to 15.7%. Net income from continuing operations climbed 13%, signaling that scale benefits and cost discipline are flowing through to the bottom line.
Sustained Profitability Streak
Management highlighted a notable consistency in performance, with News Corp posting its 12th straight quarter of year-over-year total segment EBITDA growth from continuing operations. Dow Jones extended its own run to 13 consecutive quarters of EBITDA gains, reinforcing the durability of its subscription-driven and data-focused model.
Strong Free Cash Flow and Capital Returns
The company stressed its strong free cash flow profile, supported by a solid cash position and a roughly $380 million loan repayment from Foxtel. This firepower is feeding an accelerated share repurchase effort, with $193 million of stock bought back in the third quarter and $459 million year-to-date, up from $172 million in the prior quarter.
Dow Jones: Healthy Growth and Margin Expansion
Dow Jones continued to shine with revenues up 8% to $619 million and segment EBITDA up 11% to $147 million, lifting margins to 23.7%. Risk & Compliance revenue jumped 19% to $100 million and Energy revenue grew 12% to $77 million, while digital lines now account for 84% of Dow Jones revenue.
Digital Real Estate Services Outperformance
Digital Real Estate Services remained a growth engine, with segment revenue rising to $473 million, up 17% reported and 8% on an adjusted basis, while EBITDA surged 25% to $155 million. REA revenues climbed 20% (8% constant currency) driven by a 14% yield increase, and realtor.com revenue grew 10% to $148 million as visit share improved to 31% and monetization per home sale advanced.
Book Publishing Strength
HarperCollins delivered another solid quarter, with revenue up 8% to $555 million and segment EBITDA rising 14% to $73 million, pushing margins to 13.2%. Digital formats were an important tailwind, as e-book sales increased 17% and audiobooks grew 7%, helping offset volatility in physical channels.
Improving Subscription and Advertising Trends at Dow Jones
Dow Jones continued to deepen its digital subscription base, with digital-only subs up 9% year-over-year and about 53,000 sequential net adds. Digital advertising grew 13% and helped lift total advertising revenue 6% to $91 million, while pricing initiatives for digital subscriptions at The Wall Street Journal supported higher average revenue per user.
Strategic Positioning Around AI and IP Monetization
The call underscored News Corp’s push to monetize its intellectual property as a key content supplier for artificial intelligence platforms. Management pointed to partnership deals with major AI and technology firms and highlighted expected proceeds from a large IP-related settlement later this calendar year as a catalyst for future earnings and cash flow.
News Media Profitability Decline
News Media revenue rose 5% to $538 million, aided by favorable currency, but segment EBITDA declined by $18 million year-over-year to $15 million. The drop reflected investment in launching the California Post and softer trading conditions in Australia and the U.K., leading to a 2% decline in adjusted revenues.
Print and Certain Advertising Pressures
Legacy print continues to be a drag, with persistent declines in print advertising offsetting gains elsewhere, including a 6% drop in Dow Jones print ads even as digital ads rose. Broader print revenue pressures remain a structural headwind for the traditional media portfolio, reinforcing management’s focus on digital transformation.
Housing Market Headwinds Could Constrain Real Estate Upside
Despite strong performance at realtor.com and REA, management cautioned that high mortgage rates above 6% and existing home sales near historic lows could temper near-term upside. The company signaled that a full housing recovery may be uneven, as rising rates pose risk to transaction volumes even as share and yield gains support revenue.
One-off and Timing Effects Impacting Cash Flow and Other Segment
Third quarter cash flows reflected some working capital timing effects, which management framed as largely transitory in nature. The corporate “Other” segment showed lower expenses due mainly to stock compensation calculations, but these costs are expected to revert and be broadly similar to last year on a full-year basis.
Adjusted vs Reported Growth Moderation
Headline growth rates were flattered by foreign exchange and other factors, with adjusted revenue up 4% versus a 9% reported increase and adjusted total segment EBITDA up 13% versus 18% reported. Management acknowledged these timing and one-off effects, but emphasized that underlying trends in its core digital and subscription businesses remain solid.
Business Disposals and Geographic Impacts
The company also pointed to portfolio changes and geographic dynamics as contributors to revenue variability, including declines at REA India after the sale of PropTiger and closure of Housing Edge. Currency tailwinds also boosted reported News Media revenue, complicating year-on-year comparisons across regions and segments.
Forward-looking Guidance and Outlook
Looking ahead, News Corp expects a strong fourth quarter and continued robust free cash flow for the fiscal year, even as capital spending ticks higher. Management reiterated its goal for Dow Jones to reach $1 billion in annual EBITDA within five years, flagged tighter operating cost growth in Digital Real Estate, and outlined stronger pipelines at HarperCollins and incremental News Media investments.
News Corp’s latest earnings call painted a picture of a company leaning into high-margin digital and data assets while managing legacy print and cyclical housing exposure. Investors heard a blend of discipline and ambition as management ramps buybacks, pursues AI-linked IP monetization, and targets higher profitability, suggesting the growth story remains very much intact despite isolated headwinds.