News Corp misses on revenue as Thomson presses AI platforms to pay for its content

Earnings per share of $0.28 beat the forecast by $0.02, and the chief executive says growth was led by Dow Jones, Digital Real Estate Services and Book Publishing.

News Corp's first-quarter revenue of $2.28B fell short of the $2.32B expected, though earnings per share of $0.28 were $0.02 better than forecast.

In August the company reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $2.34B against $2.25B expected, with earnings per share $0.11 better than forecast. A revenue beat has now become a miss, while earnings have come in ahead both times.

Chief Executive Robert Thomson said the quarter's growth was led by Dow Jones, Digital Real Estate Services and Book Publishing. The more notable part of his comment was about artificial intelligence. News Corp, he said, aims to secure compensation for its content from AI platforms, following its partnerships with OpenAI and Meta.

That a publisher with deals in hand still wants more payment suggests those partnerships are not the end of the matter. If other publishers take the same line, AI developers face rising licensing costs.