Exploring News Corporation (NWS) Investor Profile: Who’s Buying and Why?

You're looking at News Corporation (NWS) because the headline numbers in fiscal year 2025 were defintely hard to ignore, right? The media giant, which is more of a diversified information services company now, reported full-year revenues of $8.45 billion and saw its net income from continuing operations surge by a massive 71% to $648 million. That kind of jump, especially in a choppy media market, tells a story of strategic focus on segments like Digital Real Estate Services and Dow Jones, which hit record revenues of $2.33 billion. But the real question for a seasoned investor like you isn't just what the company earned, but who is buying the stock and why they're betting on this $16.8 billion market cap business now. We're seeing major institutional players like Vanguard Group Inc. increasing their positions-Vanguard now holds over 6.8 million shares-plus the company itself authorized a new $1 billion stock repurchase program in July 2025, a clear signal of management's confidence. Is this institutional accumulation a sign of a deeper value play, or is the market under-pricing the growth in their core digital pillars? Let's break down the investor profile and see what the smart money is really doing.

Who Invests in News Corporation (NWS) and Why?

If you're looking at News Corporation (NWS), you're seeing a stock primarily held by large institutions and insiders, but with a significant retail component that often drives short-term volatility. The core investment thesis right now, following the strong Fiscal Year 2025 results, is a pivot from traditional media to high-margin digital information and real estate services, which is what's attracting the big money.

The ownership structure for the Class B Common Stock (NWS) is a mix, but the control dynamics are clear. Insiders, notably LGC Holdco, LLC, hold a significant stake, around 33.35%, which gives them substantial voting power. The remaining shares are split between institutional investors and the public (retail/individual investors).

Key Investor Types and Ownership Dynamics

The investor base for News Corporation is segmented into three major groups, each with a distinct motivation for holding the stock. Understanding this breakdown is defintely crucial because their trading patterns affect the stock's stability and direction.

• Institutional Investors: These are the mutual funds, pension funds, and asset managers like Vanguard Group Inc. and BlackRock, Inc. They seek stability and long-term capital appreciation. They hold a substantial number of shares, often over 20% of the Class B stock, and are the stabilizing force.
• Hedge Funds and Activists: Firms such as Starboard Value LP appear on the shareholder list, signaling an active, often shorter-term, investment approach. They are typically looking for catalysts-like asset sales or spin-offs-to quickly realize value, focusing on the company's Total Segment EBITDA of $1.42 billion in FY2025 and how to maximize that figure.
• Retail Investors: This group, which includes public companies and individual investors, holds a large portion, approximately 45.51% of the NWS Class B stock. They often react quickly to news, like the announcement of the new $1 billion stock repurchase program in July 2025, driving near-term trading volume.

Here's the quick math on the institutional presence and why it matters:

What Attracts Investors: Growth and Capital Return

The investment motivation for News Corporation has fundamentally shifted away from its legacy News Media segment. Investors are buying into the company's 'core growth pillars,' which delivered strong Fiscal 2025 performance.

The real story is the non-news segments. Dow Jones achieved record revenues of $2.33 billion in FY2025, underpinned by the professional information business, where Risk & Compliance revenue grew 15%. Also, the Digital Real Estate Services segment, which includes REA Group, posted record revenues of $1.25 billion, up 12%, driven by strong Australian residential performance. This is a high-margin, sticky subscription business, and that's a great anchor for a value investor.

The company's financial health is also a huge draw for value-oriented investors. Net income from continuing operations surged 71 percent to $648 million for the full year 2025. Plus, the board declared a cash dividend of $0.10 per share, a clear signal of confidence and a way to return capital to shareholders. The new $1 billion stock repurchase program is another strong commitment to reducing share count and increasing earnings per share (EPS), which came in at a diluted $0.84 for FY2025.

Investment Strategies in Play

You see a few distinct investment strategies playing out simultaneously in News Corporation's shareholder base:

• Value Investing: This is the dominant institutional strategy. Investors see the stock as undervalued relative to the sum of its parts (SOTP), especially the high-growth, high-margin Dow Jones and Digital Real Estate segments. They are betting on management's ability to continue the digital transformation and potentially separate or monetize these assets.
• Long-Term Growth (GARP): Growth at a Reasonable Price (GARP) investors are attracted by the company's strategic focus on digital transformation, which is likely to enhance long-term growth potential. They are comfortable holding for years, expecting the 71% jump in net income to continue driving the stock higher, despite the drag from the News Media segment.
• Activist/Event-Driven Trading: The presence of activist hedge funds suggests a focus on corporate actions. They are keen on the company's balance sheet strength, which was enhanced by the sale of Foxtel to DAZN for AU$3.4 billion, and are pushing for strategic moves to 'unlock value' from the diversified portfolio. The accelerated buyback pace is a direct response to this pressure to return capital.

The core takeaway is that the market is increasingly valuing News Corporation not as a traditional newspaper company, but as a diversified information and digital real estate powerhouse. You can read more about the company's structure and history in this piece: News Corporation (NWS): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.

