News Corporation Progresses $1 Billion Nasdaq Share Buyback Program with Latest Class B Stock Acquisitions

News Corporation's Diverse Media Empire Guides Capital Allocation

As a diversified media and publishing conglomerate, News Corporation operates significant assets in news, entertainment, digital real estate, book publishing, and financial information services. Its portfolio includes flagship titles such as The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, and The Sunday Times, alongside holdings in digital real estate platforms and entertainment production and distribution businesses. This extensive global footprint spans North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Australia, generating revenues from print, digital, broadcasting, and information services.

The company’s decision to pursue a share repurchase program underscores management’s confidence in the intrinsic value of its common stock and a strategic focus on returning capital to shareholders. By reducing the number of outstanding shares, the company aims to enhance earnings per share for remaining investors and signal that current market valuations offer compelling returns. This buyback strategy offers more flexibility than dividends, enabling News Corporation to capitalize on favourable market conditions and price fluctuations.

Details and Authorisation of the 2025 Repurchase Program

Authorised on 15 July 2025, News Corporation’s $1 billion repurchase program covers both Class A and Class B common stock, reflecting its dual-class Nasdaq listing. At the time of notification, 142,705,333 Class B shares were outstanding, contextualizing the repurchase scale relative to market capitalisation. The company intends to execute repurchases intermittently in the open market or via other methods, contingent on market conditions, stock prices, and operational factors.

The program’s dollar-denominated structure grants management discretion over timing and volume, allowing adaptive responses to market dynamics and liquidity without fixed purchase mandates. This approach aligns with practices among large publicly traded firms balancing capital returns with strategic initiatives such as acquisitions or debt reduction. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC’s role as executing broker leverages its extensive trading expertise and infrastructure.

Repurchase Transactions and Pricing on 22 July 2026

According to the daily notification on 23 July 2026, News Corporation repurchased a total of 4.617 million Class B shares across two transactions. Prior to 22 July 2026, 4.589 million shares were acquired for $132,105,616.10, averaging about $28.79 per share. On 22 July 2026, an additional 28,800 shares were purchased for $894,631.68, averaging approximately $31.07 per share. These purchases reflect active program execution across multiple trading days, optimizing average acquisition costs amid market price variations.

Repurchase prices ranged from $25.49 to $32.89 per share, with the highest price paid on 17 July 2026. This 29% price variation illustrates typical market volatility and the execution risk inherent in buyback programs. Staggering purchases across dates and price points helps mitigate concentration risk and smooth acquisition costs. The company has not disclosed remaining authorised funds under the $1 billion cap post-22 July 2026, but with roughly $133 million spent, significant capacity remains.

Regulatory Compliance and ASX Reporting Obligations

Structured as an "other buy-back" under ASX Listing Rules, the program reflects News Corporation’s Nasdaq listing and dual-class share structure, differing from standard ASX securities. The company complies with Listing Rule 3.8A by providing daily buy-back notifications to the ASX at least 30 minutes before market open on business days following repurchases, ensuring transparency on capital allocation and share count impacts.

Importantly, no ASX-listed CHESS Depositary Interests (CDIs) will be repurchased, confining activity to Nasdaq-listed Class A and B shares. This distinction means Australian CDI holders are unaffected directly by the buyback in terms of tendering shares or volume reduction. The program did not require shareholder approval, indicating board-authorised discretion under governance and regulatory frameworks. Absence of foreign participation restrictions facilitates unrestricted Nasdaq market purchases by Goldman Sachs.

Strategic Intent Behind Capital Deployment and Shareholder Value

News Corporation’s repurchase program aims to enhance shareholder value by lowering share count while maintaining earnings, thereby increasing earnings per share. This approach suits mature companies with stable cash flows, like News Corporation, which generates free cash from its media and digital assets. Deploying $1 billion reflects confidence in the company’s business durability and cash generation capabilities.

Authorisation timing in July 2025 and active 2026 execution signal management’s view that shares are attractively valued. Buybacks typically indicate internal assessments that shares trade below intrinsic worth or that reducing share count offers superior capital returns compared to other investments. For investors, repurchases provide a tax-efficient capital return alternative to dividends, allowing choice in participation. The program complements dividend policies and supports reinvestment in growth across media, entertainment, and digital sectors.

Market Price Fluctuations and Volatility During the Buyback Period

The $25.49 to $32.89 per share price range during mid-2026 reflects market forces impacting News Corporation shares amid media industry trends, company developments, and macroeconomic factors. The 29% price variation underscores volatility challenges and opportunities in optimising buyback execution. The dollar-denominated program structure enables pausing or adjusting purchases if prices rise excessively, preserving capital flexibility.

The peak price of $32.89 on 17 July 2026 marks the highest repurchase valuation accepted by management, suggesting a threshold beyond which buybacks are less attractive. Conversely, the $25.49 low represents favourable entry points for capital deployment, as shown by substantial prior repurchases. This disciplined execution mitigates the risk of overpaying and exemplifies prudent buyback management.

Broker Partnership and Execution Excellence

Engaging Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC as broker reflects News Corporation’s commitment to best-practice execution for large-scale, multi-tranche equity repurchases. Goldman Sachs brings global investment banking and brokerage expertise, advanced trading technology, and market infrastructure to manage block trades and systematic buybacks on Nasdaq.

The broker’s responsibilities include market condition analysis, optimal execution timing, trading algorithm management to minimize market impact, and ensuring regulatory compliance. This external execution reduces internal conflicts of interest and ensures adherence to insider trading and market manipulation regulations. The ongoing relationship signals trust in Goldman Sachs’ capabilities, providing investors assurance of professional program administration.

Impact on Australian Investors and CHESS Depositary Interest Holders

Australian investors holding News Corporation shares via ASX-listed CHESS Depositary Interests (CDIs) experience limited direct effects from the Nasdaq-based buyback. As no CDIs are repurchased, Australian investors cannot tender shares, and CDI volumes remain unaffected. However, the reduction in underlying Nasdaq-listed shares can enhance earnings per share, potentially benefiting CDI holders assuming stable or growing profitability.

Investors should consider currency exchange rates, differing trading hours, and liquidity disparities between CDI and Nasdaq markets when evaluating returns. The ongoing buyback activity signals management confidence in News Corporation’s fundamentals, offering reassurance regarding long-term CDI investment prospects in this global media conglomerate.

Program Flexibility and Future Execution Outlook

The repurchase program imposes no fixed completion deadlines or mandatory purchase volumes, providing substantial flexibility to adapt to market and corporate conditions. Repurchases will occur "from time to time" subject to stock price, liquidity, and operational factors. This flexibility is valuable during volatile markets or competing capital demands such as acquisitions or debt repayment.

No target completion date has been disclosed, allowing the program to extend over multiple years if needed. Investors should monitor daily buy-back notifications for updates on cumulative repurchases, average prices, and remaining authorised amounts. As of 22 July 2026, approximately $133 million of the $1 billion authorisation had been utilised, indicating ample capacity for ongoing execution. Future changes in repurchase activity may reveal management’s evolving valuation views or capital allocation priorities within the media and entertainment group.