News Corp - NWS STOCK NEWS

Dow Jones has acquired WorldECR, a London-based provider of news, data, and analysis on global export control and trade sanctions. WorldECR will operate as part of Dow Jones Risk & Compliance, which reported 16% revenue growth to $81 million in Q1 fiscal 2025. The acquisition includes WorldECR's subscription-based publications, practitioner guides, the annual WorldECR Forum, and CtrlAtlas database. This move follows Dow Jones's recent expansion of its stake in Ripjar and acquisition of A2i Systems, reinforcing its strategy to enhance specialized news and data services for the compliance community.

Realtor.com's October Rental Report shows rents declined -0.8% to $1,720, marking the fifteenth consecutive month of year-over-year decreases. The rental market is experiencing downward pressure due to increased supply, with multifamily completions reaching 606,000 units between January and September 2024. Rental housing stock is projected to grow by 1.1% to over 49 million units by fall 2025, with the South seeing the largest expected increase at 1.5%. All unit sizes saw rent declines in October, with studios experiencing the biggest drop at -1.2%, followed by one-bedrooms at -0.9% and two-bedrooms at -0.7%.

News Corp (NASDAQ: NWS, NWSA) announced that stockholders at its Annual Meeting overwhelmingly supported the Board's recommendations and elected the full slate of Directors. Notably, stockholders defeated the non-binding proposal to eliminate the company's dual-class capital structure. The company reported record profitability, including a record Q1 in Fiscal 2025, with successful transformation to recurring and digital-first revenue streams. News Corp's stock price has increased 45% over the past year, outperforming both the S&P 500 and its peer group. The company attributes its success partly to its current capital structure and emphasizes its commitment to driving sustained results and transformation in the AI era.

Dow Jones has launched Factiva Smart Summary, a new generative AI feature in its business intelligence platform. The tool provides concise, traceable summaries from thousands of trusted news sources. The company has secured GenAI licensing agreements with nearly 4,000 sources across 160+ countries and 29 languages, including major publishers like The Associated Press and The Washington Post.

The platform is engineered with Google's Gemini models on Google Cloud and joins Dow Jones's expanding suite of AI-powered products, including Factiva Feed for GenAI, Dow Jones Integrity Check, and RiskCenter Advanced Screening and Monitoring (ASAM). The service is now available to all subscribers.

Realtor.com's new survey reveals that 20% of NFL fans say their team loyalty significantly influenced their home search decisions. The research shows that 55% of fans feel more connected to their community through local team support. 66% of NFL followers enjoy watching football more when their community supports the same team.

The survey highlights that 67% of fans watch games in shared spaces like family rooms, while 29% have dedicated viewing areas. Team support is driven by performance (44%) and personal connections, including hometown representation (40%) and family tradition (39%). Gen Z and millennial followers showed the strongest influence of fandom on home search preferences.

Realtor.com®'s new research reveals that 74.5% of home sales with Veterans Affairs (VA) loans had a 0% down payment over the past year, with 83.5% having a down payment below 10%. VA borrowers are over twice as likely as conforming borrowers to make low down payments, easing upfront costs. Despite these benefits, only 3 in 10 veterans know about the zero down payment advantage. VA loans also offer lower mortgage rates and fees, saving first-time buyers $69 per month compared to conforming loans. Military households have higher homeownership rates, with top metros like Stockton, Des Moines, and Buffalo showing significant gaps between military and non-military homeownership rates. Realtor.com® launched the #MissionZero campaign in 2023 to raise awareness of VA loan benefits among veterans and service members.

Dow Jones has increased its minority ownership stake in Ripjar, a data intelligence software company specializing in risk and compliance solutions. The investment strengthens a partnership that began in 2018, delivering advanced risk screening and monitoring solutions to compliance customers. This strategic move follows Dow Jones's initial equity investment in Ripjar in 2023 and aligns with its transformation into a leading information service provider. Dow Jones Risk & Compliance has shown significant growth, with a 16% year-over-year increase in fiscal year 2024, reaching nearly $300 million in revenues.

News Corp announced that Susan Panuccio will step down as Chief Financial Officer on January 1, 2025, to be succeeded by Lavanya Chandrashekar. During Panuccio's tenure since March 2017, News Corp achieved record results and transformed into a digital- and subscription-first business, with share prices rising over 140%. The company generated strong free cash flows, completed two debt offerings, and implemented a $1 billion repurchase program. Chandrashekar joins from Diageo, where as CFO she led the company to 10.5% CAGR growth and launched a global digital transformation program.

News (NWS) reported strong first quarter fiscal 2025 results with record revenues of $2.58 billion, a 3% increase year-over-year. Net income jumped 148% to $144 million, while Total Segment EBITDA grew 14% to $415 million. Earnings per share reached $0.21, up from $0.05 in the prior year. Growth was primarily driven by strong performance in Digital Real Estate Services, Book Publishing, and Dow Jones segments. REA Group achieved record quarterly revenues of $318 million, up 22%. Digital book sales increased 15%, while Dow Jones saw 8% growth in its professional information business, with Risk & Compliance revenues up 16%.