Institutional Ownership and Major Shareholders of News Corporation (NWS)

If you're looking at News Corporation (NWS), you need to look past the headlines and understand who actually owns the stock. It's a classic media company story: a mix of passive giants, active funds, and the founding family's super-voting control. As of November 2025, institutional investors-the big money like pension funds and mutual funds-hold about 41.89% of the outstanding shares.

This high level of institutional ownership means the stock price is defintely sensitive to their collective buying and selling. It's a vote of confidence, but also a source of volatility. The other key factor is the Murdoch family's dual-class share structure, which gives them outsized voting power, a critical detail for any investor in NWS.

Top Institutional Investors and Their Stakes

The investor base for News Corporation is dominated by a few massive asset managers who hold shares primarily for passive indexing or long-term growth. These firms are not just names on a list; their sheer size means they are the bedrock of the company's valuation.

Here's a snapshot of the top institutional holders, with data primarily reflecting the Q2 and Q3 2025 fiscal year filings:

Notice BlackRock, Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc. on that list. They are often the largest shareholders in any major US company because of their massive index funds. Their holdings are generally long-term and passive, simply tracking the market.

Recent Shifts in Ownership: Buying, Selling, and Family Reorganization

The last few quarters of fiscal year 2025 showed an active churn in institutional positions, which tells you a lot about investor sentiment. While the number of institutions increasing their stake (190 positions) slightly outweighed those decreasing (128 positions), the net change was a slight decrease in total institutional shares (Long) by -2.86% in the most recent quarter.

Here's the quick math on some key moves:

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake by 5.3% in Q1 2025, adding over 344,000 shares.
• BlackRock, Inc. reduced its position by -2.145% in Q2 2025, selling 145,032 shares.
• New positions were initiated by firms like Jane Street Group LLC and Nuveen LLC in Q1 2025, signaling fresh money coming into the stock.

The biggest ownership event in 2025 wasn't a fund, but the Murdoch family trust restructuring in September. This led to a secondary public offering where departing beneficiaries sold approximately 14.2 million shares. This move injects a large block of shares into the market, which can temporarily weigh on the stock price. The company's response was a strategic, authorized $1 billion stock repurchase program to offset potential dilution and support the stock price, a clear signal to the market that management believes the stock is undervalued.

The Impact of Institutional Investors on Strategy

Large institutional investors play two key roles: they provide stability through passive, long-term holdings, and they drive strategic change through activism. News Corporation is a textbook example of the latter, thanks to activist investor Starboard Value LP.

Starboard Value LP, a significant shareholder, has been vocal about the need to unlock value. Their primary strategic demands focus on two areas:

• Eliminate the Dual-Class Share Structure: They argue the current structure, which gives the Murdoch family disproportionate voting control (up to 41%), is 'worst-in-class corporate governance' and contributes to the stock's valuation discount.
• Spin Off Digital Real Estate: They also advocate for spinning off Move Inc., the parent company of Realtor.com, to let the market value the high-growth digital real estate segment separately from the traditional news media assets.

This pressure from Starboard, coupled with the Murdoch family's own internal reorganization, keeps the strategic focus squarely on maximizing shareholder value through asset alignment and capital returns. The company's focus on its core pillars-Dow Jones, Digital Real Estate, and Book Publishing-and its $1 billion buy-back are direct actions influenced by this shareholder scrutiny. For a deeper dive into the company's structure, you can check out News Corporation (NWS): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.

Key Investors and Their Impact on News Corporation (NWS)

If you're looking at News Corporation (NWS), the first thing to understand is that the investor base is a two-tiered system: the long-term, controlling influence of the founding family and the massive, stabilizing presence of institutional giants. This dual structure is what drives the stock's long-term strategy but also creates moments of near-term volatility, especially around corporate governance.

For the 2025 fiscal year, News Corporation delivered strong results, with full-year revenues hitting $8.45 billion and net income from continuing operations surging 71 percent to $648 million. That kind of performance definitely attracts the big money, but the real power lies with the Class B voting shares.

The Controlling Stake: The Lgc Family Trust

The single most important investor is the Lgc Family Trust, which represents the Murdoch family's holdings. This trust holds approximately 33.2% of the company's equity, but crucially, it controls a majority of the Class B common stock, which carries superior voting rights. This means that even with a market capitalization around $16.53 billion, the family maintains ultimate control over strategic decisions, board appointments, and any potential mergers or acquisitions.

Here's the quick math: when one shareholder group controls the voting majority, the institutional investors-even the biggest ones-are essentially passive capital. They can influence the narrative, but they can't force a major change in leadership or strategy. The family's stake is the bedrock of the company's direction.

The Institutional Giants: BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street

Beyond the family, the bulk of the remaining shares are held by institutional investors. As of late 2025, institutional ownership for the Class B stock (NWS) sits around 41.89%, with insiders holding a similar 41.2% (the remaining is public float). These are the funds you know well, often holding the stock for index tracking or long-term value, including:

• The Vanguard Group, Inc.: A top holder, often due to index funds.
• BlackRock, Inc.: Another index and active fund powerhouse.
• State Street Global Advisors, Inc.: A major player in passive investing.

