By Alexandra Bruell
News Corp reported higher revenue for its fiscal second quarter, driven by growth across its Dow Jones, HarperCollins Publishers and digital real-estate divisions.
Chief Executive Robert Thomson said the company sees "favorable signs for the second half of our fiscal year."
The results
The media company said revenue increased 5.5% to $2.36 billion in the second quarter, which ended Dec. 31, slightly beating analyst expectations. Segment earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization increased 9% to $521 million.
Net income from continuing operations fell 21% to $242 million; the prior-year period included gains from an asset sale. Net income attributable to stockholders decreased by 10% to $193 million.
On a per-share basis, earnings from continuing operations attributable to shareholders fell to 34 cents from 40 cents.
Adjusted per-share earnings were 40 cents, while analysts polled by FactSet expected adjusted earnings of 37 cents a share.
The context
Revenue at Dow Jones, which publishes The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, Barron's and other titles, increased 8% to $648 million, while segment earnings rose 10% to $191 million. Advertising revenue increased 10% in the quarter, driven by a 12% gain in digital advertising.
Digital-only subscriptions at The Wall Street Journal increased to 4.29 million for the quarter, compared with 4.22 million in the period that ended in September. Including the print edition, total Journal subscriptions averaged 4.68 million, up from 4.61 million in the prior quarter.
Revenue at HarperCollins increased 6% to $633 million, with top titles including "Wicked: The Official Visual Companion," by Gregory Maguire, and "How to Test Negative for Stupid," by Sen. John Kennedy (R., La.).
Revenue from the company's digital real-estate-services segment increased 8% to $511 million, while segment earnings rose 11% to $206 million.
Write to Alexandra Bruell at alexandra.bruell@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 05, 2026 17:30 ET (22:30 GMT)
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