News Corp's AI War: Licensing & Lawsuits Fuel Record Profit Outlook

NEW YORK, NY – May 07, 2026 – News Corporation today revealed a significant surge in quarterly earnings, signaling that its aggressive, two-pronged strategy of embracing and combating artificial intelligence is paying substantial dividends. The global media giant reported a 9% rise in third-quarter revenue to $2.19 billion and an 18% jump in Total Segment EBITDA to $343 million, prompting CEO Robert Thomson to declare the company on track for another year of record profitability.

At the heart of this success is a bold approach to the AI revolution. On one hand, News Corp is positioning itself as a premier “AI inputs company,” signing lucrative content-licensing deals with tech giants. On the other, it has declared war on firms it accuses of theft, vowing to pursue legal action against those who scrape its content without permission.

“News Corp has again delivered resounding results this quarter,” Thomson stated, highlighting the 13% increase in net income to $121 million. He noted that recent deals with Meta and OpenAI are compelling evidence of the company's transformation and the inherent value of its vast library of proprietary content.

However, Thomson issued a stark warning to those on the other side of the intellectual property line. “We are also tracking a number of dodgy digital firms scraping illicitly, illegally our precious content and shamelessly reselling this purloined property,” he said. “We have these baleful bad-boy bots in our sights and intend to pursue them vigorously.”

A Two-Pronged AI Strategy: Partnership and Pursuit

News Corp’s “woo and sue” approach to AI is rapidly becoming a defining strategy in the media industry. The “woo” phase has already proven highly profitable. The company’s multi-year agreement with OpenAI, reportedly valued at over $250 million, and a more recent deal with Meta, give the AI firms access to a trove of content from publications like The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, and the New York Post to train their models and answer user queries.

“Our confidence comes as the world is grappling with the potential impact of AI,” Thomson explained. “We are an AI inputs company and that fact was reflected in our recent deal with Meta, which complements our partnership with OpenAI.” He added that discussions with other companies are ongoing, suggesting a new and growing revenue stream built on the “preciousness of provenance.”

The “sue” part of the strategy is equally aggressive. The company is actively engaged in litigation, including a lawsuit filed against AI search engine Perplexity for alleged copyright infringement. This legal offensive underscores Thomson's assertion that companies buying “stolen content from these nefarious fences are also culpable,” signaling a widening battlefront in the war for content integrity.

Digital Engines Powering Growth

The financial strength underpinning this strategic push comes from the stellar performance of News Corp’s digital-first segments, which are more than compensating for headwinds in traditional news.

The Dow Jones segment was a standout performer, with revenues climbing 8% to $619 million. Crucially, digital revenues now account for 84% of the segment's total. The growth was driven by its professional information business, where the Risk & Compliance division saw revenues surge 19% to $100 million. Total subscriptions to The Wall Street Journal grew 8% to 4.7 million, with digital-only subscriptions making up 92% of that total. The segment's EBITDA expanded by 11% to $147 million, and the company has laid out a pathway to achieve $1 billion in annual Segment EBITDA from Dow Jones within five years.

Similarly, the Digital Real Estate Services segment posted impressive gains. Revenues jumped 17% to $473 million, while Segment EBITDA soared 25% to $155 million. This growth was fueled by strong results from both Australia’s REA Group and U.S.-based Move, the operator of Realtor.com®, which saw a 10% revenue increase despite a challenging housing market.

Book Publishing also delivered a solid quarter, with revenues up 8% to $555 million, boosted by strong sales of titles like Rachel Reid’s Game Changers.

Headwinds in Traditional News

The robust performance in digital and publishing starkly contrasts with the challenges facing the company's News Media segment. While reported revenues increased 5% to $538 million, this was primarily due to a positive $38 million foreign currency impact. On an adjusted basis, revenues actually decreased by 2%.

The impact on profitability was more severe. Segment EBITDA plummeted 55% to just $15 million. The company attributed the decline to lower contributions from News UK and costs associated with the launch of its new venture, the California Post. The figures paint a clear picture of a legacy media business in transition, where digital subscription growth at mastheads like The Times and in Australia is struggling to offset systemic declines in print advertising and volume.

Even digital engagement showed mixed results. While News Corp Australia’s digital subscribers grew to over 1.17 million, the global monthly unique users for The Sun's digital offering and the New York Post's digital network both declined compared to the prior year, highlighting the fierce competition for online attention.

Betting on Itself

Despite the challenges in its traditional news arm, management’s confidence in its overall strategy is unwavering. The company is putting its money where its mouth is, accelerating its share buyback program. News Corp repurchased $459 million in shares in the first nine months of the fiscal year, a move Thomson justified by stating a “firm belief that the current share price does not reflect the intrinsic value of the company or its prospects.”

This aggressive capital return program is funded by strong free cash flow and the recent repayment of shareholder loans from its Foxtel venture. It serves as a clear signal that News Corp believes its pivot to digital, its diversification into high-growth sectors, and its pioneering strategy in the age of AI will continue to unlock significant value for the foreseeable future.