News Corp. Reports 6% Q4 Revenue Growth to $2.58 Billion

News Corp. reported 6 percent year-over-year revenue growth of $2.58 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, turning a net loss from 2023 into net income of $71 million, which the company attributed to growth in digital real estate services, book publishing and Dow Jones segments.

Here are the key results:

Net income: $71 million compared to a net loss of $32 million in Q4 2023.

Income: $2.58 billion, up 6% from $2.43 billion in 2023. Analysts at Zack’s Investment Research had estimated revenue at $2.53 billion.

Earnings per share: Adjusted earnings per share were 17 cents, compared with the Zacks analyst estimate of 15 cents.

Subscriptions: Subscriptions to the digital-only Dow Jones indices increased 16% year over year to more than 5.2 million.

For the company’s Dow Jones segment, the professional information business was the largest contributor to segment profitability, which News Corp. attributed to revenue growth in Risk & Compliance and Dow Jones Energy. Dow Jones segment revenue increased 4% year-over-year, driven by growth in circulation and subscription revenue. Digital revenue at Dow Jones in the quarter accounted for 81% of total revenue, compared with 79% in the prior year.

Book publishing revenues rose 15% in the quarter, driven by higher book sales and improved return rates. Additionally, the quarter was the first in which digital audiobook revenues exceeded e-book revenues.

The Dow Jones average total subscriptions were more than 5.8 million, up 11% year over year. Digital-only subscriptions were up 16% to more than 5.2 million. The Wall Street Journal average total subscriptions were up 7% year over year to nearly 4.3 million average subscriptions. The WSJ average total subscriptions were up 11% to nearly 3.8 million.

Dow Jones also reported a 12% increase in digital ad revenue, partially offsetting a continued decline in print ad revenue. Digital advertising accounted for 66% of total ad revenue in the quarter, compared to 60% in 2023.

Thomson also commented on the return of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was freed from Russia in a prisoner swap just over a week ago.

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all who contributed to Evan Gershkovich’s emancipation,” Thomson said. “His freedom was made possible by the concerted efforts of concerned, principled people who recognized that his imprisonment was unjust and immoral.”

The News Corp. CEO thanked the leaders of Dow Jones and News Corp. “who campaigned vigorously on Evan’s behalf, as well as the U.S. government and other enlightened governments whose divine interventions were instrumental in his release.”

“We also appreciate the excellent work of the U.S. government in overseeing the handover. And the role of several other enlightened governments whose divine interventions were crucial,” Thomson said.

In May, News Corp. signed a multi-year content licensing and product development agreement with OpenAI. Among News Corp.’s broad media profile, the publications covered by the partnership include The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, The New York Post, MarketWatch, Investor’s Business Daily FN, The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun, The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and several other Australian and British outlets.

“Our groundbreaking agreement with OpenAI is not only expected to be lucrative, but will enable us to work closely with a trusted, distinguished partner to shape the future of professional journalism and 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,'” he added ominously.