News Corp 10-K 2024-06-30
Filed 2024-08-13. 24 sections, 641K characters. Original on sec.gov · Markdown · JSON
Cover and table of contents
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
________________________________
FORM 10-K
________________________________
(Mark One)
| ☒ | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024
Or
| ☐ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to
Commission file number 001-35769
________________________________

NEWS CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
________________________________
Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York
(Address of principal executive offices)
46-2950970
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
10036
(Zip Code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (212) 416-3400
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||||||||
| Class A Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share | NWSA | The Nasdaq Global Select Market | ||||||||||||
| Class B Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share | NWS | The Nasdaq Global Select Market |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
(Title of class)
________________________________
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | ☒ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | ||||||||
| Non-accelerated filer | ☐ | Smaller reporting company | ☐ | ||||||||
| Emerging growth company | ☐ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
As of December 29, 2023, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s Class A Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, held by non-affiliates was approximately $9,333,783,420, based upon the closing price of $24.55 per share as quoted on The Nasdaq Stock Market on that date, and the aggregate market value of the registrant’s Class B Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, held by non-affiliates was approximately $2,919,377,586, based upon the closing price of $25.72 per share as quoted on The Nasdaq Stock Market on that date.
As of August 2, 2024, 378,325,803 shares of Class A Common Stock and 190,258,938 shares of Class B Common Stock were outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Certain information required for Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is incorporated by reference to the News Corporation definitive Proxy Statement for its 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which shall be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, within 120 days of News Corporation’s fiscal year end.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I
Item 1. BUSINESS
OVERVIEW
The Company
News Corporation (the “Company,” “News Corp,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a global diversified media and information services company focused on creating and distributing authoritative and engaging content and other products and services to consumers and businesses throughout the world. The Company comprises businesses across a range of media, including digital real estate services, subscription video services in Australia, news and information services and book publishing, that are distributed under some of the world’s most recognizable and respected brands, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Dow Jones, The Australian, Herald Sun, The Sun, The Times, HarperCollins Publishers, Foxtel, FOX SPORTS Australia, realestate.com.au, Realtor.com®, talkSPORT and many others.
The Company’s commitment to premium content makes its properties a premier destination for news, information, sports, entertainment and real estate. The Company distributes its content and other products and services to consumers and customers across an array of digital platforms including websites, mobile apps, smart TVs, social media, e-book devices and streaming audio platforms, as well as traditional platforms such as print, television and radio. The Company’s focus on quality and product innovation has enabled it to capitalize on the shift to digital consumption to deliver its content and other products and services in a more engaging, timely and personalized manner and create opportunities for more effective monetization, including new licensing and partnership arrangements and digital offerings that leverage the Company’s existing content rights. The Company is pursuing multiple strategies to further exploit these opportunities, including leveraging global audience scale and valuable data and sharing technologies and practices across geographies and businesses.
The Company’s diversified revenue base includes recurring subscriptions, circulation sales, advertising sales, sales of real estate listing products, licensing fees and other consumer product sales. Headquartered in New York, the Company operates primarily in the United States (“U.S.”), Australia and the United Kingdom (“U.K.”), with its content and other products and services distributed and consumed worldwide. The Company’s operations are organized into six reportable segments: (i) Digital Real Estate Services; (ii) Subscription Video Services; (iii) Dow Jones; (iv) Book Publishing; (v) News Media; and (vi) Other, which includes the Company’s general corporate overhead expenses, strategy costs and costs related to the U.K. Newspaper Matters (as defined in Note 16—Commitments and Contingencies in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements).
The Company maintains a 52-53 week fiscal year ending on the Sunday nearest to June 30 in each year. Fiscal 2024, fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022 included 52, 52 and 53 weeks, respectively. Unless otherwise noted, all references to the fiscal periods ended June 30, 2024, June 30, 2023 and June 30, 2022 relate to the fiscal periods ended June 30, 2024, July 2, 2023 and July 3, 2022, respectively. For convenience purposes, the Company continues to date its financial statements as of June 30.
Corporate Information
News Corporation is a Delaware corporation originally organized on December 11, 2012 in connection with its separation from Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., which was completed on June 28, 2013. Unless otherwise indicated, references in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 (the “Annual Report”) to the “Company,” “News Corp,” “we,” “us,” or “our” means News Corporation and its subsidiaries. The Company’s principal executive offices are located at 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10036, and its telephone number is (212) 416-3400. The Company’s Class A and Class B Common Stock are listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbols “NWSA” and “NWS,” respectively, and CHESS Depositary Interests representing the Company’s Class A and Class B Common Stock are listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”) under the trading symbols “NWSLV” and “NWS,” respectively. More information regarding the Company is available on its website at www.newscorp.com, including the Company’s Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), which are available, free of charge, as soon as reasonably practicable after the material is electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The information on the Company’s website is not, and shall not be deemed to be, a part of this Annual Report or incorporated into any other filings it makes with the SEC.
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This document and any documents incorporated by reference into this Annual Report, including “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” contain statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Exchange Act and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. The words “expect,” “will,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “predict,” “believe,” “should” and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements appear in a number of places in this document and include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things, trends affecting the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations, the Company’s strategy and strategic initiatives, including potential acquisitions, investments and dispositions, the Company’s cost savings initiatives and the outcome of contingencies such as litigation and investigations. Readers are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. More information regarding these risks and uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is set forth under the heading “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report. The Company does not ordinarily make projections of its future operating results and undertakes no obligation (and expressly disclaims any obligation) to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers should carefully review this document and the other documents filed by the Company with the SEC. This section should be read together with the Consolidated Financial Statements of News Corporation (the “Consolidated Financial Statements”) and related notes set forth elsewhere in this Annual Report.
