Research · Sep 3, 2026
[NWSA] News Corp Thesis 2026: Dow Jones B2B Pivot and Foxtel Exit Sharpen Digital Strategy
News Corporation (NWSA) FY25 (Jun) revenue $8.45B (+2.4%); total segment EBITDA +14%; op income $956M (+19%); NI continuing ops $648M (+71%); FCF $727M (+21%). Total debt $2.94B (-27% — $724M Foxtel debt removed post-DAZN divestiture). Three-pillar focus post-Foxtel: Dow Jones, Digital Real Estate (REA + Realtor.com), Book Publishing (HarperCollins). Dow Jones FY25: EBITDA +14%; Risk & Compliance +20% Q2 FY26 to $96M; digital 82-84% of revenues; acquisitions Oxford Analytica, Dragonfly Intelligence, Eco-Movement, Zenlist. REA Group FY25 +12% Q4 revenue ($1.25B annualized); Realtor.com four consecutive Q of revenue growth (Q2 FY26 +10% to $143M). HarperCollins $2.1B FY25 (+3%), second-best revenue year on record. News Media EBITDA +22-67% FY25/FY26 on cost restructuring. FY26 Q2: revenues $2.59B (+6%), segment EBITDA $521M (+9%), adj EPS $0.40 (+21%). Board $1B new buyback auth + $300M prior = $1.3B total; $172M deployed Q2 FY26. Foxtel shareholder loans ~$380M repayment in FY26 boosts FCF. AI/IP: Anthropic $1.5B case; HarperCollins licensing. Sum-of-parts: REA stake alone ~$11-12B USD vs total NWSA mcap ~$13.9B. Risks: News Media print, US housing (Realtor.com), FX (AUD/GBP), HC volume, AI disruption, Murdoch succession, advertising cyclicality, Australia real estate cycle, B2B competition.