News Corp 10-Q 2023-12-31

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

_________________________________________

FORM 10-Q

_________________________________________

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended December 31, 2023

or

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number 001-35769

_________________________________________

NEWS CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

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.

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 is a shell company (as defined in Rule12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

As of February 2, 2024, 380,023,919 shares of Class A Common Stock and 191,095,220 shares of Class B Common Stock were outstanding.

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NEWS CORPORATION

FORM 10-Q

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PART I

NEWS CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited; millions, except per share amounts)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

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NEWS CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(Unaudited; millions)

(a) Net of income tax expense (benefit) of $(6) million and $(2) million for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and $(7) million and $4 million for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

(b) Net of income tax expense (benefit) of $(1) million and ($3) million for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, and $4 million and $1 million for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

(c) Primarily consists of foreign currency translation adjustments.

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited consolidated financial statements.

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NEWS CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Millions, except share and per share amounts)

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This document, including the following 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, including announced headcount reductions, 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 Part I, Item 1A. in News Corporation’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on August 15, 2023 (the “2023 Form 10-K”), and as may be updated in this and other subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. 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 unaudited consolidated financial statements of News Corporation and related notes set forth elsewhere herein and the audited consolidated financial statements of News Corporation and related notes set forth in the 2023 Form 10-K.

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 unaudited 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:

• Overview of the Company’s Businesses—This section provides a general description of the Company’s businesses, as well as developments that occurred to date during fiscal 2024 that the Company believes are important in understanding its results of operations and financial condition or to disclose known trends.

• Results of Operations—This section provides an analysis of the Company’s results of operations for the three and six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. 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.

• Liquidity and Capital Resources—This section provides an analysis of the Company’s cash flows for the six months ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, as well as a discussion of the Company’s financial arrangements and outstanding commitments, both firm and contingent, that existed as of December 31, 2023.

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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 and AdvantageSM Pro products as well as its referral-based services, ReadyConnect ConciergeSM and 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 live 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 streaming services include BINGE, its entertainment streaming service, and Foxtel Now, a streaming service that provides access across Foxtel’s live and on-demand content.

ANC operates the SKY NEWS network, Australia’s 24-hour multi-channel, multi-platform news service. ANC channels are distributed throughout Australia and New Zealand and available on Foxtel and Sky Network Television NZ. ANC also owns and operates the international Australia Channel IPTV service and offers content across a variety of digital media platforms, including web, mobile and third part

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There has been no material change in the Company’s assessment of its sensitivity to market risk since its presentation set forth in Item 7A, “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk,” in the Company’s 2023 Form 10-K.

**(a)**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 quarterly 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.

**(b)**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 15(d)-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the Company’s second quarter of fiscal 2024 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

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PART II

ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

See Note 9—Commitments and Contingencies in the accompanying Consolidated Financial Statements.

There have been no material changes to the risk factors described in the 2023 Form 10-K.

ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

On September 22, 2021, the Company announced a stock repurchase program authorizing the Company to purchase up to $1 billion in the aggregate of its 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 following table details the Company’s monthly share repurchases during the three months ended December 31, 2023:

(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 3. DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES

Not applicable.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

None.

Trading Plans

None.

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• Filed herewith.

** Furnished herewith

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SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements 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.