Fox's Advertising Revenue Explodes As World Cup and Election Spending Deliver Windfall

Fox Corp. (NASDAQ:FOX) (NASDAQ:FOXA) stock rose Monday after the media company reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter 2027 results, driven by strong sports programming, political advertising and streaming growth.

Revenue rose 22% year over year to $4.57 billion, beating Wall Street’s estimate of $4.31 billion.

Adjusted earnings increased to $2.54 per share from $1.51 a year earlier, topping the analyst estimate of $2.08.

Adjusted net income climbed to $1.09 billion from $686 million.

Sports, Political Advertising Fuel Growth

Distribution revenue rose 9% to $2.08 billion, while advertising revenue jumped 47% to $2.08 billion, supported by the FIFA Men’s World Cup, political advertising and digital growth.

The World Cup and election-related spending delivered a major advertising windfall for Fox, helping drive a $669 million year-over-year increase in advertising revenue. The surge helped lift quarterly revenue to a record $4.57 billion.

Content and other revenue slipped to $406 million from $411 million.

Executive Chair and CEO Lachlan Murdoch credited the World Cup, NFL, college football and political advertising for the strong quarter.

Political advertising exceeded $350 million, while Tubi revenue increased 35% and total viewing time grew 23%.

Murdoch said Tubi’s younger audience, many of whom do not subscribe to traditional cable, continues to attract advertisers.

Fox One Gains Subscribers As Roku Deal Advances

Murdoch said Fox One exceeded expectations, with September subscriber acquisitions rising more than 30% from the start of the previous football season.

About 97% of new subscribers do not have cable subscriptions, helping offset declines in traditional television customers.

Fox also remains focused on its pending Roku acquisition. The company has secured shareholder and foreign regulatory approvals and is awaiting U.S. antitrust clearance.

Murdoch expects Tubi to eventually achieve margins of about 20%.

Cash Position and Buybacks

Fox generated $616 million in operating cash flow and ended the quarter with $4.54 billion in cash and equivalents.

CFO Steve Tomczyk said the company expects to resume share repurchases in the current quarter after temporarily pausing buybacks.

However, higher sports programming and production costs remain a challenge. Murdoch also acknowledged viewer fatigue at Fox News following unusually strong prior-year news cycles.

Fox plans to evaluate rights for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups with financial discipline.

FOX Price Action

FOX Price Action: Fox shares were trading up 2.17% at $64.61 at the time of publication on Monday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

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