News Corp posted a “robust” 2% rise in revenue to $US8.5 billion for the full year to June as the media group spruiked the value of its intellectual property and news gathering.
Net income from continuing operations for the full year was up 71% to $648 million.
In the latest June quarter, the media group reported a rise of 1% to $2.11 billion in revenue, mainly driven by higher circulation and subscriptions at Dow Jones and higher Australian revenue at REA Group.
The increase was partly offset by lower returns at the company’s News Media and Book Publishing segments.
"It has also become clearer over the past year that discerning audiences crave content that is profound and purposeful and pithy amidst a morass of mediocrity and mendacity," chief executive Robert Thomson told analysts in a briefing.
"Our writers and journalists and creators of all kinds are conscious of both the responsibility and the opportunity, cognizant that we are at an historic inflexion point in the age of AI."
Thomson described the company's performance as “sterling”.
“These robust results have enhanced our financial position and thus our ability to return capital to shareholders,” he said.
News last month announced a $1 billion stock repurchase program, in addition to about $300 million remaining from the previous $1 billion authorised four years ago.
“We expect to begin executing repurchases at an accelerated rate shortly after the release of these results,” said Thomson.
“This significantly larger total and significantly faster tempo emphasise our belief in the Company’s financial strength.”
Thomson also took aim at AI operations taking content without permission.
“The AI age must cherish the value of intellectual property if we are collectively to realise our potential,” he said.
“Much is made of the competition with China, but America’s advantage is ingenuity and creativity, not bits and bytes, not watts but wit. To undermine that comparative advantage by stripping away IP rights is to vandalise our virtuosity.
“Even the president of the United States is not immune to this blatant theft.
“The president’s books are still reporting healthy sales, but are being consumed by AI engines which profit from his thoughts by cannibalising his concepts, thus undermining future sales of his books. Suddenly, The Art of the Deal (Trump’s 1987 book) has become The Art of the Steal.”
Thomson said News would fight to protect the intellectual property of its authors and journalists, and continue to woo and to sue companies that violate property rights.
Revenue at News Media, holding the newspaper assets other than the Wall Street Journal, fell 4% to $2.27 billion in the 12 months to June.
This was driven by lower revenue from the transfer of third-party printing revenue contracts to News UK’s joint venture with DMG Media.
And advertising revenue fell $8 million, or 4%, in the June quarter primarily due to lower print advertising at News Corp Australia, partly offset by higher advertising at the New York Post.
Digital subscribers at News Corp Australia at June 30 were 1,166,000 (993,000 for news mastheads), compared to 1,117,000 (968,000 for news mastheads) in the prior year.
June quarter 2025 numbers:
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