BUSINESS OVERVIEW
The Company’s six reportable segments are described below.
| For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 | |||||||||||
| Revenues | Segment EBITDA | ||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||
| Digital Real Estate Services | $ | 1,658 | $ | 508 | |||||||
| Subscription Video Services | 1,917 | 310 | |||||||||
| Dow Jones | 2,231 | 542 | |||||||||
| Book Publishing | 2,093 | 269 | |||||||||
| News Media | 2,186 | 120 | |||||||||
| Other | — | (210) |
Digital Real Estate Services
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Item 1A. RISK FACTORS
You should carefully consider the following risks and other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K in evaluating the Company and its common stock. Any of the following risks, or other risks or uncertainties not presently known or currently deemed immaterial, could materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, results of operations or financial condition, and could, in turn, impact the trading price of the Company’s common stock.
Risks Relating to the Company’s Businesses and Operations
The Company Operates in a Highly Competitive Business Environment, and its Success Depends on its Ability to Compete Effectively, Including by Responding to Evolving Technologies and Changes in Consumer and Customer Behavior.
The Company faces significant competition, including from other providers of news, information, entertainment and real estate-related products and services. See “Business Overview” for more information regarding competition within each of the Company’s segments. This competition continues to intensify as a result of changes in technologies, including developments in generative AI, platforms and business models and corresponding changes in consumer and customer behavior. For example, alternative content distribution platforms and media channels have increased the choices available to consumers for content consumption and adversely impacted, and may continue to adversely impact, demand and pricing for the Company’s newspapers, subscription video services and other products and services. Consumption of the Company’s content on third-party platforms reduces its control over how its content is discovered, displayed and monetized and may affect its ability to attract, retain and monetize consumers directly and compete effectively. While the Company has entered into agreements with certain large platforms to license its content for use by or on such platforms in exchange for significant payments, not all of these agreements have been renewed and there is no guarantee that existing agreements will be renewed on terms favorable to the Company or at all. These trends and developments have adversely affected, and may continue to adversely affect, the Company’s circulation and subscription, advertising and licensing revenue and may increase subscriber acquisition, retention and other costs.
Technological developments have also increased competition in other ways. For example, direct-to-consumer digital video services are more prevalent and attractive for many consumers as internet streaming capabilities have enabled the disaggregation of content delivery from the ownership of network infrastructure. Other digital platforms and technologies, such as user-generated content platforms and self-publishing tools, combined, in some cases, with the wide availability of sophisticated search engines and public sources of free or relatively inexpensive information and solutions, have also reduced the effort and expense of locating, gathering and disseminating data and producing and distributing certain types of content on a wide scale, allowing additional third parties to compete with the Company, often at a lower cost, and potentially diminishing the perceived value of the Company’s offerings. Recent developments in AI, such as generative AI, may accelerate or exacerbate these effects. Additional digital distribution channels, such as online retailers and digital marketplaces that have significant scale and leverage, have also challenged, and continue to challenge, the Company’s business models, particularly its traditional book publishing model, and any failure to adapt to or manage changes made by these channels could adversely affect sales volume, pricing and/or costs.
In order to compete effectively, the Company must differentiate its brands and their associated products and services, respond to new technologies, distribution channels and platforms, develop new products and services and consistently anticipate and respond
to changes in consumer and customer needs and preferences. The Company relies on brand awareness, reputation and acceptance of its high-quality differentiated content and information, real estate and other products and services, as well as its wide array of digital offerings, in order to retain and grow its audiences, consumers and subscribers. However, consumer preferences change frequently and are difficult to predict, and consumers may place greater value on the convenience and price of content and other products and services than they do on their source, quality or reliability. For example, the use of generative AI technology powered by models that have been trained or grounded on the Company’s content or are able to produce output that contains, is similar to or is based on the Company’s content without permission, attribution or compensation, may reduce audience size and subscriber demand for the Company’s digital products and services, harm existing and potential revenue streams and adversely affect its business and results of operations. Online traffic and product and service purchases are also driven by visibility on digital platforms, and the Company has limited control over changes made by these platforms affecting the visibility of its content and other products and services, which occur frequently. Difficulty managing and adapting to such changes has impeded, and could in the future impede, the Company’s ability to compete effectively by decreasing visits to, and advertiser interest in, its digital offerings, increasing costs if free traffic is replaced with paid traffic and lowering product sales and subscriptions.
The Company expects to continue to pursue new strategic initiatives and develop new and enhanced products and services to remain competitive, such as additional streaming features and options, new content aggregation offerings, innovative digital news products and experiences and the continued expansion into new business models and adjacencies at its digital real estate services businesses. The Company may also develop additional products and services that incorporate AI solutions to enhance insights and value for customers and consumers and respond to industry trends. The Company has incurred, and expects to continue to incur, significant costs in connection with these efforts, including costs relating to the initiatives referenced above, as well as other costs to acquire, develop, adopt, upgrade and exploit new and existing technologies and attract and retain employees with the necessary knowledge and skills. There can be no assurance any strategic initiatives, products and services will be successful in the manner or time period or at the cost the Company expects or that it will realize the anticipated benefits it expects.
