News (NASDAQ:NWS) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

News (NASDAQ:NWS) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.22 billion during 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%

NWS stock traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $33.39. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,807,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 916,585. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.51. News has a twelve month low of $25.49 and a twelve month high of $35.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $32.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17 and a beta of 1.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

News Company Profile

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.