Fox earnings surge on World Cup ads and Tubi growth

Fox earnings beat expectations on November 2, when Fox Corporation reported total quarterly revenue of $4.57 billion for the three months ended September 30, according to the company's earnings release. Revenue rose 22% from the prior-year quarter, an increase of $833 million, and the company reported net income of $957 million, up from $609 million a year earlier.

Earnings per share were $2.20, compared with $1.32 in the prior-year quarter, while adjusted earnings per share reached $2.54, up from $1.51 a year earlier, the release said. Adjusted EBITDA was $1.64 billion, a rise of 54% from the prior-year quarter, as higher revenue outweighed higher expenses.

Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer Lachlan Murdoch described an outstanding start to fiscal 2027 in the release, citing record revenue and Adjusted EBITDA supported by growth in advertising and distribution revenue. The company said the quarter included the FIFA Men's World Cup, the start of the college football and NFL seasons, and an active election cycle at national and local levels.

Advertising drove the quarter

Advertising revenue rose 47% for the group, driven by World Cup coverage, midterm political spending, and growth at Tubi, according to TheWrap's report on the results. Cable network programming revenue reached $1.8 billion, with distribution revenue higher on contract price increases and subscriber growth, while cable advertising rose on higher sports advertising, partly offset by lower digital news advertising.

Television revenue reached $2.71 billion, a rise of 32% from a year earlier. Television advertising increased 60%, helped by the World Cup, higher political advertising in a midterm year, and continued digital growth led by Tubi, while distribution revenue also increased on higher average rates and subscriber numbers at Fox-owned stations. Expenses in the segment rose on programming rights and production costs for World Cup broadcasts, partly offset by lower NFL costs, TheWrap reported.

Analysts had expected revenue of $4.29 billion and earnings per share of $2.02, according to Yahoo Finance figures cited by TheWrap, so the reported revenue and earnings per share both came in above those estimates. In the previous quarter, Fox reported revenue of $4.21 billion, up more than 18% from a year earlier, TheWrap reported.

Streaming and the Roku deal

Tubi revenue grew 35% from a year earlier, and total view time increased 23%, according to TheWrap. Engagement was driven by library viewing, World Cup viewing, original programming, and content from more than 600 creators. The NFL Thanksgiving Day game will stream live on Tubi, and midterm advertising is expected to keep supporting the service. Fox One, the company's streaming offering, also beat internal expectations for users and engagement, Murdoch said on the earnings call, with subscriber acquisitions in September up 20% compared with the start of the previous football season.

Fox also updated investors on the proposed acquisition of Roku, valued at twenty-two billion dollars, which secured shareholder approval in mid-October. Murdoch has previously said the goal is to pair Fox's live sports and news content with Roku's streaming distribution and technology platform. Tubi has 110 million monthly active users, and Roku has more than 100 million streaming households, according to TheWrap. On the earnings call, Murdoch said the company's conviction in the deal has only grown, and that Fox has received all required Fox and Roku shareholder approvals and foreign regulatory approvals, while continuing to work with the United States Department of Justice on clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino process.

If regulators approve the Roku purchase, Fox would combine Tubi, a free service supported by advertising, with Roku's device and platform reach, giving advertisers a larger audience for live sport and news. Fox has described Tubi and Roku together as a pairing of content and distribution, rather than a move into subscription streaming, and the company has said the transaction remains subject to clearance in the United States.

Midterm years typically bring heavy political spending on television, and the quarter captured the early part of that cycle alongside the closing stages of the World Cup, which took place during the summer. That combination gave Fox two large advertising events in a single quarter, a pattern that will not repeat in the next reporting period, when the company will rely more on regular sports and entertainment schedules.

The results matter for viewers because advertising demand around live sport and election coverage is now carrying a large part of Fox's revenue, and the pending Roku deal would put Tubi alongside a much larger streaming platform if regulators clear it. Fox said on the call that it would not answer questions about the deal, and that it expects to close the transaction as soon as clearance is obtained. Investors will watch the next quarter for whether political advertising holds up after the midterms, and whether higher sports rights costs continue to eat into the gains from advertising growth. Coverage of markets and media deals continues on the Business pages, alongside the latest updates on GenZ NewZ.