News Corp reported an increase in revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter, driven by continued growth across its Dow Jones, HarperCollins Publishers and digital real-estate-services divisions.

Still, shares fell nearly 4% in after-hours trading.

The results

News Corp's revenue increased 11% to $2.34 billion in the quarter, which ended June 30, beating analyst expectations. Segment earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased 31% to $423 million.

Net income from continuing operations more than doubled to $230 million.

On a per-share basis, earnings from continuing operations attributable to shareholders increased to 33 cents from 9 cents.

Adjusted per-share earnings were 35 cents. Analysts polled by FactSet expected 24 cents a share.

The context

Revenue at Dow Jones, which publishes The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Barron's and other titles, increased 7% to $644 million, while segment earnings rose 20% to $181 million. Advertising revenue increased 5% in the quarter, with growth in digital advertising more than offsetting print-ad declines.

The Wall Street Journal recorded more than 4.46 million average digital-only subscriptions in the period, compared with 4.33 million for the quarter that ended in March. Including the print edition, total Journal subscriptions averaged 4.83 million, up from 4.71 million in the prior quarter.

Revenue at HarperCollins increased 15% to $566 million.

Revenue from the company's digital real-estate-services segment, which includes the company's stakes in REA Group and Realtor.com operator Move, increased 19% to $553 million, while segment earnings jumped 46% to $222 million.

The AI outlook

News Corp has AI content deals with Meta Platforms and OpenAI, and Chief Executive Robert Thomson said the company is in advanced discussions with several other companies.

Thomson said he believes News Corp is an important participant in the AI ecosystem. "Without our journalists, our authors, our data, our brands and our professional expertise, users would be drowning in a slimy sea of AI slop," he said.

In addition to partnering with some AI companies, Thomson said News Corp will continue to "pursue pilferers" that scrape its content illegally. He also said that clients of these companies should know they are "in possession of stolen goods."