Q2 Earnings Highlights: News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) Vs The Rest Of The Media Stocks

The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) and the rest of the media stocks fared in Q2.

The advent of the internet changed how shows, films, music, and overall information flow. As a result, many media companies now face secular headwinds as attention shifts online. Some have made concerted efforts to adapt by introducing digital subscriptions, podcasts, and streaming platforms. Time will tell if their strategies succeed and which companies will emerge as the long-term winners.

The 8 media stocks we track reported a slower Q2. As a group, revenues missed analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.7%.

Stocks--especially those trading at higher multiples--had a strong end of 2023, but this year has seen periods of volatility. Mixed signals about inflation have led to uncertainty around rate cuts. Thankfully, media stocks have been resilient with share prices up 7% on average since the latest earnings results.

News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA)

Established in 2013 after a restructuring, News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) is a multinational conglomerate known for its news publishing, broadcasting, digital media, and book publishing.

News Corp reported revenues of $2.58 billion, up 5.9% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 3%. Overall, it was a decent quarter for the company with EPS in line with analysts' estimates.

Interestingly, the stock is up 3.7% since reporting and currently trades at $27.77.

Is now the time to buy News Corp? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q2: fuboTV (NYSE:FUBO)

Originally launched as a soccer streaming platform, fuboTV (NYSE:FUBO) is a video streaming service specializing in live sports, news, and entertainment content.

fuboTV reported revenues of $391 million, up 25% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 6.2%. It was a decent quarter for the company with a narrow beat of analysts’ earnings estimates.

fuboTV pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat and fastest revenue growth among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 54.4% since reporting. It currently trades at $2.03.

Is now the time to buy fuboTV? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q2: Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL)

Creator of the legendary Scholastic Book Fair, Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) is an international company specializing in children's publishing, education, and media services.

Scholastic reported revenues of $474.9 million, down 10.1% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 14%. It was a weak quarter for the company with a miss of analysts’ revenue and earnings estimates.

Scholastic had the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 14.9% since the results and currently trades at $31.13.

Read our full analysis of Scholastic’s results here.

Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD)

Formed from the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) is a multinational media and entertainment company, offering television networks, streaming services, and film and television production.

Warner Bros. Discovery reported revenues of $9.71 billion, down 6.2% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 3.6%. Zooming out, it was a weak quarter for the company with a miss of analysts’ earnings estimates.

The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $7.71.

Read our full, actionable report on Warner Bros. Discovery here, it’s free.

Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG)

Launching the careers of legendary artists like Frank Sinatra, Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) is a music company managing a diverse portfolio of artists, recordings, and music publishing services worldwide.

Warner Music Group reported revenues of $1.55 billion, flat year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.1%. Zooming out, it was a slower quarter for the company with a miss of analysts’ earnings estimates.

The stock is up 4.9% since reporting and currently trades at $29.52.

Read our full, actionable report on Warner Music Group here, it’s free.

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