News Corp (ASX: NWS) shares are up 4% today following the release of the company's quarterly results.
The company announced revenues for the quarter came in at $2.01 billion, up 1% on the prior corresponding period.
That was enough to slightly beat analysts' average estimates of $2 billion, according to Reuters.
News Corp stated the revenue increase was primarily driven by the growth of the Dow Jones, its digital real estate services, and its book publishing division.
Dow Jones, which includes the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, and Market Watch, contributed revenues of $575 million for the quarter.
REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA), in which News Corp owns a majority stake, posted revenues of $271 million, a 6% increase compared to the prior corresponding period.
The company stated that growth was "driven by continued strong Australian residential performance".
Newscorp CEO Robert Thomson said:
The sustained strength of News Corp's third quarter reflects the Company's strategic transformation. We have pursued digital growth, realigned our assets, focused relentlessly on cost discipline and asserted the essential value of our intellectual property in a changing, challenging content world.
Strategy shift pays off
The Wall Street Journal saw a 5% growth in digital-only subscriptions, while Barron's Group enjoyed a 12% increase in digital-only subscriptions for the quarter.
On the negative side, News Corp's news media business took a hit, with revenues for the quarter dropping 8% to $42 million.
The company said lower advertising revenues and a negative impact from foreign currency fluctuations largely drove the decrease.
Advertising revenues decreased by $19 million primarily due to lower print advertising revenues across the group.
News Corp also blamed the fall on lower digital advertising revenues at News UK, primarily at The Sun.
Overall, digital revenues represented 39% of the news media segment's revenues for the quarter, up 2% on the prior corresponding period.
While News Corp enjoyed a slight increase in digital subscribers for its Australian operations, it saw viewer numbers fall at key mastheads in the United Kingdom and the USA.
The Sun's digital platform reached 74 million global monthly unique users in March 2025, down from 126 million for the previous year.
And the New York Post's online offering saw its reach drop from 125 million unique monthly users last year to 85 million for March 2025.
The completion of the sale of Foxtel to DAZN also added weight to News Corp's balance sheet.
News Corp ended the quarter with free cash flow of $539 million, up from $475 million for the prior year.