Some of the Company’s current and potential competitors have greater resources, fewer regulatory burdens, better competitive positions in certain areas, greater operating capabilities, greater access to sources of content, data, technology (including AI) or other services or strategic relationships and/or easier access to financing, which may allow them to respond more effectively to changes in technology, consumer and customer needs and preferences and market conditions, including by developing new or enhanced products and services or leveraging new technologies, including generative AI, more quickly or successfully than the Company. Continued consolidation or strategic alliances in certain industries in which the Company operates or otherwise affecting the Company’s businesses may increase these advantages, including through greater scale, financial leverage and/or access to content, data, technology (including AI) and other offerings. If the Company is unable to compete successfully, its business, results of operations and financial condition could be adversely affected.
*Macroeconomic and Market Conditions and Other Events Outside the Company’s Control May Adve
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Item 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
Item 1C. CYBERSECURITY
Risk Management and Strategy
As a high-profile global media and information services company with a wide array of digital products and services, the Company is subject to risks associated with cybersecurity threats. The Company has developed and implemented a cybersecurity program designed to manage these threats, including the assessment, identification and management of cybersecurity risks, and related protection, response, mitigation and recovery efforts. The program is overseen and monitored by a dedicated internal global cybersecurity organization, led by the Company’s Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”), who reports directly to the Company’s Chief Technology Officer (“CTO”), and supported by designated cybersecurity risk leaders at the Company’s business units. The Company’s cybersecurity program is informed in part by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) Cybersecurity Framework and leverages a defense-in-depth approach to managing cybersecurity risk. The governance, principles and framework for the program are set forth in the Company’s Global Cybersecurity Governance Principles Framework and are complemented by a set of global cybersecurity policies designed to promote secure cyber and data practices among Company personnel. The Company reinforces a culture of secure behavior through annual cybersecurity and privacy awareness trainings, quarterly phishing exercises and regular delivery of other security awareness content via newsletters, departmental meetings and periodic campaigns, as well as specialized secure development training for product development teams. In addition, the Company employs various technical measures and processes to address the cybersecurity threats it faces, which may include reporting, monitoring and alert tools, multi-factor authentication, encryption, endpoint detection and response, email and cloud security tools, vulnerability scanning tools, threat intelligence monitoring and application resilience measures, as well as threat modeling, architecture design reviews and code reviews performed by its product security team.
The Company maintains a cybersecurity incident response policy and plan, which in conjunction with the above measures, are designed to facilitate detection, analysis, containment, remediation and recovery from cybersecurity incidents and set forth processes to manage, escalate and, as appropriate, report such incidents based on their potential impact to the Company. The Company also undertakes disaster recovery and business continuity planning and maintains certain system redundancies to limit the impact of cybersecurity incidents and other disruptions, but there can be no assurance that these efforts will be successful. The Company conducts periodic testing and assessments of its cybersecurity program, both through internal security personnel and third-party firms. The Company engages consultants and other independent third parties to periodically perform internal and external penetration testing, security audits, incident response readiness exercises and assessments of the Company’s cybersecurity risk management practices, including a maturity assessment of the Company’s cybersecurity program based on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework approximately every two years. The Company may also consult with external legal counsel, third-party experts and other advisors in connection with incident response and recovery efforts and forensic investigations.
The Company’s processes for identifying, assessing and managing cybersecurity risk are integrated into the Company’s overall risk management process. The Company’s internal audit group monitors the Company’s risk profile and conducts regular enterprise-wide integrated risk assessments, with input from corporate and business unit management and personnel, to identify and assist the Board of Directors and senior executives in managing key existing and emerging risks for the Company and its businesses, including cybersecurity risk. The risk assessment process culminates in semi-annual reports to the Audit Committee and the Board of Directors.
In addition to its own systems and technology, the Company relies on third-party service providers for certain software, technology and cloud-based systems and services that support a variety of critical business operations. The Company has policies and processes designed to identify, assess and manage cybersecurity risk relating to these third-party service providers. When contracting with these providers, the procurement function works closely with the compliance, cybersecurity, privacy and legal teams to conduct diligence and help appropriately manage risk, including cybersecurity risk, throughout the life cycle of the contract. The Company and its business units have developed, and seek to incorporate, standard contractual security requirements into their service provider agreements. The Company also performs cybersecurity assessments of third-party service providers where it deems appropriate given the nature of the engagement and the data and systems expected to be accessed.
Although the Company dedicates significant resources and efforts to protect against cybersecurity risks, the Company has experienced, and expects to continue to be subject to, cybersecurity threats. To date, the Company is not aware of any cybersecurity incidents that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect the Company, including its business strategy, results of operations or financial condition. However, the Company continues to face cybersecurity risks such
as those described in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and there can be no assurance that cybersecurity threats or incidents will not have a material adverse effect on the Company in the future. While the Company maintains cyber risk insurance, such insurance may not be sufficient to cover all losses from cybersecurity incidents.
