News Corp reported second-quarter sales that outpaced analyst projections, led by strength at its Dow Jones unit, growth in its digital real estate services operation and higher receipts from its book publishing division.
The media company said revenue at its Dow Jones segment - which includes The Wall Street Journal - rose 8% year-over-year to $648 million. Management highlighted that higher-margin digital subscriptions within the Dow Jones business are contributing to resilience as the wider advertising market remains unsettled.
At the same time, the company said revenue for its digital real estate services segment increased by 8%, a gain the company attributed to a recovering property market. That improvement in the property-related unit complemented gains across the portfolio.
News Corp's book publishing operations, consisting of HarperCollins, recorded a 6% revenue increase for the quarter, reaching $633 million. The combined performance across the three units helped push total quarterly revenue to $2.36 billion.
Analysts polled by LSEG had forecast average revenue of $2.29 billion for the period. News Corp's reported top-line therefore exceeded that consensus figure, reflecting a mix of subscription-driven revenue and pockets of recovery in property-related services.
Context and implications
The results underscore the role of durable, higher-margin digital subscription revenue at Dow Jones in offsetting volatility in the advertising environment. At the same time, improvements in the real estate market provided a tailwind for the company's digital real estate services, while HarperCollins contributed steady growth in the book segment.
While the company did not provide further segment-level operational detail beyond the revenue figures cited, the quarter shows diversification across content, services and publishing that helped News Corp surpass consensus revenue expectations for the period.
Data recap
- Dow Jones revenue: up 8% to $648 million
- Digital real estate services revenue: up 8%
- Book publishing (HarperCollins) revenue: up 6% to $633 million
- Total company revenue: $2.36 billion vs. LSEG analysts' average estimate of $2.29 billion