Q4 Earnings Outperformers: News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) And The Rest Of The Consumer Discretionary

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Wrapping up Q4 earnings, this article examines the numbers and key takeaways for the consumer discretionary - media stocks, including News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) and its peers. The Consumer Discretionary sector faces structural challenges due to its hit-driven nature and fickle customers, but tailwinds like growing digital advertising and content licensing opportunities provide opportunities. The 6 consumer discretionary - media stocks covered reported satisfactory Q4 results, with revenues beating analysts' consensus estimates by 47.8% on average, though share prices have declined 5.1% since the latest earnings.

Why it matters

The consumer discretionary media sector is inherently volatile, with low switching costs and fickle customers. Only a handful of companies can reliably grow demand and compound earnings over the long term. Understanding the performance and dynamics of this sector is crucial for investors looking to identify sustainable, high-quality media businesses.

The details

News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) reported revenues of $2.36 billion, up 5.5% year-over-year and exceeding analysts' expectations by 3%. Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) reported revenues of $1.84 billion, up 10.4% and outperforming analysts by 4.1%. The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) reported revenues of $802.3 million, up 10.4% but missing analysts' EBITDA estimates. Disney (NYSE:DIS) reported revenues of $25.98 billion, up 5.2% and beating expectations by 0.8%. fuboTV (NYSE:FUBO) reported revenues of $1.55 billion, up 249% and topping analysts' estimates by 279%, though it missed on EPS.

• The Q4 earnings results were reported in February 2026.