Governance
News Corp’s Board of Directors oversees the Company’s processes for identifying, assessing and managing significant risks facing the Company, and each of the Board’s standing committees assists the Board within the areas delegated to that committee. The Board of Directors has delegated to the Audit Committee primary responsibility for overseeing risks related to cybersecurity, including reviewing with management the Company’s major cyber-related risk exposures and the steps that have been taken to monitor and control such exposures. The Audit Committee generally receives reports at least quarterly from the CTO and CISO on the Company’s cybersecurity program covering various topics, including incident reporting, a review of the global cyber risk-map, updates on NIST maturity assessments, employee training and technology solutions and other practices designed to minimize the risks associated with cybersecurity threats, and updates the Board of Directors as appropriate.
Management is responsible for identifying, assessing and managing material cybersecurity risks on a day-to-day basis. The Company’s Global Cybersecurity Steering Committee, comprised of the CTO, CISO and representatives from internal audit, legal, finance, privacy and human resources, is responsible for overseeing the Company’s cybersecurity controls and generally meets on a quarterly basis. The Company’s global cybersecurity organization, led by the CISO, is responsible for developing and implementing cybersecurity policies and procedures and identifying potential risks across the Company and works closely with dedicated cybersecurity personnel at the Company’s business units. The Company’s CTO has been in his senior leadership role since 2020. He has held similar positions prior to joining News Corp, has over 30 years of experience in various cybersecurity and information technology infrastructure and risk management roles and holds an advanced degree in information systems. The Company’s CISO has been in his senior leadership role since 2021 and has over two decades of industry experience in cybersecurity and other technology-related roles, including as the Director of Cyber and Telecom Policy in the White House, where he advised senior administration officials on cybersecurity, technology and telecommunications policy issues. As part of the Company’s cybersecurity program, described above, the CISO is informed about and monitors the Company’s prevention, detection, response, mitigation and remediation efforts related to cybersecurity threats through regular communication and reporting from the Company’s cybersecurity team. The CISO works closely with representatives from the Company’s legal group, including to oversee compliance with legal, regulatory and contractual security requirements. The CISO provides regular updates to the CTO and the Global Cybersecurity Steering Committee and to other members of executive management, as appropriate. The Company’s reporting framework also includes its incident response policy and plan and other policies and processes which set forth specific procedures for internal and external reporting in the event of a cybersecurity incident, including notification to the Audit Committee, or the Board of Directors, as appropriate.
Item 2. PROPERTIES
The Company owns and leases various real properties in the U.S., Europe, Australia and Asia that are utilized in the conduct of its businesses. Each of these properties is considered to be in good condition, adequate for its purpose and suitably utilized according to the individual nature and requirements of the relevant operations. The Company’s policy is to improve and replace property as considered appropriate to meet the needs of the individual operation.
United States
The Company’s principal real properties in the U.S. are the following:
(a)The leased U.S. headquarters of the Company, located at 1211 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York. The space includes the executive and corporate offices of the Company and the executive and editorial offices of Dow Jones and the Post;
(b)The leased offices of HarperCollins U.S. in New York, New York;
(c)The office space campus owned by the Company in South Brunswick, New Jersey; and
(d)The leased offices of Move in Austin, Texas.
Europe
The Company’s principal real properties in Europe are the following:
(a)The leased headquarters and editorial offices of the London operations of News UK, Dow Jones and HarperCollins and the broadcast studios for the Company’s U.K. radio stations at The News Building, 1 London Bridge Street, London, England;
(b)The newspaper production and printing facilities for its U.K. newspapers, which consist of:
1.The leased office space at each of Fleet House, Peterborough, England; Dublin, Ireland; and Glasgow City Centre, Scotland; and
2.The freehold interests in each of a publishing and printing facility in Broxbourne, England and printing facilities in Knowsley, England and North Lanarkshire, Scotland5; and
(c)The leased warehouse and office facilities of HarperCollins Publishers Limited in Glasgow, Scotland.
Australia and Asia
The Company’s principal real properties in Australia and Asia are the following:
(a)The Australian newspaper production and printing facilities which consist of:
1.A Company-owned print center and an office building in Sydney, Australia at which The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph are printed and published, respectively;
2.The leased print center and office facility in Melbourne, Australia at which Herald Sun and Sunday Herald Sun are printed and published, respectively; and
3.A Company-owned print center and an office building in Adelaide, Australia at which The Advertiser and Sunday Mail are printed and published, respectively;
(b)The leased headquarters of Foxtel in Sydney, Australia;
(c)The leased corporate offices and call center of Foxtel in Melbourne, Australia;
(d)The leased offices and studios of FOX SPORTS Australia in Sydney, Australia;
(e)The leased corporate offices of REA Group in Melbourne, Australia; and
(f)The leased office space of Dow Jones in Hong Kong.
Item 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
See Note 16—Commitments and Contingencies in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.
Item 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
5 During fiscal 2024, News UK and DMG Media combined certain printing operations of both companies within a separate joint venture. In connection with the transaction, News UK leased these publishing and printing facilities to the new joint venture but retains its freehold interests.
PART II
Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
News Corporation’s Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock are listed and traded on The Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”), its principal market, under the symbols “NWSA” and “NWS,” respectively. CHESS Depositary Interests (“CDIs”) representing the Company’s Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock are listed and traded on the Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”) under the symbols “NWSLV” and “NWS,” respectively. As of August 2, 2024, there were approximately 13,600 holders of record of shares of Class A Common Stock and 300 holders of record of shares of Class B Common Stock.
