Fox Corporation FOXA reported third-quarter fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings of $1.32 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 29.41%. The figure increased 20% year over year.
Revenues declined 9% year over year to $3.99 billion, surpassing the consensus mark by 5.3%.
Distribution revenues (52.8% of total revenues) increased 3% year over year to $2.11 billion, driven by 5% growth at the Cable Network Programming segment, partially offset by a 1% decline at the Television segment.
Advertising revenues (38.9% of total revenues) declined 24% year over year to $1.56 billion, primarily due to the absence of the prior year broadcast of Super Bowl LIX, partially offset by the broadcast of an additional NFL Wild Card game and continued digital growth led by the Tubi AVOD service.
Tubi, Fox Corporation's ad-supported streaming service, reaches over 100 million monthly active users, with more than half identifying as Gen Z or Millennial.
Content and other revenues (8.3% of total revenues) increased 12% year over year to $331 million, primarily driven by higher sports sublicensing revenue.
Fox Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Fox Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Fox Corporation Quote
Top-Line Details
Cable Network Programming revenues (43.6% of total revenues) increased 6% year over year to $1.74 billion.
Distribution revenues grew 5%, as contractual price increases were partially offset by net subscriber declines.
Advertising revenues rose 5%, driven by higher news pricing and the current year broadcast of the World Baseball Classic, partially offset by lower ratings. Content and other revenues increased 24% year over year, reflecting higher sports sublicensing revenue.
Television revenues (55% of total revenues) declined 19% year over year to $2.2 billion. Advertising revenues decreased 30%, primarily due to the absence of the prior year Super Bowl LIX broadcast.
Distribution revenues declined 1% year over year, reflecting the impact of net subscriber declines. Content and other revenues increased 2% year over year to $173 million, driven by higher entertainment content revenue.
FOX Sports is set to deliver a monumental 340 hours of first-run programming for the FIFA World Cup 2026, with a record 70 matches airing on the FOX network and all 104 matches streaming live and on demand in 4K on FOX One, serving as a significant advertising and distribution catalyst for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026.
Operating Details
In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, operating expenses decreased 16% year over year to $2.49 billion. As a percentage of revenues, operating expenses contracted 540 basis points (bps) to 62.4%.
Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses declined 1% year over year to $546 million. As a percentage of revenues, SG&A expenses expanded 110 bps to 13.7%.
Total adjusted EBITDA increased 11% year over year to $954 million. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 430 bps to 23.9%.
Cable Network Programming EBITDA rose 1% year over year to $884 million. Television reported adjusted EBITDA of $191 million compared to $60 million in the prior year quarter, as lower sports programming rights amortization and production costs in the absence of the Super Bowl LIX broadcast more than offset the revenue decline.
Balance Sheet
As of March 31, 2026, Fox had $3.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents compared with $2.02 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025.
As of March 31, 2026, Fox's total borrowings stood at $6.6 billion, unchanged from $6.6 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
FOXA currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector are Hasbro HAS, V.F. Corporation VFC and Take-Two Interactive TTWO.
Hasbro and Take-Two Interactive carry a Zacks Rank #2 each at present. V.F. Corporation sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Hasbro is slated to report its upcoming quarterly results on May 20. Hasbro shares have surged 19.3% year to date.
V.F. Corporation is slated to report its upcoming quarterly results on May 20. V.F. Corporation shares have surged 4.9% year to date.
Take-Two Interactive is slated to report its upcoming quarterly results on May 21. Take-Two Interactive shares have plunged 13.9% year to date.
Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here
The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.
See Stocks Now >>Hasbro, Inc. (HAS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
V.F. Corporation (VFC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (TTWO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Fox Corporation (FOXA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
