A seven-game World Series last October and continued strength at Fox News and streaming service Tubi helped Fox Corp. top revenue expectations in the October-to-December quarter.
The company said Wednesday that total revenue in the fiscal second quarter inched up 2% from the year-ago period, reaching $5.18 billion. Earnings per share came in at 52 cents, and 81 cents when adjusted for one-time gains and expenses.
Wall Street analysts had expected earnings per share of 52 cents and revenue of $5.03 billion.
Advertising revenue ticked up 1% despite tough comparisons with the presidential cycle of 2024. Higher sports and news pricing, including for those extra postseason baseball games, helped offset the political deficit and lower ratings.
Distribution revenue increased 4%, primarily driven by 5% growth in the Cable Network Programming unit. Content and other revenues were essentially unchanged from the prior year quarter.
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Revenue in the Television division, which includes the broadcast network, local stations and Tubi, slipped a fraction to $2.937 billion. The downturn is notable given the fall quarter is always a marquee period because it includes college football and the NFL.
Distribution revenues inched up 1%, on higher average rates at the Company’s owned and operated television stations and increases in fees from third-party Fox affiliates, according to the earnings release. Content and other revenues were $142 million as compared to the $175 million reported in the prior year quarter, primarily due to lower entertainment content and other revenues which were impacted by the timing of deliveries.
EBITDA of $143 million in Television fell from $205 million in the prior year quarter, with the company citing higher expenses. The increase in expenses was led by higher sports programming rights amortization and production costs and higher digital content costs, partially offset by lower entertainment programming rights amortization and production costs.
CEO Lachlan Murdoch called the results “a product of both a highly differentiated strategy and high quality execution that reflect the power of our leadership brands across news, sports, streaming and entertainment.”