News Corp. Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

News Corp. (NAS: NWSA) reported earnings yesterday. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q2), News Corp. met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue expanded slightly and GAAP earnings per share increased significantly.

Margins improved across the board.

Revenue details
News booked revenue of $8.98 billion. The 20 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected sales of $8.95 billion. GAAP sales were 2.4% higher than the prior-year quarter's $8.76 billion.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.39. The 23 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ averaged $0.34 per share on the same basis. GAAP EPS of $0.42 for Q2 were 75% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.24 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 37.8%, 180 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 16.7%, 200 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 11.8%, 450 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $8.35 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.33.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $34.22 billion. The average EPS estimate is $1.38.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 109 members out of 135 rating the stock outperform, and 26 members rating it underperform. Among 49 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 42 give News Corp. a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on News Corp. is outperform, with an average price target of $20.62.

At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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