Fox Corporation surpassed profit expectations in the second quarter of the fiscal year, benefiting from a significant rise in advertising revenue from its news network and sports broadcasts.
Total revenue reached $5.18 billion, reflecting a 2% increase from the previous year. This growth was primarily driven by increases in news and sports advertising, which contributed to a 1% overall rise in ad revenue and a notable 7% boost in cable advertising.
The company’s free ad-supported streaming service, Tubi, had a remarkable quarterly growth of 19%. It has remained profitable for two consecutive quarters.
During this quarter, Fox also strengthened its financial position by repurchasing $1.8 billion in stock as part of its ongoing capital return strategy.
This stock buyback initiative has brought Fox’s total repurchases since 2019 to $8.4 billion, which is about 35% of its outstanding shares, including $1.5 billion from accelerated buybacks.
Fox Corporation’s Executive Chairman and CEO, Lachlan Murdoch, expressed satisfaction with the company’s strong performance during the quarter, which bolstered its balance sheet.
“The advertising market for Fox News is incredibly strong,” he shared with investors.
“In the past six months alone, we’ve added around 200 new advertisers—more than the 350 added last year. Clearly, there’s high demand for our content and audience.”
According to Murdoch, FOX News achieved the top 11 spots in cable news programming, finishing the quarter as the most-watched cable network for total daily viewership.
Fox News currently holds a substantial lead over competitors like MS NOW and CNN. In certain regions, it even outperforms traditional networks such as CBS, ABC, and NBC, based on Nielsen statistics.
Much of Fox News’ growth in advertisers can be attributed to “scatter pricing,” which reflects a sharp rise in fees for commercial spots purchased after the usual buying season ends.
Murdoch indicated that the Fox News Channel’s varied pricing has escalated by “an astounding 46% or 47%.”
“I couldn’t be happier with Fox News’ advertising sales,” he communicated to investors during the earnings call.
Murdoch also noted Tubi’s 27% increase in viewer hours year-over-year, marking its most streamed quarter to date.
Strong ratings on Fox Television during this quarter were largely fueled by extensive live sports coverage, which continues to draw advertisers looking for unmatched real-time audiences.
Major events, such as Game 7 of the World Series, attracted over 27 million viewers, while the NFC Championship game saw 46 million tune in to watch the Seattle Seahawks’ victory over the Los Angeles Rams, making it one of the year’s biggest broadcasts.
This momentum supports Fox’s broader scheduling strategy and enhances ratings across the network, reaffirming the crucial role live sports play in its performance.
However, despite these encouraging results and steady revenue growth, Fox’s stock faced pressure after the earnings report as investors noted a significant drop in net income and profit margins.
Net income fell to $229 million from $373 million in the same quarter last year, while adjusted EBITDA also decreased, reflecting costs that outstripped the company’s peak profits.
Factors contributing to this pressure included higher costs associated with sports programming rights, production, and increased spending on digital and marketing efforts.
As a result, Fox’s stock dropped nearly 4% on Wednesday, trading around $61 per share before the market closed. Still, the stock has increased nearly 25% over the past year.
Fox Corp operates alongside News Corp, which is the parent company of The Post.
