Fox Corp. (NASDAQ:FOX) (NASDAQ:FOXA) stock rose Monday after the media giant reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter 2027 results, fueled by a potent mix of sports, political advertising, and streaming growth.
Revenue jumped 22% year over year to $4.57 billion, easily topping Wall Street's estimate of $4.31 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.54, up from $1.51 a year earlier and well ahead of the $2.08 analysts expected. Adjusted net income climbed to $1.09 billion from $686 million.
Sports and Politics: The Perfect Advertising Storm
Distribution revenue rose 9% to $2.08 billion, while advertising revenue stole the show with a 47% surge to $2.08 billion. The FIFA Men's World Cup and election-related spending delivered a $669 million year-over-year increase in advertising revenue, helping 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 alone exceeded $350 million, while Tubi revenue increased 35% and total viewing time grew 23%.
Murdoch noted that Tubi's younger audience, many of whom don't subscribe to traditional cable, continues to attract advertisers.
Fox One Gains Traction 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 market data.
