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NWSA Q1 Earnings Beat on Real Estate and Publishing Gains
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Key Takeaways
NWSA's fiscal Q1 adjusted EPS rose 27.3% to 28 cents, beating estimates, as revenues grew 6.4% to $2.28B.
Digital Real Estate Services sales rose 10%, while segment EBITDA rose 34% to $212M on REA and Move gains.
Dow Jones revenues rose 8% and Book Publishing sales grew 9%, while News Media EBITDA dropped 40% to $18M.
News Corporation (NWSA - Free Report) reported adjusted earnings of 28 cents per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 26 cents by 7.69%. The figure rose 27.3% year over year.
Revenues increased 6.4% year over year to $2.28 billion, beating the consensus mark by 0.73%. Growth across Digital Real Estate Services, Dow Jones and Book Publishing supported results. Dow Jones' digital-only news subscriptions rose 10% to nearly 6.5 million.
NWSA's Q1 Financial Details
Adjusted revenues, which exclude the effects of foreign currency movements, acquisitions and divestitures, increased 4% to $2.22 billion. Total segment EBITDA rose 19% to $403 million from $340 million. Adjusted total segment EBITDA improved 13% to $392 million.
The total segment EBITDA margin widened 180 basis points to 17.7%. Net income rose 43% to $215 million, while reported earnings reached 29 cents per share versus 20 cents a year ago. Operating expenses climbed to $988 million from $941 million, and selling, general and administrative costs increased to $890 million from $863 million.
News Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Digital Real Estate Services revenues increased 10% year over year to $529 million, driven by REA Group and Move. Segment EBITDA surged 34% to $212 million. Adjusted revenues and adjusted segment EBITDA advanced 4% and 23%, respectively.
REA Group revenues grew 13% to $369 million, including a $27 million favorable currency impact. Growth was supported by pricing, add-on products and increased listing depth. Australian residential buy listings fell 2%, including a 16% decline across Sydney and Melbourne. Move revenues increased 5% to $160 million on higher RealPRO Select sales and growth in seller, new homes and rental offerings. Realtor.com lead volumes fell 11%.
NWSA's Dow Jones Momentum in Q1
Dow Jones revenues grew 8% to $630 million, while segment EBITDA increased 11% to $160 million. Digital operations generated 85% of segment revenues, up from 84% a year earlier. Higher circulation, licensing and digital advertising revenues supported growth.
Risk & Compliance revenues advanced 11% to $104 million, supported by customer growth, product expansion and pricing. Energy revenues rose 8% to $79 million. Advertising sales climbed 9% to $93 million, driven by 12% growth in digital advertising. The Wall Street Journal's average total subscriptions increased 9% to 5 million.
News Corp's Book Publishing Gains
Book Publishing revenues increased 9% to $582 million, reflecting stronger physical and digital book sales across general books and children's publishing. Segment EBITDA rose 29% to $75 million, with the margin expanding to 12.9% from 10.9%.
Digital book sales grew 6%, including a 13% increase in audiobook revenues. Backlist titles represented 66% of consumer revenues, compared with 65% a year earlier. Profitability benefited from the absence of a $13 million receivable write-off recorded in the year-ago quarter, although royalties, manufacturing and marketing expenses increased.
NWSA's News Media Challenges
News Media revenues fell 1% to $540 million due to weaker print advertising and lower other revenues, partly offset by favorable currency movements. Adjusted revenues declined 4% to $523 million. Segment EBITDA dropped 40% to $18 million from $30 million.
Advertising revenues decreased 2% to $187 million, while circulation and subscription revenues increased 3% to $297 million. Digital operations contributed 41% of segment revenues, up from 38%. The Times and Sunday Times ended September with 686,000 digital subscribers, an increase of 7% year over year.
News Corp's Q1 Cash Flow and Balance Sheet
Free cash flow was negative $89 million compared with positive $4 million a year ago. Cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations declined to $13 million from $85 million, while capital expenditures rose to $102 million from $81 million.
Cash and cash equivalents declined 15.2% sequentially to $1.78 billion as of Sept. 30, 2026, from $2.1 billion on June 30. Total current assets fell 4.2% to $4.29 billion, while current liabilities declined 4.2% to $2.65 billion. Share repurchases totaled $166 million.
NWSA's FY27 Outlook
Management expects continued revenue momentum and margin expansion at Dow Jones, along with further efforts to improve profitability at Realtor.com. REA remains focused on product development and efficiency, although October property listings were down 13% year over year, or 8% after adjusting for one fewer working day.
HarperCollins anticipates healthy demand but higher costs supporting new releases. News Media expects trends similar to the first quarter, with continued spending on the California Post rollout. Management also highlighted ongoing AI content-licensing discussions and efforts to use AI across product development, customer service and internal operations.
NWSA’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
News Corp currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Zacks
NWSA Q1 Earnings Beat on Real Estate and Publishing Gains
Key Takeaways
News Corporation (NWSA - Free Report) reported adjusted earnings of 28 cents per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 26 cents by 7.69%. The figure rose 27.3% year over year.
