stockrowWhat it does
News Corporation is a media and information services company that sells news, data, books and digital real estate services to consumers and businesses. Founded in 2013, it is headquartered in New York. Robert Thomson is its chief executive.
Dow Jones supplies journalism and financial information through brands including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and MarketWatch. It also sells professional products that help organizations research businesses, monitor risks and comply with regulations. Dow Jones Energy provides pricing data and analysis for energy and other commodities.
The Digital Real Estate Services business connects people searching for property with agents, brokers, developers and other service providers. It includes REA Group, which operates realestate.com.au in Australia, and Move, which operates Realtor.com in the United States. Its services also include mortgage broking and property data.
HarperCollins publishes fiction, nonfiction, children’s and religious books in print and digital formats. The News Media business includes newspapers and digital publications such as The Australian, The Times, The Sun and the New York Post, along with radio and broadcasting operations.
News Corp distributes its products through websites, apps, newspapers, books, radio and other channels. It also licenses content for use by other platforms, including artificial intelligence applications.
How it makes money
News Corp earns revenue from subscriptions, circulation sales, advertising, real estate listings, licensing and book sales. Its reportable segments are Dow Jones, Digital Real Estate Services, Book Publishing, News Media and Other, which includes corporate overhead and strategy costs.
Dow Jones sells individual and business subscriptions to news and professional information products. It also earns advertising and licensing fees and charges people to attend some events. Its digital news products include both free content and subscription-only material. Advertising revenue is typically highest in the second fiscal quarter because of the holiday season.
REA Group earns much of its property revenue from listing products and monthly advertising subscriptions sold to agents and developers. Customers can pay for more prominent listings. Its financial services business earns lender commissions and subscriptions for property data. Realtor.com sells lead-generation and listing advertisements, often on a subscription basis, and earns fees from some referrals when property transactions close. It also sells advertising to businesses seeking to reach its audience.
HarperCollins sells and licenses print books, e-books and audiobooks through retailers and other customers. Its revenue is affected by release timing and is typically highest in the second fiscal quarter. News Media earns circulation, subscription, advertising and content licensing revenue.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, News Corp reported revenue of $2.3 billion and total segment EBITDA of $403 million. Segment EBITDA is revenue less operating and selling, general and administrative expenses; it excludes items including depreciation, interest and income tax.
Customers and how it sells
News Corp operates primarily in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, while distributing products worldwide. It had 21,700 employees in fiscal 2026.
Its customers include individual readers, investors and book buyers as well as companies, schools, associations and financial professionals. Dow Jones sells enterprise subscriptions for use by employees, students, customers or members. Its risk and compliance products help business customers screen transactions and third parties, while Factiva gives professionals access to news and business information.
Real estate consumers use the company’s sites and apps to search for property; paying customers include agents, brokers, homebuilders, landlords, developers and advertisers. REA Group’s Australian services include residential and commercial property sites and mortgage broking. Realtor.com serves the U.S. market and obtains much of its listing content from relationships with Multiple Listing Services.
HarperCollins sells and licenses books to customers including Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble and Tesco. Its operations span 15 countries. News and information reach customers through the company’s own websites and apps, print products and other media, as well as through licensed distribution on third-party platforms.
Suppliers and costs
Dow Jones news-product operating costs include editorial work, paper, production, distribution, third-party printing and commissions. Selling and administrative costs include promotion, salaries, employee benefits, rent and other overhead. Paper prices and newspaper delivery costs can materially affect results.
Dow Jones relies on third parties for much of its print production and distribution. The shift toward digital consumption and changes in labor markets create challenges for those providers that could affect the availability or cost of their services.
HarperCollins competes with other publishers for rights to authors’ works. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, its costs increased 7%, driven by higher royalties, manufacturing and marketing expenses associated with new releases. The company also reported higher broker commissions at REA Group in fiscal 2026 as settlements increased.
Realtor.com obtains property listings primarily through relationships with Multiple Listing Services, as well as from sources including homebuilders, landlords and listing aggregators. News Corp also licenses content for products such as Factiva.
- Revenue$9.0B
- Cost of revenue−$3.9B
- Selling, general and administrative−$3.5B
- Other operating costs−$485.0M
- Operating income$1.1B
Competitive position
Dow Jones competes for readers, subscribers and advertisers against news outlets, search engines, social media, AI platforms and other sources of information. Its professional information products compete with providers including Reuters News, RELX and S&P Global. HarperCollins competes with publishers including Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster and Hachette Livre for rights to authors’ works and for readers.
