NWSA's Q2 Earnings Coming Up: Time to Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?

News Corporation NWSA is scheduled to report second-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Feb. 5.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $2.31 billion, indicating growth of 3.21% from the year-ago quarter’s levels.

The consensus mark for earnings has remained steady at 33 cents per share in the past 30 days, unchanged from the year-ago quarter, suggesting limited bottom-line expansion.

The company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate once in the trailing four quarters while matching the same twice and missing once, the average surprise being 2.92%.

Let’s see how things have shaped up prior to this announcement.

News Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

News Corporation price-eps-surprise | News Corporation Quote

Factors to Consider for NWSA

The diversified media conglomerate faced a mixed operating environment during the October-December 2025 period. Certain segments are expected to have benefited from strategic initiatives, while others are likely to have contended with persistent industry headwinds.

The Book Publishing segment is likely to have emerged as a key driver during the quarter under review. Management had expressed confidence during the fiscal first-quarter earnings call that the segment showed clear signs of improvement following an uncharacteristically weak fiscal first-quarter performance that included a write-off related to a book distributor closure. The anticipated recovery in Book Publishing, supported by strong front-list releases scheduled for the holiday season, is likely to have contributed positively to second-quarter results. The segment's performance was expected to benefit from traditional year-end publishing strength and improved title performance.

Management's optimistic outlook for Digital Real Estate Services and Dow Jones is likely to have translated into continued solid performance during the fiscal second quarter. The company's digital transformation strategy, with digital revenues comprising 62% of total business, was expected to have provided stability. Dow Jones is likely to have benefited from planned price adjustments for The Wall Street Journal and ongoing testing of digital subscription elasticity, while Digital Real Estate Services is expected to have maintained its growth trajectory despite fluctuating real estate market conditions.

News Corp's accelerated share buyback program is likely to have continued at an enhanced pace during the fiscal second quarter, with the company repurchasing stock at approximately $2.5 million per day as reported in the previous quarter. This aggressive capital return strategy, supported by the expected benefit from approximately $380 million in Foxtel shareholder loan repayments in fiscal 2026, is likely to have positively impacted per-share metrics. 

Despite positive developments in digital and subscription revenues, the News Media segment is expected to have faced continued pressure from soft advertising demand. With advertising revenues now representing just 16% of total revenues, the company's reduced reliance on this volatile revenue stream is likely to have limited downside risk, though ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties might have weighed on print and digital ad spending throughout the quarter.

What Our Model Says for NWSA

Per the Zacks model, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. This is not the case here, as you can see below.

News Corporation currently has an Earnings ESP of 0.00% and carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some companies worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in their upcoming releases:

Cirrus Logic CRUS currently has an Earnings ESP of +5.89% and sports a Zacks Rank #1. CRUS shares have gained 31.6% in the in the trailing 12 months. It is set to report its third-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Feb. 3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Advanced Micro Devices AMD has an Earnings ESP of +2.01% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present. AMD shares have surged 112.6% in the trailing 12 months. AMD is set to report its fourth-quarter 2025 results on Feb. 3.

Rockwell Automation ROK presently has an Earnings ESP of +1.03% and a Zacks Rank #2. ROK shares have soared 48.7% in the trailing 12 months. ROK is slated to report its first-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Feb. 5.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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