NEW YORK, May 23, 2026, 11:03 EDT
- News Corp Class A shares ended Friday at $25.89, down 1.41%. The stock finished almost unchanged from last Friday’s $25.92 after a volatile week.
- U.S. stock markets are shut Monday for Memorial Day, so traders get a four-day week.
- The company disclosed in its latest filing it has kept buying back shares in the $1 billion buyback plan, spending about $262.8 million to date.
News Corp Class A shares lost 1.41% on Friday, pulling back into the Memorial Day weekend. The move came as most stocks rose, and left traders questioning the company’s buyback and the stock’s run after earnings.
Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange are closed Monday for Memorial Day. That means investors won’t be able to trade the stock until Tuesday. It comes after a week where the stock bounced between gains and losses and ended up about where it started.
News Corp’s Class A shares NWSA on Nasdaq closed at $25.89 Friday. The stock traded in a range between $25.63 and $26.50 during the session. In the five days through May 22, NWSA was up Monday, down Tuesday and Wednesday, bounced back Thursday and lost ground Friday. The final price landed just under the previous Friday’s $25.92.
The stock underperformed other media and publishing names. New York Times Co. added 0.9% Friday, Pearson’s U.S. shares were up 0.4%. Fox Corp’s Class A dropped 0.4%, a smaller loss than News Corp’s.
News Corp has been buying back its own stock. In an SEC filing Friday for May 21, the company said it bought 70,004 Class A shares and 30,471 Class B shares the day before. News Corp said its total buybacks under the 2025 program are about $262.75 million.
Investors are keeping an eye on the stock, in part because of the buyback program. The company has the green light to repurchase up to $1 billion of its Class A and Class B shares listed on Nasdaq, the filing shows. Market conditions and the current share price will factor into any buys.
News Corp’s latest quarter was better than what Friday’s trading showed. Reuters said News Corp beat Wall Street revenue forecasts for Q3, with Dow Jones and digital real estate units helping. Revenue came in at $2.19 billion, topping the $2.11 billion estimate from LSEG.
News Corp reported a 9% jump in third-quarter revenue and said net income from continuing operations was up 13% to $121 million. Total Segment EBITDA increased 18% to $343 million. EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, which investors look at to compare operating profit, stripping out some financing and accounting charges.
News Corp CEO Robert Thomson talked up the stock, saying the share price “does not reflect the intrinsic value” of the company. He called News Corp “an AI inputs company” and referenced licensing deals and ongoing talks with tech firms about its content. News Corporation
Dow Jones is still a big part of the picture. The division, home to The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and MarketWatch, saw revenue climb 8% to $619 million for the quarter. Digital real-estate services brought in $473 million, up 17%. Book publishing revenue added 8% to reach $555 million.
U.S. markets reopen Tuesday with News Corp in focus, but economic data also lines the week. Investors will get consumer confidence, jobless claims, home sales, and a revised first-quarter GDP reading. The reports put new numbers on the consumer, the jobs picture, and economic growth.
But the downside isn’t hard to spot. News Corp’s News Media segment EBITDA dropped 55% for the quarter. The company reported lower adjusted revenue in that segment, with print headwinds and California Post costs dragging on results. A cooler housing market, softer ad sales, or less AI licensing revenue than expected could limit any upside from buybacks.
NWSA came under pressure Friday. The company continues buying back shares and posting growth where investors want, but the drop showed the market wants more proof before moving the stock higher.
