Q4 2026 News Corp Earnings Call Transcript
Key Points
- News Corp (NWS) delivered record fourth-quarter profitability, with revenue up 11% to $2.3 billion and total segment EBITDA soaring 31% to $423 million, marking 12 consecutive quarters of revenue growth and 13 of EBITDA growth.
- The company's strategic focus on AI partnerships is paying off, with trusted content agreements in place with OpenAI and Meta and advanced discussions with other companies, positioning News Corp (NWS) as a critical player in the AI information ecosystem.
- Dow Jones posted strong results, with Q4 revenue up 7% to $644 million and EBITDA up 20% to $181 million, driven by robust B2B growth (Risk & Compliance up 11%) and a clear path toward its $1 billion EBITDA goal by fiscal 2030.
- Digital Real Estate Services showed remarkable resilience, with combined revenue up 19% to $553 million and EBITDA up 46% to $222 million, as Realtor.com achieved its seventh consecutive quarter of growth and REA saw strong listing growth in Australia.
- The company significantly accelerated shareholder returns, with share buybacks totaling $643 million for the fiscal year, over four times the prior year's rate, supported by a 42% increase in free cash flow to $811 million.
- HarperCollins delivered a strong quarter with revenue up 15% to $566 million and EBITDA up 14%, driven by a robust frontlist and strong digital growth, including a 16% increase in audiobook sales.
- News Corp (NWS) faces ongoing legal battles and reputational risks from its aggressive 'woo and sue' approach to AI content theft, including lawsuits against Perplexity and Brave, which could be costly and distract from core operations.
- Dow Jones Energy revenue growth was modest at 4% due to the conflict in the Middle East impacting clients, although the pipeline for new contracts is reportedly robust.
- Realtor.com experienced a 6% decline in average monthly users to 68 million, reflecting broader market trends and a strategic shift toward higher-quality leads, which could limit future growth if the housing market remains weak.
- The company faces a particularly difficult prior-year comparison in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, which could temper reported growth rates and investor expectations.
- News Media segment EBITDA declined by $4 million year-over-year to $24 million, due to disciplined reinvestment in the launch of the California Post, which will continue to incur incremental costs in the near term.
- The housing market remains challenging, with Australian residential new buy listings declining 2% in July and rising mortgage rates in the US potentially impacting Realtor.com's recovery, creating uncertainty for the Digital Real Estate segment.
Welcome to News Corpâs fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2026 earnings conference call. Todayâs conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions) At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Michael Florin, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Thank you very much, operator. Hello, everyone, and welcome to News Corpâs fiscal fourth quarter 2026 earnings call. We issued our earnings press release about 30 minutes ago, and itâs now posted on our website at newscorp.com.
On the call today are Robert Thomson, Chief Executive; and Lavanya Chandrashekar, Chief Financial Officer. Weâll open with some prepared remarks and then weâll be happy to take questions from the investment community.
This call may include certain forward-looking information with respect to News Corpâs business and strategy. Actual results could differ materially from what is said.
News Corpâs Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings
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