Dividends
For information regarding dividends, see Note 12—Stockholders' Equity in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
On September 22, 2021, the Company announced a stock repurchase program authorizing the Company to purchase up to $1 billion in the aggregate of the Company’s outstanding Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock (the “Repurchase Program”). The manner, timing, number and share price of any repurchases will be determined by the Company at its discretion and will depend upon such factors as the market price of the stock, general market conditions, applicable securities laws, alternative investment opportunities and other factors. The Repurchase Program has no time limit and may be modified, suspended or discontinued at any time. The remaining authorized amount under the Repurchase Program as of June 30, 2024 was approximately $460 million.
Stock repurchases under the Repurchase Program commenced on November 9, 2021. The following table summarizes the shares repurchased and subsequently retired and the related consideration paid during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024, 2023 and 2022:
| For the fiscal years ended June 30, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class A Common Stock | 3.4 | $ | 79 | 9.5 | $ | 159 | 5.8 | $ | 122 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class B Common Stock | 1.6 | 38 | 4.7 | 81 | 2.9 | 61 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 5.0 | $ | 117 | 14.2 | $ | 240 | 8.7 | $ | 183 |
The following table details the Company’s monthly share repurchases during the three months ended June 30, 2024:
| Total Number of Shares Purchased - Class A**(a)** | Total Number of Shares Purchased - Class B**(a)** | Average Price Paid Per Share - Class A**(b)** | Average Price Paid Per Share - Class B**(b)** | Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Program | Dollar Value of Shares That May Yet Be Purchased Under Publicly Announced Program**(b)** | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in millions, except per share amounts) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| April 1, 2024 - April 28, 2024 | 0.3 | 0.2 | $ | 24.85 | $ | 25.62 | 0.5 | $ | 484 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| April 29, 2024 - June 2, 2024 | 0.3 | 0.2 | $ | 25.37 | $ | 26.16 | 0.5 | $ | 471 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| June 3, 2024 - June 30, 2024 | 0.3 | 0.1 | $ | 27.33 | $ | 28.01 | 0.4 | $ | 460 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 0.9 | 0.5 | $ | 25.76 | $ | 26.51 | 1.4 |
(a)The Company has not made any repurchases of Common Stock other than in connection with the publicly announced stock repurchase program described above.
(b)Amounts exclude taxes, fees, commissions or other costs associated with the repurchases.
Item 6. [RESERVED]
Not applicable.
Item 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
This discussion and analysis contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. The words “expect,” “will,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “predict,” “believe,” “should” and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements appear in a number of places in this discussion and analysis and include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things, trends affecting the Company’s business, financial condition or results of operations, the Company’s strategy and strategic initiatives, including potential acquisitions, investments and dispositions, the Company’s cost savings initiatives and the outcome of contingencies such as litigation and investigations. Readers are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties. More information regarding these risks and uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Annual Report”). The Company does not ordinarily make projections of its future operating results and undertakes no obligation (and expressly disclaims any obligation) to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Readers should carefully review this document and the other documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). This section should be read together with the Consolidated Financial Statements of News Corporation and related notes set forth elsewhere in this Annual Report.
The following discussion and analysis omits discussion of fiscal 2022. Please see “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 for a discussion of fiscal 2022.
INTRODUCTION
News Corporation (together with its subsidiaries, “News Corporation,” “News Corp,” the “Company,” “we” or “us”) is a global diversified media and information services company comprised of businesses across a range of media, including: digital real estate services, subscription video services in Australia, news and information services and book publishing.
The consolidated financial statements are referred to herein as the “Consolidated Financial Statements.” The consolidated statements of operations are referred to herein as the “Statements of Operations.” The consolidated balance sheets are referred to herein as the “Balance Sheets.” The consolidated statements of cash flows are referred to herein as the “Statements of Cash Flows.” The Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”).
Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations is intended to help provide an understanding of the Company’s financial condition, changes in financial condition and results of operations. This discussion is organized as follows:
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Overview of the Company’s Businesses**—This section provides a general description of the Company’s businesses, as well as developments that occurred during the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 and through the date of this filing that the Company believes are important in understanding its results of operations and financial condition or to disclose known trends.
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Results of Operations**—This section provides an analysis of the Company’s results of operations for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023. This analysis is presented on both a consolidated basis and a segment basis. Supplemental revenue information is also included for reporting units within certain segments and is presented on a gross basis, before eliminations in consolidation. In addition, a brief description is provided of significant transactions and events that impact the comparability of the results being analyzed. The Company maintains a 52-53 week fiscal year ending on the Sunday closest to June 30 in each year. Fiscal 2024 and 2023 each included 52 weeks.
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Liquidity and Capital Resources**—This section provides an analysis of the Company’s cash flows for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, as well as a discussion of the Company’s financial arrangements and outstanding commitments, both firm and contingent, that existed as of June 30, 2024.
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Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates**—This section discusses accounting policies considered important to the Company’s financial condition and results of operations, and which require significant judgment and estimates on the part of management in application. In addition, Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements summarizes the Company’s significant accounting policies, including the critical accounting policies discussed in this section.
