Dow Jones & Company
American financial information and news publishing company best known for The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones financial data products. Dow Jones is a combination of the names of business partners Charles Dow and Edward Jones; Dow Jones & Company was founded in 1882 and eventually became a subsidiary of News Corp.
Last updated October 13, 2026
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Overview
Dow Jones & Company is an American financial information, business news, and publishing company owned by News Corp. Its principal consumer brands include The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch, Mansion Global, Financial News, and Private Equity News. It also supplies enterprise customers with real-time news, financial databases, risk and compliance information, market intelligence, and specialist data products. The company was founded in New York in 1882 by journalists Charles Dow, Edward Jones, and Charles Bergstresser. Their original work helped make complex financial developments more accessible to a broad readership. The company's founding identity is closely associated with three enduring activities: business journalism, real-time financial news, and the collection and publication of market statistics. The Wall Street Journal began publication in 1889 and became Dow Jones's flagship newspaper and the principal expression of its editorial brand. After Charles Dow's death, financial journalist Clarence Barron acquired the company in 1902. Following Barron's death in 1928, control passed to his stepdaughter Jane Bancroft and remained substantially with the Bancroft family and related heirs for decades. This ownership structure became central to the company's history because the family retained significant voting control even as Dow Jones expanded its publishing and information businesses. In 2007, News Corporation, led by Rupert Murdoch, completed the acquisition of Dow Jones after an extended public takeover contest. The transaction brought The Wall Street Journal and other Dow Jones assets into News Corp and ended more than a century of effective Bancroft-family control. Dow Jones subsequently operated as a News Corp subsidiary, with a strategy combining premium journalism, digital subscriptions, professional information services, and specialist business publications. Dow Jones historically published and administered the Dow Jones Industrial Average and related indexes. That relationship changed during the 2010s. In 2010, News Corp sold a majority interest in the Dow Jones index business to CME Group. The index assets were later contributed to the S&P Dow Jones Indices joint venture, and CME Group acquired Dow Jones's remaining interest in 2013. Dow Jones therefore no longer owns or controls the market indexes that carry its historical name, although those indexes remain closely associated with its corporate heritage. The company's current scope is divided broadly between consumer media and enterprise media. Consumer operations include newspapers, magazines, digital news sites, newsletters, video, podcasts, and subscription products. Enterprise operations serve financial institutions, corporations, government users, and professional researchers through products such as Dow Jones Newswires, Factiva, Risk & Compliance, FX Select, VentureSource, and specialist private-equity intelligence. The business also licenses content and supplies news to external media partners. Dow Jones has continued to experiment with digital formats and partnerships. It launched the personal-finance and lifestyle site Moneyish in 2017, entered a joint venture with Japan's NewsPicks in the same year, and has operated or retired several digital video and specialist publishing initiatives over time. Its present positioning is that of a premium, trusted provider of business journalism and actionable financial information, spanning individual readers, professional investors, corporate decision-makers, and institutions.
History
Dow Jones & Company emerged in 1882 from the work of three reporters, Charles Dow, Edward Jones, and Charles Bergstresser. The founders specialized in explaining financial developments and distributing market information, helping establish a model in which business reporting served both professional market participants and the wider public. The company later became associated with Thomas F. Woodlock, who shared control during its early development. The Wall Street Journal was launched on July 8, 1889. It became the company's defining publication and developed a reputation for detailed reporting on companies, markets, economics, and public policy. Alongside the newspaper, Dow Jones built a broader information franchise that included market statistics, newswires, specialist publications, and services for financial professionals. After Charles Dow died, Clarence Barron acquired Dow Jones in 1902. Barron was an influential financial journalist and expanded the company's editorial and commercial importance. When Barron died in 1928, control passed to his stepdaughter Jane Bancroft. The Bancroft family and associated heirs retained effective control for approximately a century, including through a dual-class voting structure that gave substantial influence to family-held shares. Dow Jones's historical role in market statistics became especially visible through the Dow Jones Industrial Average, created in the company's early period and subsequently developed alongside other Dow Jones averages and indexes. These products reinforced the company's name as a reference point for financial markets, even though the publishing and index businesses eventually separated. The ownership structure became the subject of a major public contest in 2007. News Corporation made an unsolicited offer for Dow