Fox Corp. beat Wall Street analysts’ consensus forecast in its fiscal first quarter of 2025, with results driven by a swell of political ad spending along and strength in live sports.
Total revenue in the quarter ended September 30 climbed 11% from the year-earlier period, hitting $3.56 billion. Adjusted net income zoomed to $1.45 per share, up from $1.09 in the year-ago quarter.
Fox shares gained 5% in pre-market trading after the quarterly report.
Advertising revenue increased 11%, with the company crediting a surge in political ads at its local TV stations, along with continued growth at Tubi, higher ratings and higher direct response pricing at Fox News Media. Another plus was Fox Sports’ coverage of two major soccer tournaments: the UEFA European Championship and CONMEBOL Copa América. Those two events helped the quarter overcome the absence in the current-year period of the Women’s World Cup, which lifted the fiscal 2024 period.
The revenue line identified as “Other” jumped 47%, with the company citing higher sports sublicensing revenue at itd national sports networks.
Wall Street analysts had called for total quarterly revenue of $3.37 billion and earnings of $1.15 per share.
Cable Network Programming was the best-performing division, with revenue up 15% to $1.6 billion and EBITDA rising 23% to $748 million. The gains came despite net subscriber declines, which the company said offset increases in advertising and affiliate fees.
Like its traditional media peers, Fox has been under pressure on the advertising front due to cord-cutting’s impact on linear pay-TV subscriber levels, but its news and sports holdings lessen the vulnerability. The October-to-December quarter should benefit from the end of the election cycle as well as telecasts of college football and NFL, along with baseball’s World Series. The New York Yankees-Los Angeles Dodgers matchup drew the best Series ratings since 2017.
Fox’s annual shareholder meeting is scheduled for Nov. 19. The company has been drawn into intrigue in a Nevada courtroom in recent weeks. Rupert Murdoch, 93, who built Fox and corporate sibling News Corp., has attempted to alter a trust created in 1999 and give control of the media companies to his son, Lachlan, who is currently CEO of Fox. Corp. According to the trust, all four Murdoch children, including Lachlan, would have a say in the direction of the companies. A probate judge presided over a closed-door hearing in September, with his ruling in the matter still forthcoming.