OVERVIEW OF THE COMPANY’S BUSINESSES
The Company manages and reports its businesses in the following six segments:
- Digital Real Estate Services—The Digital Real Estate Services segment consists of the Company’s 61.4% interest in REA Group and 80% interest in Move. The remaining 20% interest in Move is held by REA Group. REA Group is a market-leading digital media business specializing in property and is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (“ASX”) (ASX: REA). REA Group advertises property and property-related services on its websites and mobile apps, including Australia’s leading residential, commercial and share property websites, realestate.com.au, realcommercial.com.au and Flatmates.com.au, property.com.au and property portals in India. In addition, REA Group provides property-related data to the financial sector and financial services through a digital property search and financing experience and a mortgage broking offering.
Move is a leading provider of digital real estate services in the U.S. and primarily operates Realtor.com®, a premier real estate information, advertising and services platform. Move offers real estate advertising solutions to agents and brokers, including its ConnectionsSM Plus, Market VIPSM, AdvantageSM Pro and Listing Toolkit products as well as its referral-based services, ReadyConnect ConciergeSM and RealChoiceTM Selling (formerly UpNest). Move also offers online tools and services to do-it-yourself landlords and tenants.
- Subscription Video Services—The Company’s Subscription Video Services segment provides sports, entertainment and news services to pay-TV and streaming subscribers and other commercial licensees via satellite and internet distribution and consists of (i) the Company’s 65% interest in the Foxtel Group (with the remaining 35% interest held by Telstra, an ASX-listed telecommunications company) and (ii) Australian News Channel (“ANC”). The Foxtel Group is the largest Australian-based subscription television provider. Its Foxtel pay-TV service provides approximately 200 channels and video on demand covering sports, general entertainment, movies, documentaries, music, children’s programming and news. Foxtel and the Group’s Kayo Sports streaming service offer the leading sports programming content in Australia, with broadcast rights to live sporting events including: National Rugby League, Australian Football League, Cricket Australia and various motorsports programming. The Foxtel Group’s other products and services include BINGE, i
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Item 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
The Company has exposure to different types of market risk including changes in foreign currency exchange rates, interest rates and credit.
When deemed appropriate, the Company uses derivative financial instruments such as cross-currency interest rate swaps, interest rate swaps and foreign exchange contracts to hedge certain risk exposures. The primary market risks managed by the Company through the use of derivative instruments include:
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foreign currency exchange rate risk: arising primarily through Foxtel Debt Group borrowings denominated in U.S. dollars, payments for customer premise equipment, certain programming rights, product development costs and inventory purchases; and
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interest rate risk: arising from fixed and floating rate Foxtel Debt Group and News Corporation borrowings. The Company neither holds nor issues financial instruments for trading purposes.
The following sections provide quantitative information on the Company’s exposure to foreign currency exchange rate risk, interest rate risk and other relevant market risks. The Company makes use of sensitivity analyses that are inherently limited in estimating actual losses in fair value that can occur from changes in market conditions.
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk
The Company conducts operations in three principal currencies: the U.S. dollar; the Australian dollar; and the British pound sterling. These currencies operate primarily as the functional currency for the Company’s U.S., Australian and U.K. operations, respectively. Cash is managed centrally within each of the three regions with net earnings generally reinvested locally and working capital requirements met from existing liquid funds. To the extent such funds are not sufficient to meet working capital requirements, funding in the appropriate local currencies is made available from intercompany capital. The Company does not hedge its investments in the net assets of its Australian and U.K. operations.
Because of fluctuations in exchange rates, the Company is subject to currency translation risk on the results of its operations. Foreign currency translation risk is the risk that exchange rate gains or losses arise from translating foreign entities’ statements of operations and balance sheets from their functional currency to the Company’s reporting currency (the U.S. dollar) for consolidation purposes. The Company does not hedge translation risk because it generally generates positive cash flows from its international operations that are typically reinvested locally. Exchange rates with the most significant impact to translation include the Australian dollar and British pound sterling. As exchange rates fluctuate, translation of its statements of operations into U.S. dollars affects the comparability of revenues and expenses between years.
The table below details the percentage of revenues and expenses by the three principal currencies for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024 and 2023:
| U.S. Dollars | Australian Dollars | British Pound Sterling | |||||||||||||||
| Fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||
| Revenues | 41 | % | 41 | % | 14 | % | |||||||||||
| Operating and Selling, general and administrative expenses | 42 | % | 37 | % | 16 | % | |||||||||||
| Fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||
| Revenues | 41 | % | 41 | % | 14 | % | |||||||||||
| Operating and Selling, general and administrative expenses | 42 | % | 37 | % | 16 | % |
Based on the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, a one cent change in each of the U.S. dollar/Australian dollar and the U.S. dollar/British pound sterling exchange rates would have impacted revenues by approximately $63 million and $12 million, respectively, for each currency on an annual basis, and would have impacted Total Segment EBITDA by approximately $14 million and $1 million, respectively, on an annual basis.
Derivatives and Hedging
As of June 30, 2024, the Foxtel Group operating subsidiaries, whose functional currency is Australian dollars, had approximately $49 million aggregate principal amount of outstanding indebtedness denominated in U.S. dollars. The remaining borrowings are denominated in Australian dollars. The Foxtel Group utilizes cross-currency interest rate swaps to hedge a portion of the exchange rate risk related to interest and principal payments on its U.S. dollar denominated debt. The Foxtel Group also has a portfolio of foreign exchange contracts to hedge a portion of the exchange rate risk related to U.S. dollar payments for customer premise equipment and certain programming rights, product development costs and inventory purchases. The notional value of these foreign exchange contracts was $79 million as of June 30, 2024. Refer to Note 11—Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements for further detail.
