Fox tops Q1 profit and revenue estimates on World Cup ads
Fox earned $2.54 per share on $4.57 billion of revenue in its fiscal first quarter, topping the $2.13 consensus estimate compiled by Finnhub. Revenue also beat the $4.4 billion estimate.
Key takeaways
- Fox Corp (FOXA) reported fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.54 per share and revenue of $4.57 billion, up 22% from a year earlier. Adjusted EPS topped the $2.13 consensus estimate compiled by Finnhub, and revenue topped the $4.4 billion estimate. Advertising rose 47%, mainly on the FIFA World Cup broadcast.
Fox (FOXA) topped profit and revenue estimates for its fiscal first quarter, helped by advertising tied to the FIFA Men’s World Cup. The company said in its results release on Nov. 2 that adjusted earnings were $2.54 per share, against the $2.13 consensus estimate compiled by Finnhub.
Shares were little changed in regular trading as of 3:59 p.m. ET, from a regular-session close of $63.24.
Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was $4.57 billion, up $833 million, or 22%, from a year earlier. That was above the $4.4 billion estimate compiled by Finnhub.
Here’s how the company did:
- Adjusted EPS: $2.54 per share vs. $1.51 a year earlier, and $2.13 expected, according to Finnhub
- Revenue: $4.57 billion vs. $3.74 billion a year earlier, and $4.4 billion expected, according to Finnhub
Net income attributable to Fox Corporation stockholders was $943 million, or $2.20 per share, compared with $599 million, or $1.32 per share, a year earlier.
Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer Lachlan Murdoch said the company has had “an outstanding start to fiscal 2027,” citing first-quarter records for revenue and Adjusted EBITDA.
Segment results
Television revenue rose 32% to $2.71 billion. Advertising revenue at the segment climbed 60% to $1.71 billion, primarily due to the World Cup broadcast and higher political advertising.
Distribution revenue at Cable Network Programming rose 10%, and segment revenue reached $1.80 billion. Cable segment EBITDA was $859 million, up 7% from a year earlier.
Television segment EBITDA, a measure of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, was $934 million, up 134% from $399 million a year earlier.
Costs and cash
Expenses rose, mainly on higher sports programming rights amortization and production costs led by the World Cup broadcast. Higher digital content costs also added to the total.
Adjusted EBITDA was $1.64 billion, an increase of $576 million, or 54%, from a year earlier.
Net cash from operating activities was $616 million, compared with net cash used of $130 million a year earlier. Cash and cash equivalents were $4.54 billion at Sept. 30, up from $4.21 billion at June 30.