Revenues increased 6.4% year over year to $2.28 billion, beating the consensus mark by 0.73%. Growth across Digital Real Estate Services, Dow Jones and Book Publishing supported results. Dow Jones' digital-only news subscriptions rose 10% to nearly 6.5 million.
NWSA's Q1 Financial Details
Adjusted revenues, which exclude the effects of foreign currency movements, acquisitions and divestitures, increased 4% to $2.22 billion. Total segment EBITDA rose 19% to $403 million from $340 million. Adjusted total segment EBITDA improved 13% to $392 million.
The total segment EBITDA margin widened 180 basis points to 17.7%. Net income rose 43% to $215 million, while reported earnings reached 29 cents per share versus 20 cents a year ago. Operating expenses climbed to $988 million from $941 million, and selling, general and administrative costs increased to $890 million from $863 million.
News Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
News Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | News Corporation Quote
News Corp's Digital Real Estate Growth
Digital Real Estate Services revenues increased 10% year over year to $529 million, driven by REA Group and Move. Segment EBITDA surged 34% to $212 million. Adjusted revenues and adjusted segment EBITDA advanced 4% and 23%, respectively.
REA Group revenues grew 13% to $369 million, including a $27 million favorable currency impact. Growth was supported by pricing, add-on products and increased listing depth. Australian residential buy listings fell 2%, including a 16% decline across Sydney and Melbourne. Move revenues increased 5% to $160 million on higher RealPRO Select sales and growth in seller, new homes and rental offerings. Realtor.com lead volumes fell 11%.
NWSA's Dow Jones Momentum in Q1
Dow Jones revenues grew 8% to $630 million, while segment EBITDA increased 11% to $160 million. Digital operations generated 85% of segment revenues, up from 84% a year earlier. Higher circulation, licensing and digital advertising revenues supported growth.
Risk & Compliance revenues advanced 11% to $104 million, supported by customer growth, product expansion and pricing. Energy revenues rose 8% to $79 million. Advertising sales climbed 9% to $93 million, driven by 12% growth in digital advertising. The Wall Street Journal's average total subscriptions increased 9% to 5 million.
News Corp's Book Publishing Gains
Book Publishing revenues increased 9% to $582 million, reflecting stronger physical and digital book sales across general books and children's publishing. Segment EBITDA rose 29% to $75 million, with the margin expanding to 12.9% from 10.9%.
Digital book sales grew 6%, including a 13% increase in audiobook revenues. Backlist titles represented 66% of consumer revenues, compared with 65% a year earlier. Profitability benefited from the absence of a $13 million receivable write-off recorded in the year-ago quarter, although royalties, manufacturing and marketing expenses increased.
NWSA's News Media Challenges
News Media revenues fell 1% to $540 million due to weaker print advertising and lower other revenues, partly offset by favorable currency movements. Adjusted revenues declined 4% to $523 million. Segment EBITDA dropped 40% to $18 million from $30 million.
Advertising revenues decreased 2% to $187 million, while circulation and subscription revenues increased 3% to $297 million. Digital operations contributed 41% of segment revenues, up from 38%. The Times and Sunday Times ended September with 686,000 digital subscribers, an increase of 7% year over year.
News Corp's Q1 Cash Flow and Balance Sheet
Free cash flow was negative $89 million compared with positive $4 million a year ago. Cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations declined to $13 million from $85 million, while capital expenditures rose to $102 million from $81 million.
Cash and cash equivalents declined 15.2% sequentially to $1.78 billion as of Sept. 30, 2026, from $2.1 billion on June 30. Total current assets fell 4.2% to $4.29 billion, while current liabilities declined 4.2% to $2.65 billion. Share repurchases totaled $166 million.
NWSA's FY27 Outlook
Management expects continued revenue momentum and margin expansion at Dow Jones, along with further efforts to improve profitability at Realtor.com. REA remains focused on product development and efficiency, although October property listings were down 13% year over year, or 8% after adjusting for one fewer working day.
HarperCollins anticipates healthy demand but higher costs supporting new releases. News Media expects trends similar to the first quarter, with continued spending on the California Post rollout. Management also highlighted ongoing AI content-licensing discussions and efforts to use AI across product development, customer service and internal operations.
NWSA’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
News Corp currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
American Public Education (APEI - Free Report) , Angel Studios, Inc. (ANGX - Free Report) and Amer Sports, Inc. (AS - Free Report) are among the better-ranked stocks that investors can consider in the broader Zacks Consumer Discretionary. Currently, American Public Education, Angel Studios and Amer Sports carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
American Public Education’s shares have gained 12.1% year to date. APEI is set to report its third-quarter 2026 results on Nov. 9.
Angel Studios’ shares have declined 21.4% year to date. ANGX is set to report its third-quarter 2026 results on Nov. 10.
Amer Sports’ shares have fallen 14.2% year to date. AS is set to report its third-quarter 2026 results on Nov. 17.