Some of the derivative instruments in place may create volatility during the fiscal year as they are marked-to-market according to accounting rules which may result in revaluation gains or losses in different periods from when the currency impacts on the underlying transactions are realized.
The table below provides further details of the sensitivity of the Company’s derivative financial instruments which are subject to foreign exchange rate risk and interest rate risk as of June 30, 2024 (in millions):
| Notional Value | Fair Value | Sensitivity from Adverse 10% Change in Foreign Exchange Rates | Sensitivity from Adverse 10% Change in Interest Rates | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Foreign currency derivatives | US$ | 79 | US$ | — | US$ | (7) | n/a | ||||||||||||||||
| Cross-currency interest rate swaps | US$ | 49 | US$ | (2) | US$ | (4) | US$ | — | |||||||||||||||
| Interest rate derivatives | A$ | 610 | US$ | 1 | n/a | US$ | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
| Interest rate derivatives | US$ | 484 | US$ | 28 | n/a | US$ | (1) |
Any resulting changes in the fair value of the derivative financial instruments may be partially offset by changes in the fair value of certain balance sheet positions (primarily U.S. dollar denominated liabilities) impacted by the change in the foreign exchange rates. The ability to reduce the impact of currency fluctuations on earnings depends on the magnitude of the derivatives compared to the balance sheet positions during each reporting cycle.
Interest Rate Risk
The Company’s current financing arrangements and facilities include $1,500 million of outstanding fixed-rate debt and $1,402 million of outstanding variable-rate bank facilities, before adjustments for unamortized discount and debt issuance costs (See Note 9—Borrowings in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements). Fixed and variable-rate debts are impacted differently by changes in interest rates. A change in the market interest rate or yield of fixed-rate debt will only impact the fair market value of such debt, while a change in the market interest rate of variable-rate debt will impact interest expense, as well as the amount of cash required to service such debt. News Corporation has entered into an interest rate swap cash flow hedge to fix the floating rate interest component of its Term A Loans and the Foxtel Group has utilized certain derivative instruments to swap U.S. dollar denominated fixed rate interest payments for Australian dollar denominated variable rate payments. As discussed above, the Foxtel Group utilizes cross-currency interest rate swaps to hedge a portion of the interest rate risk related to interest and principal payments on its U.S. dollar denominated debt. The Foxtel Group has also utilized an interest rate swap cash flow hedge to swap Australian dollar denominated variable interest rate payments for Australian dollar denominated fixed rate payments. As of June 30, 2024, the notional amount of interest rate swap contracts outstanding was approximately A$610 million and $484 million for Foxtel Group and News Corporation borrowings, respectively. Refer to the table above for further details of the sensitivity of the Company’s financial instruments which are subject to interest rate risk. Refer to Note 11—Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements for further detail.
Credit Risk
Cash and cash equivalents are maintained with multiple financial institutions. Deposits held with banks may exceed the amount of insurance provided on such deposits. Generally, these deposits may be redeemed upon demand and are maintained with financial institutions of reputable credit and, therefore, bear minimal credit risk.
The Company’s receivables did not represent significant concentrations of credit risk as of June 30, 2024 or June 30, 2023 due to the wide variety of customers, markets and geographic areas to which the Company’s products and services are sold.
The Company monitors its positions with, and the credit quality of, the financial institutions which are counterparties to its financial instruments. The Company is exposed to credit loss in the event of nonperformance by the counterparties to the agreements. As of June 30, 2024, the Company did not anticipate nonperformance by any of the counterparties.
Item 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
NEWS CORPORATION
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting for June 30, 2024
Management of News Corporation is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and for the assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. News Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:
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pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of News Corporation;
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provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America;
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provide reasonable assurance that receipts and expenditures of News Corporation are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of News Corporation; and
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provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of assets that could have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements.
Internal control over financial reporting includes the controls themselves, monitoring and internal auditing practices and actions taken to correct deficiencies as identified.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting, no matter how well designed, may not prevent or detect misstatements. Accordingly, even effective internal control over financial reporting can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation. Also, the assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting was made as of a specific date. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Management, including the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer, conducted an assessment of the effectiveness of News Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024, based on criteria for effective internal control over financial reporting described in the 2013 “Internal Control—Integrated Framework” issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Management’s assessment included an evaluation of the design of News Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting and testing of the operational effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting. Management reviewed the results of its assessment with the Audit Committee of News Corporation’s Board of Directors.
Based on this assessment, management did not identify any material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting, and management determined that, as of June 30, 2024, News Corporation maintained effective internal control over financial reporting.
Ernst & Young LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm who audited and reported on the Consolidated Financial Statements of News Corporation included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, has audited the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Their report appears on the following page.
August 13, 2024
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of News Corporation
Opinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
We have audited News Corporation’s internal control over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria). In our opinion, News Corporation (the Company) maintained, in all material respects
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Item 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None
Item 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
The Company’s management, with the participation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15(d)-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) as of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report. Based on such evaluation, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the end of such period, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective in recording, processing, summarizing and reporting on a timely basis, information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act and were effective in ensuring that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Management’s report and the report of the independent registered public accounting firm thereon are set forth on pages 61 and 62, respectively, and are incorporated herein by reference.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There has been no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the Company’s fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
None
Trading Plans
None
Item 9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS
Not applicable.
