News (NASDAQ:NWS) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.15 EPS

News (NASDAQ:NWS) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.15, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. News had a net margin of 13.80% and a return on equity of 5.68%.

Here are the key takeaways from News’ conference call:

• Companywide results accelerated — Q2 revenue rose 6% to $2.4 billion, total segment EBITDA increased 9% to $521 million, adjusted EPS was $0.40, and margins improved to 22.1%.
• Dow Jones showed exceptional performance — revenue +8% to $648M, record ~30% margins with double‑digit EBITDA growth, driven by digital subscriptions, a record $87M in digital advertising, and 20% growth in Risk & Compliance.
• Digital Real Estate momentum continued — segment revenue +8% to $511M and EBITDA +11% to $206M, with Realtor.com revenue up 10%, improving lead volumes and audience share, and REA Australia growing 7%.
• Capital allocation is shareholder‑friendly — the company repurchased $172M of shares in Q2, said buybacks will be meaningfully higher in H2, and highlighted strong free cash flow and an improved Moody’s outlook.
• Some operating headwinds and one‑offs — HarperCollins recorded a $16M inventory write‑off that pressured publishing margins, News Media revenues were flat with EBITDA down 5% amid weak print ads and new investments, and GAAP net income fell 21% YoY due mainly to the absence of a prior‑year $87M REA gain.

News Price Performance

Shares of NWS traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $27.39. The company had a trading volume of 3,423,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,260,069. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. News has a 12-month low of $26.25 and a 12-month high of $35.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.28. The company has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 0.97.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On News

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. L1 Capital Pty Ltd purchased a new position in News in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $117,040,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in News by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,960,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,733,000 after acquiring an additional 7,675 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in News by 1.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,544,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,348,000 after acquiring an additional 22,587 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of News by 100.5% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,047,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,192,000 after purchasing an additional 525,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of News by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 561,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,416,000 after purchasing an additional 79,205 shares in the last quarter. 14.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded News to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of News from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, News has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

News Company Profile

News Corporation (NASDAQ: NWS) is a global media and information services company engaged in news and digital real estate, book publishing and other media businesses. The company’s operations include print and digital newsbrands, business and financial information services, consumer platforms for property listings, and a major book publishing arm. Through its subsidiaries and brands, News Corp produces news content, market and financial reporting, online real-estate marketplaces and trade and consumer publishing products.

Key areas of activity include news and information, where the company publishes national and regional newspapers and operates business information services; book publishing through a well-known global publisher; and property-related digital businesses that operate online marketplaces for real estate listings.