News (NWS) - 2025 Q4 - Annual Results

Overall Financial Performance News Corporation achieved strong FY2025 results with revenues up 2% to $8.45 billion, net income up 71% to $648 million, and a new $1 billion stock repurchase program Fiscal Year Financial Performance | Financial Metric | Fiscal Year 2025 | Fiscal Year 2024 | % Change | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Revenues | $8.45 billion | $8.25 billion | 2% | | Net Income (Continuing Ops) | $648 million | $379 million | 71% | | Total Segment EBITDA | $1.42 billion | $1.24 billion | 14% | | Diluted EPS (Continuing Ops) | $0.84 | $0.47 | 79% | | Adjusted Diluted EPS | $0.89 | $0.74 | 20% | Fourth Quarter Financial Performance | Financial Metric | Q4 Fiscal 2025 | Q4 Fiscal 2024 | % Change | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Revenues | $2.11 billion | $2.09 billion | 1% | | Net Income (Continuing Ops) | $86 million | $67 million | 28% | | Total Segment EBITDA | $322 million | $308 million | 5% | | EPS (Continuing Ops) | $0.09 | $0.08 | 12.5% | | Adjusted EPS | $0.19 | $0.20 | -5% | - The Board of Directors authorized a new $1 billion stock repurchase program, in addition to approximately $300 million remaining from the previous program, with an intent to accelerate repurchases[5][7] - Chief Executive Robert Thomson emphasized protecting intellectual property in the age of AI, noting "The Art of the Deal has become The Art of the Steal" regarding AI engines consuming copyrighted content without compensation[6][7] Segment Performance Review FY2025 growth was led by Digital Real Estate Services, Dow Jones, and Book Publishing, while News Media improved EBITDA through cost savings Fiscal Year Segment Performance | Segment | FY 2025 Revenue | FY 2025 vs FY 2024 | FY 2025 Segment EBITDA | FY 2025 vs FY 2024 | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Dow Jones | $2,331 M | 4% | $588 M | 8% | | Digital Real Estate Services | $1,802 M | 9% | $601 M | 18% | | Book Publishing | $2,149 M | 3% | $296 M | 10% | | News Media | $2,170 M | (4)% | $153 M | 15% | Fourth Quarter Segment Performance | Segment | Q4 2025 Revenue | Q4 2025 vs Q4 2024 | Q4 2025 Segment EBITDA | Q4 2025 vs Q4 2024 | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Dow Jones | $604 M | 7% | $151 M | 10% | | Digital Real Estate Services | $466 M | 4% | $152 M | 13% | | Book Publishing | $494 M | (4)% | $50 M | (12)% | | News Media | $545 M | (4)% | $28 M | (13)% | Dow Jones Dow Jones achieved record FY2025 revenues of $2.33 billion, up 4%, with Segment EBITDA up 8%, driven by professional information and digital subscriptions - Full-year revenue growth was driven by a 7% increase in the professional information business, led by 15% growth in Risk & Compliance and 11% growth in Dow Jones Energy[25] Dow Jones Consumer Subscriptions | Dow Jones Consumer Subscriptions | Q4 2025 (thousands) | Q4 2024 (thousands) | % Change | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | The Wall Street Journal | | | | | Digital-only subscriptions | 4,126 | 3,788 | 9% | | Total subscriptions | 4,538 | 4,256 | 7% | | Total Consumer | | | | | Digital-only subscriptions | 5,719 | 5,226 | 9% | | Total subscriptions | 6,261 | 5,842 | 7% | - Digital revenues represented 82% of total Dow Jones revenues for the full fiscal year, up from 80% in the prior year[24] Digital Real Estate Services Digital Real Estate Services saw FY2025 revenue increase 9% to $1.8 billion and Segment EBITDA rise 18% to $601 million, led by REA Group - REA Group's full-year revenues increased 12% to $1.25 billion, driven by Australian residential price increases, increased depth penetration, and 1% growth in national listings[33] - Move's (operator of Realtor.com) full-year revenues increased 1% to $552 million, as growth in seller, new homes, and rentals was largely offset by the impact of higher interest rates on lead and transaction volumes[34] - In Q4, average monthly unique users of Realtor.com's web and mobile sites decreased 3% year-over-year to 72 million, and lead volume was down 13%[31] Book Publishing Book Publishing's FY2025 revenue grew 3% to $2.15 billion and Segment EBITDA increased 10% to $296 million, driven by digital sales, despite a Q4 decline - Full-year digital sales increased 5% compared to the prior year, driven by higher audiobook sales, which included contributions from Spotify[39] - Backlist sales remained strong, representing approximately 64% of Consumer revenues for the full year, up from 61% in the prior year[39] - Q4 revenues decreased 4% due to a strong prior year comparison, softer consumer spending, and fewer notable frontlist titles[35] News Media News Media's FY2025 revenue declined 4% to $2.17 billion, but Segment EBITDA increased 15% to $153 million due to cost savings - Full-year Segment EBITDA increased 15% due to cost savings initiatives, including lower costs at TalkTV and the combination of News UK's printing operations with DMG Media[49] - Full-year advertising revenues decreased 5%, primarily due to lower print advertising at News Corp Australia and lower digital advertising at News UK, impacted by algorithm changes at certain platforms affecting traffic to The Sun[48] Digital Subscribers/Users | Digital Subscribers/Users | As of June 30, 2025 | Prior Year Comparison | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | News Corp Australia (Closing digital subs) | 1,166,000 | 1,117,000 | | The Times and Sunday Times (Closing digital subs) | 640,000 | 594,000 | | The Sun (Global monthly unique users) | 87 million | 112 million | | New York Post (Digital network unique users) | 90 million | 117 million | Cash Flow FY2025 net cash from operating activities increased to $978 million, and free cash flow rose to $571 million, driven by higher Segment EBITDA Cash Flow Metrics (in millions) | Cash Flow Metric (in millions) | Fiscal Year 2025 | Fiscal Year 2024 | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Net cash provided by operating activities | $978 | $897 | | Less: Capital expenditures | ($407) | ($357) | | Free cash flow | $571 | $540 | - The $81 million year-over-year increase in net cash from operating activities was primarily due to higher Total Segment EBITDA and lower restructuring and interest payments, partially offset by higher working capital and tax payments[50] Shareholder Returns News Corp committed to shareholder returns with a $0.10 semi-annual dividend and a new $1 billion stock repurchase program - A new $1 billion stock repurchase program was authorized in July, in addition to the approximately $300 million remaining from the previous program[5][7] - The company declared a semi-annual cash dividend of $0.10 per share for both Class A and Class B Common Stock, payable on October 8, 2025[55] Consolidated Financial Statements This section presents News Corporation's unaudited consolidated financial statements, including Statements of Operations, Balance Sheets, and Cash Flows Consolidated Statements of Operations This statement details the company's revenues, expenses, and net income for FY2025 and Q4, showing $648 million net income from continuing operations Income Statement (FY 2025, in millions) | Income Statement (FY 2025, in millions) | Amount | | :--- | :--- | | Total Revenues | $8,452 | | Income before income tax expense | $923 | | Net income from continuing operations | $648 | | Net income attributable to News Corporation stockholders | $1,180 | Consolidated Balance Sheets This statement presents the company's financial position as of June 30, 2025, with total assets of $15.5 billion and total equity of $9.4 billion Balance Sheet (As of June 30, 2025, in millions) | Balance Sheet (As of June 30, 2025, in millions) | Amount | | :--- | :--- | | Cash and cash equivalents | $2,403 | | Total current assets | $4,811 | | Total assets | $15,504 | | Total current liabilities | $2,608 | | Total liabilities | $6,115 | | Total equity | $9,389 | Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows This statement details cash flows from operating, investing, and financing activities for FY2025, showing $978 million from operations and $2.4 billion cash balance Cash Flow Statement (FY 2025, in millions) | Cash Flow Statement (FY 2025, in millions) | Amount | | :--- | :--- | | Net cash provided by operating activities from continuing operations | $978 | | Net cash used in investing activities from continuing operations | ($406) | | Net cash used in financing activities from continuing operations | ($524) | | Net change in cash and cash equivalents | $418 | Notes on Non-GAAP Financial Measures This section defines and reconciles non-GAAP financial measures like Total Segment EBITDA, Adjusted Revenues, and Adjusted EPS for clearer performance assessment - The company uses non-GAAP measures like Adjusted Revenues, Total Segment EBITDA, and Adjusted EPS to provide a clearer view of core business performance, excluding impacts from acquisitions, divestitures, foreign currency fluctuations, and certain legal matters[56][76] Note 1 – Total Segment EBITDA This note defines Total Segment EBITDA and reconciles it to net income from continuing operations, showing FY2025 EBITDA of $1.415 billion - Total Segment EBITDA is reconciled from Net income from continuing operations by adding back items including Income tax expense, Other net, Interest, Equity losses, Impairment and restructuring charges, and Depreciation and amortization[73][74] Note 2 – Adjusted Revenues, Adjusted Total Segment EBITDA and Adjusted Segment EBITDA This note details adjusted metrics, excluding acquisitions, divestitures, legal matters, and FX, showing FY2025 adjusted Total Segment EBITDA of $1.435 billion Reconciliation (FY 2025, in millions) | Reconciliation (FY 2025, in millions) | Revenues | Total Segment EBITDA | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | As reported | $8,452 | $1,415 | | Adjustments (Acquisitions, Divestitures, FX, etc.) | ($39) | $20 | | As adjusted | $8,413 | $1,435 | Note 3 – Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted EPS This note reconciles reported net income and EPS to adjusted figures, with FY2025 diluted EPS adjusted from $0.84 to $0.89 EPS Reconciliation (FY 2025) | EPS Reconciliation (FY 2025) | Amount | | :--- | :--- | | Reported Diluted EPS from continuing operations | $0.84 | | Adjustments (U.K. Newspaper Matters, Impairment, etc.) | $0.05 | | Adjusted Diluted EPS | $0.89 | Note 4 – Constant Currency Revenues This note reconciles reported revenues to constant currency, showing minimal FX impact for FY2025 with total revenues growing 2% on a constant currency basis - On a constant currency basis, total revenues for fiscal year 2025 grew by 2%, the same as the reported growth rate, indicating a minimal overall impact from foreign exchange fluctuations for the full year[94]