News Corp stock supported by $1 billion buyback as repurchases cross 16 million shares
Published on 08/25/2026 at 18:09 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
News Corp (US65249B1098) is reinforcing shareholder returns with an active $1 billion stock repurchase program, with recent disclosures showing continued buybacks as of August 24, 2026 and more than 16.3 million shares already retired across its two main share classes. Per a recent regulatory filing dated August 24, 2026, the company detailed buybacks on both Nasdaq-listed Class A and Class B shares under its 2025 repurchase program.
Buyback program passes $438.8 million in execution
According to a recent summary of the latest filing, News Corp has authorization to repurchase up to $1 billion of its Nasdaq-listed Class A and Class B common stock under a program approved on July 15, 2025. The 8-K filing summary reports that, in one share class with 360,464,857 securities outstanding, the company has bought back 11,134,560 shares for total consideration of $286,449,373.11.
For the second share class, which has 142,533,914 securities on issue, the same filing states that News Corp has repurchased 5,215,276 shares at a total cost of $152,301,568.95. Combining both classes, the repurchases disclosed in the filing amount to 16,349,836 shares and $438,750,942.06 in cash deployed under the program, illustrating a significant reduction in share count since the program was authorized in July 2025.
The filing also details the price ranges paid for the buybacks. For the larger share class, the lowest price paid was $22.20 and the highest price was $30.79, with the highest transaction price occurring on June 8, 2026 and the lowest price on February 9, 2026. That range provides investors with a concrete band of recent trading levels at which the company has been willing to commit capital to repurchase its own stock.
Ongoing purchases as of August 24, 2026
The same regulatory disclosure notes that buybacks have continued through late August 2026. On August 24, 2026, News Corp bought back 54,641 securities in the first class for consideration of $1,676,320.31 and 23,784 securities in the second class for $826,486.86. These August 24 transactions together represent 78,425 shares repurchased for $2,502,807.17 in a single session, signaling that the company is actively using its authorization rather than leaving it idle.
A separate market-news update summarizing the program indicates that total spending under the 2025 repurchase plan stands at $441.3 million, consistent with the detailed figures in the filing once rounding is considered. A recent market report highlights that this spending is part of an ongoing program that still has substantial remaining capacity under the $1 billion cap.
For investors, the combination of a defined $1 billion ceiling and the approximately $441.3 million already deployed provides a clear sense of the program’s scale. It suggests that more than 40 percent of the authorized amount has been used so far, while leaving significant room for further repurchases should management choose to continue buying stock at current valuations.
Valuation context from buyback price ranges
The disclosed buyback price range between $22.20 and $30.79 offers a useful benchmark for assessing how management views the stock. At the lower end, the company has been able to retire shares at just above $22, while at the upper end it has still been willing to commit capital at almost $31 per share. This concrete band effectively creates a historical corridor of prices at which the company has demonstrated confidence in the stock’s value.
When investors compare the current market price with this corridor, they can see whether the stock is trading closer to the lower or upper end of the range at which the company previously bought stock. If the current price sits below the midpoint of that historical span, the spent $438.8 million in buybacks could be viewed as having been executed at valuations higher than today’s market, while a price around or above the prior highs would suggest that the shares have recovered strongly since the earliest purchases in the program.
Because the buybacks span several months and were executed at different levels, the implicit average repurchase price sits between the reported minimum and maximum. With $286,449,373.11 spent for 11,134,560 shares in the first class, the average price there works out to roughly $25.72 per share, while the second class’s $152,301,568.95 over 5,215,276 shares equates to an average of roughly $29.20 per share. Those averages provide additional precision on how much the company has effectively paid to shrink its share base.
Impact on share count and capital allocation
The disclosed figures indicate that in the first class of 360,464,857 shares outstanding, the repurchase of 11,134,560 shares has already reduced that class’s float by just over 3 percent. For the second class, the buyback of 5,215,276 shares out of 142,533,914 outstanding corresponds to a reduction of a little more than 3.6 percent. Combined, the total 16,349,836 shares repurchased represent a material shrinkage of News Corp’s overall share base since July 2025.