These firms, by virtue of their size, provide liquidity and stability. When BlackRock or Vanguard makes a move, it's usually in the millions of shares. For instance, The Vanguard Group, Inc. was listed with over 59.3 million shares of the Class B stock as of mid-2025, a massive position that makes them a defintely important voice, even if they lack the ultimate voting power of the family's trust.

Recent Moves and Investor Impact

The investor landscape saw two major, recent actions that directly impact shareholders and the stock's future. The first was a resolution to a long-running family dispute in September 2025, which clarified the ownership structure.

• Family Consolidation: The settlement involved 'departing beneficiaries' selling 14.2 million News Corp Class B shares in a public offering, essentially consolidating control under Lachlan Murdoch and removing a source of internal corporate uncertainty.
• Stock Buy-Back: News Corporation announced a significant expansion of its stock repurchase program, authorizing an additional $1 billion in buy-backs for its Class A and Class B common stock. This is a clear, investor-friendly move that signals management believes the stock is undervalued and is a direct action to reduce the share count and boost earnings per share (EPS).

This buy-back is a concrete action that directly benefits shareholders. When a company reduces its outstanding shares, your existing stake represents a larger portion of the ownership. It's a simple way to return capital, especially when the company's Total Segment EBITDA is at a record high of over $1.42 billion for the fiscal year. You can read more about the company's structure and history here: News Corporation (NWS): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money.

Individual funds also made moves in 2025. For example, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake by 22.7% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 40,731 shares, while PAX Financial Group LLC reduced its position by 31.6% in the second quarter. These smaller, active moves show portfolio managers rotating in and out based on short-term valuation and growth outlooks, but the overall picture remains dominated by the two large forces: the family's voting control and the institutional funds' capital base.

Market Impact and Investor Sentiment

You're looking at News Corporation (NWS) after a year of significant financial clarity and a major ownership restructuring, and the takeaway is clear: major shareholders are leaning positive. The company's Fiscal 2025 results, announced in August, provided a strong tailwind, showing that the strategy of focusing on core digital assets is paying off. For the full year, revenues rose 2 percent to $8.45 billion, but the real story was profitability, with net income from continuing operations surging 71 percent to $648 million. That kind of jump gets institutional investors' attention.

The sentiment is backed by action. Institutional ownership sits around 14.63% of the stock, and we saw large players like Vanguard Group Inc. increase their stake to over 6.87 million shares, valued at approximately $208.9 million, in the first quarter of 2025. This isn't just passive buying; it's a vote of confidence in the long-term value of the Digital Real Estate Services, Dow Jones, and Book Publishing segments. Honestly, the numbers speak for themselves.

Recent Market Reactions to Ownership Shifts

The stock market defintely responded to the resolution of the long-standing Murdoch Family Trust (MFT) dispute in September 2025. This was a critical moment for governance. The settlement consolidated voting control under Lachlan Murdoch, with the departing beneficiaries selling approximately 14.2 million News Corporation Class B shares in an underwritten public offering.

The market's reaction was a modest but telling rise in the share price, as it valued the newfound clarity and stability over the temporary share dilution. When you remove the overhang of family litigation, it allows management to focus on core business objectives. More recently, the board's authorization of an additional $1 billion under the 2025 Stock Repurchase Program, announced in November, sent a strong signal to the market that the company believes its stock is undervalued and is committed to enhancing shareholder value.

• Murdoch Family Trust dispute settled, consolidating control.
• Stock buy-back program of $1 billion announced.
• Market reacted positively to governance clarity and capital return.

Analyst Perspectives on Key Investor Impact

Wall Street analysts are generally bullish, with a consensus rating of 'Buy' or 'Strong Buy', and an average price target of $38.28 as of late summer 2025. They see the consolidated control under Lachlan Murdoch's LGC Holdco-which owns about 33.1% of the Class B shares-as a stabilising factor. The key investors, whether institutional or the controlling family trust, are now aligned around the company's three growth pillars, which is what analysts are watching.

What this estimate hides is the potential for an activist investor like Starboard Value, who has previously pushed for the sale of the digital real estate assets and a change to the dual-class stock structure, to continue to press for changes. Still, the current analyst focus is on the operational execution in the Dow Jones professional information business and the recovery of the U.S. and Australian housing markets driving Digital Real Estate Services revenue. You can read more about the company's long-term focus here: Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of News Corporation (NWS).

Here's the quick math on the operational strength that's driving this positive sentiment:

The strong performance in Total Segment EBITDA, which hit $1.42 billion for Fiscal 2025, is a major factor in the analyst confidence. It shows a highly profitable core business, even with the News Media segment facing headwinds. The next step is to watch the Q1 2026 earnings for signs that Dow Jones' professional information business and the Digital Real Estate segment can sustain their growth momentum.