News Corp share price down 6% amid sliding earnings and planned job cuts

News Corp expects to cut 1,250 positions, or 5% of its workforce, in 2023.

Bernd Struben

Author bio Bernd Struben earned his BA in economics from the University of Michigan in 1991, with post-graduate studies in environmental economics at the University of Connecticut. Over the years he’s written about and analysed the tourism industry in the Caribbean; Europe’s commercial real estate markets; and, since moving to Australia in 2010, global and Aussie share markets. Bernd studies geopolitical and macroeconomic trends, alongside sector and company specific data, to gauge what he believes could be tomorrow's best investments. In his free time, you might find Bernd at the beach with his family or working on his next science fiction novel. Areas of expertise Australian and global share markets Macroeconomic and geopolitical trends Real estate Education Economics, University of Michigan Favorite investment quote "The four most dangerous words in investing are: 'This time it's different." — Sir John Templeton

Published February 10, 2023 2:16 pm AEDT

The News Corp (ASX: NWS) share price is down 5.9% in afternoon trade to $28.31 per share.

S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) investors are hitting the sell button following the release of the diversified media conglomerate's quarterly results for the three months ending 31 December.

Here are the highlights.

Two men and a woman sitting in a subway train side by side, reading newspapers. — Image source: Getty Images

News Corp share price slides as income tumbles

Revenue of $2.52 billion, down 7% from $2.72 billion in the prior corresponding period (pcp). Quarterly revenue was negatively impacted by foreign currency fluctuations
Net income of $94 million, down 64% from $262 million in the pcp
Total segment earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $409 million, down from $586 million
Earnings per share (EPS) of 12 cents, down from 40 cents in pcp
The board declared an unfranked dividend of 10 cents per share, up from 9.4 cents per share in the pcp

What else happened during the quarter?

The News Corp share price could be gaining some support from a steeper fall after the company reported revenues from its professional information business increased 45% in its Dow Jones segment. The company attributed the increase to its acquisitions of OPIS and CMA alongside strength in its Risk & Compliance products.

While broadcast revenues continued to decline, News Corp reported this was offset by higher streaming revenues from Foxtel's Kayo and BINGE in its Subscription Video Services segment.

In an effort to cut costs, News Corp also announced its intention to slash its workforce by 5%, or some 1,250 positions, in the 2023 calendar year.

What did management say?

Commenting on the results sending the News Corp share price lower today, CEO Robert Thomson pointed to the "progress made in certain" of the company's business segments.

Thomson added:

Obviously, a surge in interest rates and acute inflation had a tangible impact on all of our businesses. But we believe these challenges are more ephemeral than eternal…

In terms of portfolio optimization, as publicly reported, we have been actively engaged in discussions with CoStar Group about a potential sale of Move. Any transaction would be designed to create shareholder value and strengthen Realtor.com's competitive position.

News Corp share price snapshot

As you can see in the chart below, with today's intraday slide factored in News Corp shares are down 14% over the past 12 months.

The past half year has seen a better performance from the company, with shares up 8% in six months.

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