This reduction in share count can have multiple capital allocation implications. A smaller share base means that, all else equal, earnings per share are supported because profits are spread over fewer shares. It also means that any future dividends will be distributed across a reduced number of shares, which can increase the per-share cash return if total dividend outlays remain stable or rise. Investors often interpret an active buyback program of this size as a signal that management believes the stock is undervalued relative to the company’s long-term prospects.
The total cash deployed so far, at $438,750,942.06 based on the detailed filing figures, represents a meaningful commitment of capital. Relative to the $1 billion ceiling, this spending shows that the program is already well under way but still has capacity for further execution, leaving flexibility for News Corp to respond to future share price moves or changing conditions in its core businesses.
Program structure and regulatory disclosure
The repurchase initiative is described in the filing as the 2025 Repurchase Program, covering Nasdaq-listed Class A and Class B common stock. The filing emphasizes that no ASX-listed CHESS Depositary Interests, or CDIs, are being repurchased, making clear that the program’s focus is on the US-traded securities rather than the Australian depository receipts.
Because the company structured the disclosure as an 8-K under items 8.01 and 9.01, it framed the ongoing buybacks as material information for shareholders. Item 8.01 allows companies to voluntarily provide details on significant events not captured under other specific 8-K items, while item 9.01 covers financial statements and exhibits, including detailed buyback data tables and related appendices.
The attachment list in the filing shows multiple exhibits, including press releases and XBRL taxonomy documents. Together, these provide transparency around the authorization, the execution to date, and the mechanics of the buyback program. For US investors, the Nasdaq listing of both share classes and the explicit disclosure that the buybacks are executed on-market help clarify where and how the repurchases are taking place.
News Corp digital publishing and subscription products
News Corp’s capital allocation decisions are closely tied to its core portfolio of media and information services businesses. One of the group’s representative products is its suite of digital news and subscription platforms, which deliver journalism, analysis, and data across multiple geographies. These platforms typically combine website and mobile app access, personalized content feeds, and premium subscription tiers that provide additional features such as in-depth investigations, specialized newsletters, and archives.
The product strategy emphasizes recurring revenue through subscription models, bundling access across brands or regions to increase customer lifetime value. In practice, this means that a subscriber can pay a fixed monthly or annual fee to access a mix of general news, business coverage, and niche verticals like real estate, lifestyle, or sports. For News Corp, the shift toward digital subscriptions has been central to diversifying away from print-only revenue streams and stabilizing cash flows in a changing media landscape.
On the advertising side, the company’s digital platforms typically incorporate programmatic ad technology, allowing marketers to reach specific audience segments based on interests, browsing behavior, and geography. This blend of subscription and advertising revenue is a key factor in the company’s overall earnings profile, which in turn influences management’s confidence to deploy capital through buybacks under the 2025 Repurchase Program.
News Corp stock and buyback-driven support
News Corp stock is listed on Nasdaq, with Class A and Class B shares both eligible under the company’s 2025 Repurchase Program. As of August 24, 2026, the disclosed buybacks of 16,349,836 shares for $438,750,942.06 provide a tangible measure of how actively the company has been reducing its share count under the $1 billion authorization. In addition, the historical price range of $22.20 to $30.79 for executed buybacks offers a concrete reference band for investors when evaluating current trading levels.
For investors looking at the stock’s valuation, the combination of the in-progress buyback, the percentage reduction in outstanding shares across both classes, and the clear disclosure of price ranges and total consideration provide a detailed backdrop for understanding how News Corp is using its balance sheet to support shareholder returns. The ongoing activity as of August 24, 2026 suggests that the company remains committed to the program, with significant remaining capacity under the $1 billion ceiling that can be deployed depending on future market conditions and corporate priorities.
Fact box
Company: News Corp
ISIN: US65249B1098
Ticker: NWS
Exchange: Nasdaq
Sector / Industry: Media and information services