News Corp’s real estate businesses compete with property websites and apps as well as emerging AI-powered services. Realtor.com compared its engagement with Redfin and Homes.com in the first quarter of fiscal 2027. In Australia, realestate.com.au averaged 146.4 million monthly visits in fiscal 2026.
Our reading: News Corp’s established news brands and professional data products provide a meaningful competitive advantage because they combine content with tools used by individual and business subscribers, although those products face many alternative providers. Our reading: The audiences and listing relationships of its real estate platforms support their position with agents and advertisers, but competing sites and changing technology limit that advantage. Our reading: HarperCollins’ catalog and author relationships provide a source of recurring sales, though competition for publishing rights and readers remains substantial.
| Competitor | Where they compete | Threat (our reading) |
|---|---|---|
| Reuters News | Professional news and information services | High |
| RELX | Professional information, compliance data and energy pricing | High |
| S&P Global | Professional information and data services | High |
| Redfin | U.S. digital real estate | Medium |
| Homes.com | U.S. digital real estate | Medium |
| Penguin Random House | Book publishing and author rights | High |
| Simon & Schuster | Book publishing and author rights | High |
| Hachette Livre | Book publishing and author rights | High |
Growth opportunities
News Corp is developing digital subscriptions, professional information products, property services and content licensing. Dow Jones revenue increased 7% in fiscal 2026, helped by circulation, subscription and advertising revenue. The company has set a $1 billion EBITDA target for Dow Jones and is focusing on its professional information business.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Dow Jones Risk & Compliance revenue increased 11% from a year earlier, supported by customer growth, product expansion and pricing. Digital-only news subscriptions grew 10% year over year to nearly 6.5 million. News Corp has content partnerships with OpenAI and Meta and is discussing arrangements with specialist platforms.
REA Group uses premium listing products, add-ons and financial services to generate revenue. In September 2026, it completed the sale of REA India; it has also agreed to take a 35% stake in Irish marketplace operator Distilled. Realtor.com is developing its collaborative search platform and selling premium marketing products to agents.
HarperCollins distributes books in print and digital formats and licenses publishing rights internationally. First-quarter fiscal 2027 audiobook revenue increased 13% year over year, supported by its partnership with Spotify. News Corp is also using AI in activities including product development, customer service and data analysis.
- $10.4BFY2022
- $8.0BFY2023
- $8.3BFY2024
- $8.5BFY2025
- $9.0BFY2026
Structural risks
- Competition and distribution: Changes by digital platform operators, including AI features and shifts toward closed ecosystems, can affect the visibility of News Corp’s content, traffic, subscriptions and advertiser interest. The company must respond to changing technology and customer preferences.
- Intellectual property: Unauthorized use of content can reduce revenue. News Corp has raised concerns about unlicensed use of copyrighted material in AI tools and is pursuing cases against Perplexity and Brave.
- Housing markets: Property listing volumes affect the real estate business. Australian national new-buy listings fell 2% in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, and News Corp expects higher rates to continue to create difficult U.S. housing conditions.
- Advertising and print: News Media faces challenging advertising conditions and changes in search and social algorithms. Dow Jones print circulation and advertising also face pressure from alternative media and changing consumer preferences.
- Technology and regulation: A cyber incident at News Corp or a third-party provider could disrupt services, increase costs or damage its reputation. Evolving privacy and data-security rules can require changes to business practices and increase compliance obligations.
- Debt and governance: Indebtedness may affect the company’s ability to operate and its financial condition. Holders of Class A shares can vote only in limited circumstances.
Leadership
News Corp has a dual-class share structure: Class A shareholders can vote only in specific, limited circumstances. It was reported on 25 October 2026 that the Murdoch family trust held the family’s voting control of News Corp.
| Name | Role | Since | Total pay, FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert J. Thomson | — | $19.7 million | |
| Lavanya Chandrashekar(e) | — | $7.1 million | |
| David B. Pitofsky | — | $6.4 million | |
| Julian Delany(f) | — | $3.4 million | |
| Ruth Allen | — | $3.0 million |
Bottom line
Our reading
Our reading: News Corp combines subscription-led news and business information with advertising-supported property platforms and a book-publishing catalog. Its established brands, content and customer relationships support those businesses, while their results remain exposed to competition, housing activity and changes in digital distribution. The company’s AI licensing opportunities sit alongside the risk of unauthorized use of its content.