Jones, while other investors and potential bidders explored alternatives. News Corporation's offer was ultimately accepted, and the acquisition was completed in December 2007. Dow Jones became a subsidiary of News Corp, bringing The Wall Street Journal into Rupert Murdoch's global media group. Following the acquisition, the company pursued a broader digital and enterprise strategy. It continued developing paid digital journalism around The Wall Street Journal and expanded professional products serving banks, asset managers, corporations, regulators, and researchers. Dow Jones Newswires and Factiva became important parts of its enterprise portfolio, while risk, compliance, foreign-exchange, venture-capital, and private-equity products extended the business beyond conventional newspaper publishing. The index business was separated from Dow Jones during the 2010s. CME Group purchased a 90 percent interest in 2010. In 2012, Dow Jones and CME Group contributed the index assets to the S&P Dow Jones Indices joint venture with S&P. CME later bought Dow Jones's remaining interest in 2013. This removed Dow Jones from ownership of its namesake index operation while leaving the historical association intact. Dow Jones also experimented with new audiences and formats. Its initiatives included FINS.com, digital video through WSJ Live, the opinion and news site Heat Street, Moneyish, and a 2017 joint venture with NewsPicks for an English-language business-news platform in the United States. Some of these projects were later closed, folded into other properties, sold, or discontinued. The company also supplied content to external broadcasters and operated radio programming, although its Wall Street Journal Radio Network was shut down in 2014. Leadership changed in 2020 when William Lewis stepped down after nearly six years as chief executive and Almar Latour assumed the role. In 2021, Dow Jones acquired OPIS and Base Chemicals from IHS Markit, strengthening its position in specialist commodities and chemicals information. Today, Dow Jones operates as an international News Corp subsidiary centered on premium journalism, subscription media, real-time news, financial research, and decision-support information.
- 2021
OPIS and Base Chemicals acquired
[1]Dow Jones acquires specialist information businesses from IHS Markit.
- 2017
NewsPicks USA joint venture launches
[1]Dow Jones and NewsPicks establish a U.S. business-news platform combining journalism with professional social features.
- 2013
CME Group acquires Dow Jones's remaining index interest
[1]CME Group purchases Dow Jones's residual interest, ending Dow Jones's ownership involvement in the namesake index business.
- 2012
Dow Jones indexes enter the S&P Dow Jones Indices joint venture
[1]Dow Jones and CME Group contribute the index assets to a joint venture with S&P. Dow Jones and CME Group contribute the index assets to a joint venture with S&P; S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC produces, maintains, licenses, and markets indices including the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Transportation Average, Utility Average, Global Indexes, Composite Average, and Global Titans 50.
- 2010
Majority of index business sold to CME Group
[1]CME Group acquires a 90 percent stake in the Dow Jones index business.
- 2007
News Corporation acquires Dow Jones
[1]News Corporation completes the approximately five-billion-dollar takeover after a prolonged ownership contest.
- 2005
Industry Classification Benchmark launched
[1]Dow Jones and FTSE introduce the Industry Classification Benchmark for organizing companies and markets into sectors.
- 1999
Dow Jones Sustainability Indices launched
[3]The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) are launched as a family of indices evaluating the sustainability performance of thousands of companies.
- 1928
Control passes to Jane Bancroft
[1]After Barron's death, ownership passes to his stepdaughter and subsequently remains with the Bancroft family for decades.
- 1902
Clarence Barron acquires the company
[1]Financial journalist Clarence Barron takes control following Charles Dow's death.
Products and positioning
Premium business journalism and professional financial-information provider combining trusted editorial brands with specialized data, news, research, and workflow products.
Consumer news media · 1889
The Wall Street Journal
Dow Jones's flagship business newspaper, launched in 1889, covers corporate affairs, financial markets, economics, national and international policy, and influential institutions. It operates in print and digital formats and has editions or products serving readers in multiple languages and markets. The Journal is a central subscription and editorial asset for the company and has received numerous Pulitzer Prizes.
Financial magazine and digital media
Barron's
Barron's is a financial publication focused on markets, investing, companies, economic developments, and portfolio-related analysis. It complements The Wall Street Journal with a more investment-oriented editorial proposition and is distributed through print, digital, and subscription products.
Digital financial news
MarketWatch
MarketWatch provides online financial news, market coverage, personal-finance material, commentary, charts, screeners, and research tools. It serves individual investors and general business readers and has also absorbed or incorporated selected digital initiatives developed elsewhere within Dow Jones.
Real-time financial news · 1882
Dow Jones Newswires
Dow Jones Newswires is the company's real-time financial news operation. It distributes market-moving reporting and analysis to professional users such as brokers, traders, analysts, fund managers, financial institutions, and public officials through licensed and workflow-oriented channels.
