News Corp Q2 FY26 Revenues Rise 6%, EBITDA Up 9%, Net Income Falls 21%
News Corporation reported a 6% rise in Q2 FY2026 revenues to $2.36 billion, driven by strong performances in Dow Jones, Digital Real Estate Services, and Book Publishing. Despite a 21% fall in net income due to prior year one-offs, the company is optimistic about AI partnerships and accelerating share buybacks.
- Q2 revenues up 6% to $2.36 billion
- Net income from continuing operations down 21% to $242 million
- Total Segment EBITDA rises 9% to $521 million despite $16 million write-off
- Dow Jones posts 8% revenue growth with record digital advertising
- Digital Real Estate Services and Book Publishing segments show robust gains
Solid Revenue Growth Amid Mixed Profitability
News Corporation has delivered a solid second quarter for fiscal 2026, with total revenues increasing 6% year-on-year to $2.36 billion. This growth was primarily fuelled by strong performances in its Dow Jones information services, Digital Real Estate Services, and Book Publishing segments. However, net income from continuing operations fell 21% to $242 million, largely reflecting the absence of an $87 million gain from last year’s sale of PropertyGuru by REA Group.
Segment Highlights – Dow Jones and Digital Real Estate Lead
Dow Jones, the company’s flagship information services arm, posted an 8% revenue increase to $648 million. This was driven by a 20% surge in Risk & Compliance revenues, record digital advertising income, and a 12% rise in professional information business revenues. Digital circulation subscriptions continue to grow, with The Wall Street Journal’s digital-only subscriptions up 13% to nearly 4.3 million.
The Digital Real Estate Services segment also showed robust growth, with revenues up 8% to $511 million. REA Group’s Australian residential revenues benefited from price increases and product expansion, while Move, operator of Realtor.com, saw a 10% revenue increase driven by premium offerings and audience gains.
Book Publishing Sets Quarterly Revenue Record
Book Publishing revenues reached a quarterly record of $633 million, up 6%, supported by recent acquisitions, strong frontlist titles, and growth in Christian Publishing. Despite a $16 million one-time inventory write-off at HarperCollins’ international operations, the segment’s adjusted revenues and sales remain healthy.
News Media Segment Faces Advertising Headwinds
The News Media segment’s revenues were flat at $570 million, with digital subscriber growth offsetting declines in print advertising. Digital revenues now represent 43% of the segment’s total, reflecting ongoing digital transformation efforts across News Corp’s mastheads in Australia, the UK, and the US.
Strategic Outlook and Shareholder Returns
CEO Robert Thomson expressed confidence in the company’s trajectory, highlighting accelerating revenue and profitability growth. He emphasised the strategic importance of AI, noting an expanded partnership with Bloomberg to include AI rights for Dow Jones content, positioning News Corp as a premium content provider in an evolving digital landscape.
The company also announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.10 per share and is actively executing an expanded share buyback program at over four times the prior rate, signalling strong cash flow and management’s confidence in intrinsic value.
Bottom Line?
News Corp’s Q2 results underscore growth in digital and real estate services, but investors will watch closely how AI partnerships and buybacks shape the next phase.
Questions in the middle?
- How will News Corp’s AI content partnerships impact future revenue streams?
- Can Dow Jones sustain its double-digit profit growth amid evolving digital competition?
- What are the implications of the accelerated share buyback on shareholder value?
