News Corp beats revenue estimates as digital subscriptions grow

News Corp. on Thursday beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter revenue, thanks in part to a surge in digital subscriptions at its Dow Jones unit.

The New York-based media giant, which owns The Post, The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones, said revenue in the quarter ended June 30 rose 6% to $2.58 billion, from $2.43 billion a year earlier.

The company attributed most of the revenue growth to a 4 percent increase in its Dow Jones division, which includes The Journal, Barron’s and Market Watch.

Net income for the quarter was $71 million, or 9 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $32 million, or a cent a share, a year earlier. Adjusted EPS was 17 cents. Wall Street had expected EPS of 16 cents on revenue of $2.49 billion.

For the year, News Corp. reported profit of $266 million, or 46 cents a share. Revenue of $10.09 billion.

News Corp.’s stock closed at $27.76, up 11% over the past three months and 34% over the past year.

The company signed a multi-year partnership with the London Stock Exchange Group last month and in May it partnered with OpenAI under Sam Altman.

“Our groundbreaking agreement with OpenAI is expected to not only be lucrative, but will also enable us to work closely with a trusted, distinguished partner to shape the future of professional journalism and its provenance,” said Robert Thomson, CEO of News Corp.

“In the meantime, we have begun taking legal action against AI aggressors, blatant aggregators who are predatory in confiscating our content. ‘Open source’ can never be an excuse for ‘open villainy.’

Through the OpenAI deal, ChatGPT’s creator will be able to use current and archived content produced by News Corp. services to answer user questions and train its AI models.

As the Wall Street Journal reported in May, the five-year deal could be worth more than $250 million in cash and credits to use OpenAI’s technology.

Thomson also thanks those who helped free Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been imprisoned in Russia since March 2023.

“I would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those who contributed to the release of Evan Gershkovich,” Thomson said.

“His freedom was made possible by the concerted efforts of concerned, principled people who recognized that his imprisonment was unjust and immoral. Many thanks to our leaders at Dow Jones and News Corp who campaigned vigorously on Evan’s behalf, and to the U.S. government and other enlightened governments whose divine interventions were instrumental in his release.”