Dow Jones & Company, Inc. (also known simply as Dow Jones) is an American publishing firm owned by News Corp, and led by CEO Almar Latour.[4] The company publishes The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch, Mansion Global, Financial News and Private Equity News.
The company is best known for its historical publication of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and related market statistics. It published the DJIA from 1882 until 2010, when News Corp then sold 90% ownership of the Dow Jones stock market indices business to CME Group; News Corp sold CME its remaining 10% in 2013.
History
The company was founded in 1882 by three reporters: Charles Dow, Edward Jones, and Charles Bergstresser. Charles Dow was widely known for his ability to break down and convey what was often considered very convoluted financial information and news to the general public – this is one of the reasons why Dow Jones & Company is well known for their publications and transferring of important and sometimes difficult to understand financial information to people across the globe. Nevertheless, the three reporters were joined in control of the organization by Thomas F. Woodlock.[5]
Dow Jones was acquired in 1902 by Clarence Barron, the leading financial journalist of the day, after the death of co-founder Charles Dow. Upon Barron's death in 1928, control of the company passed to his stepdaughter, Jane Bancroft. The company was led by the Bancroft family, which effectively controlled 64% of all voting stock, until 2007 when an extended takeover battle saw News Corporation acquire the business. The company then became a subsidiary of News Corporation.[6] It was reported on August 1, 2007, that the bid had been successful after an extended period of uncertainty about shareholder agreement, with the transaction finalized on December 13, 2007.[7][8][9] It was worth US$5 billion or $60 a share, giving News Corp control of The Wall Street Journal and ending the Bancroft family's 105 years of ownership.[10]
Dow Jones was the original publisher of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, in addition to a number of other financial statistics and publications. In 2010, the Dow Jones Indexes subsidiary was sold to the CME Group and the company focused on financial news publications, including its flagship publication The Wall Street Journal and providing financial news and information tools to financial companies.[11]
In 2005, together with FTSE, Dow Jones launched the Industry Classification Benchmark, a taxonomy used to segregate markets into sectors.
In April 2020, Dow Jones CEO William Lewis announced he would be stepping down from his position after nearly six years in the role.[12]
On May 7, 2020 News Corp announced that Almar Latour would assume the CEO role on May 15, 2020.[13]
In 2021, Dow Jones acquired OPIS and Base Chemicals from IHS Markit for $1.4 billion dollars.[14][15]
Products
Consumer media
Its flagship publication, The Wall Street Journal, is a daily newspaper in print and online covering business, financial national and international news and issues around the globe. It began publishing on July 8, 1889. There are 12 versions of the Journal in nine languages, including English, Chinese, Japanese, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Malay, Turkish and Korean. The Journal has won 35 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism.[16]
Other consumer-oriented publications of Dow Jones include Barron's Magazine, a weekly overview of the world economy and markets, MarketWatch, an online financial news site, and Investor's Business Daily, a newspaper and website covering the stock market, international business, finance and economics. Financial News[17] provides news on investment banking, securities, and asset management. BigCharts,
Ownership
The company's foundation was laid by Charles Dow, Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser who, over two decades, conceived and promoted the three products which define Dow Jones and financial journalism: The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones Newswires and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.[38]
Dow Jones was acquired in 1902 by the leading financial journalist of the day, Clarence Barron.[38]
In 2007, Dow Jones was acquired by News Corp., a leading global media company.[38]
The Bancroft family and heirs of Clarence W. Barron effectively controlled the company's class B shares, each with a voting power of ten regular shares, prior to its sale to News Corp. At one time, they controlled 64% of Dow Jones voting stock.[39]
Currently, Dow Jones is owned by Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corp and several other major media companies.
Corporate governance
Prior to its sale to News Corp, the last members of the board of directors of the company were Christopher Bancroft, Lewis B. Campbell, Michael Elefante, John Engler, Harvey Golub, Leslie Hill, Irvine Hockaday, Peter Kann, David Li, M. Peter McPherson (chairman), Frank Newman, James Ottaway, Elizabeth Steele, and William Steere.
See also
- Closing milestones of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
- List of assets owned by Dow Jones
External links
- Dow Jones corporate history
- Dow Jones Indexes corporate site..
- Dow Jones Stock Indexes averages research site
- Dow Jones Indexes video on indexing using Latin America as an example
- Yahoo! Finance – Dow Jones & Company, Inc. Company Profile
- Overview of company history "Dow Jones Saga Reflects The Forces That Shaped The Wall Street Journal"
References
- Leadership – executives, officers, senior management Dow Jones, retrieved June 14, 2013^
- News Corp Announces Changes at Dow Jones & Company Business Wire, January 21, 2014, retrieved January 21, 2014^
- SEC Filing retrieved 15 August 2019^