Political Ad Surge Propels Fox Corp. Past Wall Street Quarterly Estimates
Fox Corp. beat Wall Street analysts’ consensus forecast in its fiscal first quarter of 2025, with a swell of political ad spending along with strength at Fox Sports driving results.
Total revenue climbed 11% from the year-earlier period, hitting $3.56 billion, while adjusted net income zoomed to $1.45 per share from $1.09 in the year-ago quarter.
Advertising revenue increased 11%, with the company crediting a surge in political ads at its local TV stations, along with continued growth at Tubi, higher ratings and higher pricing in the direct response marketplace at Fox News Media. Another plus was Fox Sports’ coverage of two major soccer tournaments: the UEFA European Championship and CONMEBOL Copa América.
The revenue line marked “Other” jumped 47%, primarily due to higher sports sublicensing revenues at Fox’s national sports networks.
Wall Street analysts had called for revenue of $3.37 billion and earnings of $1.15 per share.
Like its traditional media peers, Fox has been under pressure on the advertising front due to cord-cutting’s impact on linear pay-TV subscriber levels, but its significant news and sports holdings lessen the vulnerability. The current October-to-December quarter should benefit from the end of the election cycle as well as college football and the NFL, along with baseball’s World Series. The New York Yankees-Los Angeles Dodgers matchup drew the best Series ratings since 2017.
