What happened
Shares of media giant News Corp. (NWS -1.54%) (NWSA -1.43%) jumped sharply on Friday. Both tickers were up about 13% as of 1:05 p.m. EDT.
The stock's gain follows the company's better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter bottom line.
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So what
News Corp.'s fiscal third-quarter revenue fell 8% year over year to $2.27 billion. While this was below analysts' average forecast for $2.31 billion, the company's non-GAAP (adjusted) profit per share of $0.03 was slightly better than analysts were expecting.
CEO Robert Thomson said the quarterly results "demonstrate the strength of News Corp and the power of our premium content." The chief executive noted that the company boasts $1.4 billion in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet and an untapped $750 million revolving credit facility to help the company through any negative impacts from COVID-19.
Now what
Management said it expected the pandemic to negatively affect its current quarter, but it noted that cost-cutting initiatives, including chairman Rupert Murdoch's decision to forgo his entire cash bonus for the current fiscal year and Thomson's decision to only take 25% of his fiscal-year cash bonus, will help profitability and the company's cash position.