PART III
Item 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The information required by this item with respect to the Company’s Directors is contained in the Proxy Statement for the Company’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Proxy Statement”) to be filed with the SEC under the heading “Proposal 1: Election of Directors” and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
The information required by this item with respect to the Company’s executive officers is contained in the Proxy Statement under the heading “Executive Officers” and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
To the extent applicable, the information required by this item with respect to compliance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act is contained in the Proxy Statement and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
The information required by this item with respect to the Company’s Standards of Business Conduct is contained in the Proxy Statement under the heading “Corporate Governance Matters—Corporate Governance Policies” and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
The information required by this item with respect to the procedures by which security holders may recommend nominees to the Board of Directors is contained in the Proxy Statement under the heading “Corporate Governance Matters—Stockholder Recommendation of Director Candidates” and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
The information required by this item with respect to the Company’s Audit Committee, including the Audit Committee’s members and its financial expert, is contained in the Proxy Statement under the heading “Corporate Governance Matters—Board Committees” and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
The information required by this item with respect to the Company’s insider trading policy is contained in the Proxy Statement under the heading “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Insider Trading Policy and Prohibition on Hedging and Pledging of News Corporation Stock” and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
Item 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
The information required by this item with respect to executive compensation and director compensation is contained in the Proxy Statement under the headings “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” “Executive Compensation,” “Pay Ratio,” “Pay versus Performance” and “Director Compensation,” respectively, and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
The information required by this item with respect to compensation policies and practices as they relate to the Company’s risk management is contained in the Proxy Statement under the heading “Risks Related to Compensation Policies and Practices” and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
To the extent applicable, the information required by this item with respect to compensation committee interlocks and insider participation is contained in the Proxy Statement and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
The report of the Company’s Compensation Committee required by this item is contained in the Proxy Statement under the heading “Report of the Compensation Committee” and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
Item 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
The information required by this item with respect to securities authorized for issuance under the Company’s equity compensation plans is contained in the Proxy Statement under the heading “Equity Compensation Plan Information” and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
The information required by this item with respect to the security ownership of certain beneficial owners and management is contained in the Proxy Statement under the heading “Security Ownership of News Corporation” and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
Item 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
The information required by this item with respect to transactions with related persons is contained in the Proxy Statement under the heading “Corporate Governance Matters—Related Person Transactions Policy” and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
The information required by this item with respect to director independence is contained in the Proxy Statement under the headings “Corporate Governance Matters—Director Independence” and “Corporate Governance Matters—Board Committees” and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
Item 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
The information required by this item is contained in the Proxy Statement under the headings “Proposal 2: Ratification of Selection of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm—Fees Paid to Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” and “Proposal 2: Ratification of Selection of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm—Audit Committee Pre-Approval Policies and Procedures” and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
PART IV
Item 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
(a)The following documents are filed as part of this report:
1.The Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements required to be filed as part of this Annual Report and the Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm are included in Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
2.All other financial statement schedules are omitted because the required information is not applicable, or because the information called for is included in the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements or the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
3.Exhibits—The exhibits listed under Part (b) below are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Annual Report. A “±” identifies each management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement required to be filed as an exhibit to this Annual Report, and such listing is incorporated herein by reference.
(b) Exhibits
| Exhibit Number | Exhibit Description | |||||||
| 101 | The following financial information from the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024 formatted in Inline XBRL: (i) Consolidated Statements of Operations for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024, 2023 and 2022; (ii) Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024, 2023 and 2022; (iii) Consolidated Balance Sheets as of June 30, 2024 and 2023; (iv) Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024, 2023 and 2022; (v) Consolidated Statements of Equity for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2024, 2023 and 2022; and (vi) Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.* | |||||||
| 104 | The cover page from News Corporation's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024, formatted in Inline XBRL (included as Exhibit 101).* |
________________________
- Filed herewith
** Furnished herewith
± Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement
† Certain portions of this exhibit have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K.
Item 16. FORM 10-K SUMMARY
None.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| NEWS CORPORATION (Registrant) | |||||||||||
| By: | /s/ Susan Panuccio | ||||||||||
| Susan Panuccio Chief Financial Officer |
Date: August 13, 2024
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated:
| Signature | Title | Date | ||||||||||||
| /s/ Robert J. Thomson | Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer) | August 13, 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Robert J. Thomson | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ Susan Panuccio | Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer) | August 13, 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Susan Panuccio | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ Marygrace DeGrazio | Chief Accounting Officer (Principal Accounting Officer) | August 13, 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Marygrace DeGrazio | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ Lachlan K. Murdoch | Chair | August 13, 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Lachlan K. Murdoch | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ Kelly Ayotte | Director | August 13, 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Kelly Ayotte | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ José María Aznar | Director | August 13, 2024 | ||||||||||||
| José María Aznar | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ Natalie Bancroft | Director | August 13, 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Natalie Bancroft | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ Ana Paula Pessoa | Director | August 13, 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Ana Paula Pessoa | ||||||||||||||
| /s/ Masroor Siddiqui | Director | August 13, 2024 | ||||||||||||
| Masroor Siddiqui |