Fox Beats Fiscal Q1 Estimates as World Cup and Political Ads Lift Advertising Revenue 47%

FOXA reported fiscal first-quarter 2027 revenue of $4.57 billion, up 22.3% from a year earlier, and adjusted EPS of $2.54, up 68.2%, both ahead of the Zacks consensus estimates of $4.23 billion and $1.99. That is an 8.02% revenue surprise and a 27.64% EPS surprise. On a GAAP basis, Fox's release put net income at $943 million, or $2.20 per share, for the quarter ended September 30.

Advertising drove the result. Fox said advertising revenue rose 47%, primarily due to its broadcast of the FIFA Men's World Cup, higher political advertising and continued digital growth led by the Tubi streaming service, while distribution revenue rose 9%. In the Television segment, revenue rose 32% to $2.71 billion and segment EBITDA rose 134% to $934 million, with the segment's EBITDA margin expanding to 34.4% from 19.5%. Company-wide adjusted EBITDA rose 54% to $1.64 billion, and Fox said higher sports rights amortization and production costs tied to the World Cup partly offset the revenue gain. The Cable Network Programming segment grew revenue 8% to $1.80 billion, though its EBITDA margin edged down to 47.6% from 48.1%.

Chairman Lachlan Murdoch said the quarter set first-quarter records for revenue and adjusted EBITDA, pointing to the World Cup, the start of the college football and NFL seasons and an active election cycle. Two of those drivers are event-specific: the World Cup is quadrennial, and political advertising follows the election calendar.

What to watch: how much of the advertising gain holds once the World Cup and midterm spending roll off, Tubi's continued digital growth, and progress on the pending Roku transaction referenced in the release. Fox did not issue numerical guidance in the release.