Fox Corporation reported a strong start to fiscal 2027, with first-quarter revenue and adjusted EBITDA reaching company records. Revenue growth was led by advertising, which benefited from the FIFA Men’s World Cup, higher political ad spending and continued digital growth, while distribution revenue also increased.
For the three months ended September 30, revenue rose 22% from a year earlier to $4.57 billion. Net income attributable to Fox shareholders was $943 million, or $2.20 per share, and adjusted EBITDA was $1.64 billion.
Key details
- Advertising revenue jumped 47%. Fox attributed the increase primarily to broadcasting the men’s World Cup in the current-year quarter, higher political advertising and continued digital growth led by its Tubi ad-supported streaming service.
- Distribution revenue increased 9%. Cable Network Programming distribution revenue rose 10%, while Television distribution revenue grew 4%.
- Content and other revenue edged lower, to $406 million from $411 million a year earlier.
- Net income rose to $957 million from $609 million. Of that, $943 million was attributable to Fox shareholders, compared with $599 million in the prior-year quarter.
- Adjusted net income attributable to Fox shareholders was $1.09 billion, or $2.54 per share, versus $686 million, or $1.51 per share, a year earlier. These are company-adjusted measures.
- Adjusted EBITDA increased 54%, to $1.64 billion, a gain of $576 million. Higher expenses partly offset revenue growth, mainly because of sports programming rights amortization and production costs tied to the World Cup, as well as higher digital content costs.
- Fox said the quarter also benefited from the start of the college football and NFL seasons and an active national and local election cycle.
Plain-English implications
The quarter’s growth drew on both advertising and distribution, but the sharp rise in advertising was tied in part to major sports programming and political spending. Fox also cited continued digital growth led by Tubi. Higher sports and digital content costs partly offset the revenue gains.