Business information database
Dow Jones Factiva
Factiva is a research and decision-support database that brings together company, industry, market, and news information. Its functionality includes search, alerts, newsletters, charts, and other tools intended to support corporate research, competitive intelligence, due diligence, and professional analysis.
Risk and compliance information
Dow Jones Risk & Compliance
This enterprise product supplies information and screening capabilities for anti-corruption, anti-money-laundering, sanctions, payments, regulatory compliance, corporate governance, and related risk-management work. It is designed for organizations that need structured information to evaluate counterparties and manage regulatory exposure.
Energy and commodities information
OPIS
OPIS is a specialist information business focused on energy and commodity markets. Its addition strengthened Dow Jones's portfolio of pricing, market intelligence, and sector-specific information products for professional customers.
Market indexes · 1896
Dow Jones indexes
Dow Jones historically created, published, or supported a family of market averages and indexes, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Transportation Average, Utility Average, Composite Average, and various global, sustainability, commodity, and target-date indexes. Ownership of the index business was transferred to CME Group and related joint-venture structures during the 2010s. Since 2012, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC — a joint venture between S&P Global, the CME Group, and News Corp — produces, maintains, licenses, and markets stock market indices, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Dow Jones Transportation Average, Dow Jones Utility Average, Dow Jones Global Indexes, Dow Jones Composite Average, and Dow Jones Global Titans 50. The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), launched in 1999, evaluate the sustainability performance of thousands of companies.
Controversies
2007
Insider-trading allegations during the News Corp takeover
During the takeover contest, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that Sir David Li had passed information about the proposed News Corporation transaction to an associate. The associate allegedly relayed the information to family members who traded before the announcement and made a substantial profit.
Marketing campaigns
- 2017Moneyish launch
United States
Dow Jones launched Moneyish as a digital publication combining personal-finance and lifestyle coverage, with an editorial approach intended to reach younger audiences. The initiative was later discontinued as a standalone Dow Jones property.
Outcome. The initiative was later discontinued as a standalone Dow Jones property.
Brand decisions
2021
Acquire OPIS and Base ChemicalsM&ABackground
Dow Jones pursued expansion in specialist commodities and chemicals information through the acquisition of businesses from IHS Markit.
Action taken
Dow Jones acquired OPIS and Base Chemicals.
Aftermath
The transaction broadened Dow Jones's enterprise information portfolio in energy, commodities, and chemicals.
Reported transaction value. US$1.4 billion (2021)
2017
Create NewsPicks USA joint ventureM&ABackground
Dow Jones and NewsPicks sought to build an English-language business-news platform for U.S. users by combining licensed journalism with social and professional commentary.
Action taken
The companies established NewsPicks USA, which launched its U.S. platform in November 2017.
Aftermath
The joint venture was dissolved in 2018, with NewsPicks retaining full ownership of the platform.
2010
Separate the index business from Dow JonesM&ABackground
News Corp sought to reposition Dow Jones around financial journalism and information products while transferring ownership of the market-index operation.
Action taken
A 90 percent interest in the index business was sold to CME Group.
Aftermath
The index assets later entered the S&P Dow Jones Indices joint venture, and Dow Jones exited the business completely in 2013.
Consideration for 90 percent stake. US$607.5 million (2010)
2007
Accept News Corporation's acquisition offerM&ABackground
News Corporation made an unsolicited offer during a prolonged contest over the future ownership of Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal.
Action taken
Dow Jones accepted the approximately five-billion-dollar transaction, which was completed in December 2007.
Aftermath
Dow Jones became a News Corp subsidiary and the Bancroft family's effective control ended.
Transaction value. Approximately US$5 billion (2007)
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Dow Jones hires Vincent Bahk as Head of Brand and Experiences[4]
Reported:
Dow Jones has hired Vincent Bahk to serve as Head of Brand and Experiences.
Equiti, Acuity Trading and Dow Jones form a three-way partnership[5]
Reported:
Equiti Group signed a three-way partnership with Acuity Trading and Dow Jones to provide Equiti clients with Dow Jones news and Acuity's AI news analytics technology.
China Finance Online signs partnership agreement with Dow Jones[6]
Reported:
China Finance Online announced that it signed a partnership agreement with Dow Jones. The agreement provides for Dow Jones to supply its global business news and data for the Chinese market.
PressReader and Dow Jones sign licensing agreement[7]
Reported:
PressReader announced a new licensing agreement with Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal. Under the agreement, the U.S. digital edition of The Wall Street Journal will be available to PressReader users outside the United States through PressReader.com and its apps.
Sources7 sources
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