Dow Jones & Co. CEO Almar Latour sent out the following on Thursday:
Colleagues,
We’re pleased to share that in the second quarter of FY25, Dow Jones had a strong performance, driven by our core businesses.
Here are some key takeaways from our Q2 results, which were reported by News Corp last night:
- Dow Jones EBITDA was $174 million, driving margins to 29%, a one point increase versus last year.
- Dow Jones achieved record revenues for the quarter, increasing 3% to $600 million, with digital revenue accounting for 81% of the total, a three percentage point uptick over last year.
- Dow Jones Risk & Compliance revenue increased 11% compared to a year earlier, led by continued growth from our data and service products.
- Dow Jones Energy revenue increased 10% compared to last year, driven by strong retention rates and a slew of new products.
Dow Jones digital circulation revenue grew at its fastest pace in two years, with digital subscriptions volume growing 13% year-over-year.- Digital advertising was flat for the quarter with total advertising down 4% driven by declines in print over the last year. Digital represented 64% of advertising revenues, a two percentage point increase versus last year.
In addition, Investor’s Business Daily hit 241k average subscriptions in Q2, an all-time high, and nearly double what it was when we acquired it four years ago–a testament to how new additions to our company can thrive with the right investment and leadership. Indeed, MarketSurge, a premium market research tool by IBD and our highest-ARPU consumer product, grew an impressive 12% year-over-year.
The second quarter also marked an acceleration of our digital transformation: We infused GenAI and more advanced technologies into our products and services at a faster pace than ever before. Highlights from the quarter include Factiva Smart Summary, Dow Jones Korean Language Service and our partnership with Yomiuri Shimbun. Dow Jones also continued to expand through acquisitions during the quarter, with the addition of WorldECR, deepening our expertise and product offerings for compliance professionals, particularly important at this moment.
With change all around us–in geopolitics, technology and the global economy–our value to our customers has never been greater. They rely on you to offer them trusted news and information to help them navigate the beginning of a new era.
Dow Jones itself will also lean into many of those changes. We must continue to embrace new technology as well as changing user habits. We must adapt at a fast pace to maintain our current strong position in our sector. Our focus on our core businesses will continue.
We will discuss our Q2 results and our continued drive for change at our next Global All-Hands on February 19 from our Barcelona office. You can see News Corp’s full earnings report and comments from News Corp Chief Executive Robert Thomson here.
As always, thank you for all you do for our company and our customers.
See you in the hallways,
Almar
