Fox Earnings Show Ad Sales Up 47% With Help From Events That Do Not Come Every Year
Fox's revenue hit a first quarter record of $4.57 billion for July to September 2026, as ad sales rose 47% on the World Cup, election ads and Tubi. After Fox's last World Cup and midterm quarter, in late 2022, its ad sales for the same quarter fell 20% a year later.
The short answer. Fox set first quarter records for revenue and for its main profit measure, helped by the World Cup and a busy election season. Neither comes every year, and the last time Fox had both, its ad sales fell the next year. Fox also bought back no shares this quarter, after saying in August that buybacks would continue. And it is buying Roku, the company behind the software many people use to stream on their TVs, once regulators approve.
Fox Corporation first quarter fiscal 2027 results at a glance
On this page
Every company reporting the same week, with its date and time, is in StockTitan's Earnings Calendar for the Week of November 2, 2026.
Fox earnings set a record for revenue
Fox took in $4.57 billion in the quarter, its highest ever for the first quarter of its year. Ads did most of the work, while fees from TV providers grew at a steadier pace.
Fox's year runs from July to June, so its first quarter of fiscal 2027 covers July, August and September 2026. Revenue was $833 million higher than a year earlier, a rise of 22%.
The money comes in three streams. Advertising brought in $2,081 million, up 47%. Distribution, the fees cable and streaming TV providers pay to carry Fox channels, brought in $2,084 million, up 9%.
Sales of shows and other content slipped to $406 million from $411 million. Chief executive Lachlan Murdoch still called the quarter "an outstanding start to fiscal 2027." He said revenue and the main profit measure Fox uses were both first quarter records.
Investors bid the shares up before the market opened. FOXA last traded at $65.70 at 8:14 a.m. Eastern time on November 2, up 3.9% from Friday's close of $63.24.
| Revenue by type ($ millions) | Q1 fiscal 2027 | Q1 fiscal 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Distribution | 2,084 | 1,915 | +9% |
| Advertising | 2,081 | 1,412 | +47% |
| Content and other | 406 | 411 | Lower |
| Total revenues | 4,571 | 3,738 | +22% |
Source: Fox Corporation first quarter fiscal 2027 results release, three months ended September 30, 2026 and 2025.
Where the jump in ad sales came from
Almost all of the extra ad money came from the Television business, home of the FOX network and its local stations. Its ad sales rose by $641 million, about 96% of the total rise.
Fox gave three reasons for the Television ad jump. It aired the World Cup this year, it sold more political ads, and its digital business kept growing, led by Tubi. Tubi is Fox's free streaming service paid for by ads.
Television ad revenue reached $1,708 million, up 60%. Total Television revenue rose 32% to $2.71 billion.
Murdoch also named the start of the college football and NFL seasons and "an active election cycle at the national and local levels" among the events behind the quarter.
The cable channels saw a smaller lift. Their ad revenue rose $28 million, or 8%, helped by sports ads including the World Cup. Lower digital news advertising held that gain back.
| Television ($ millions) | Q1 fiscal 2027 | Q1 fiscal 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Advertising | 1,708 | 1,067 |
| Distribution | 850 | 821 |
| Content and other | 155 | 162 |
| Total revenues | 2,713 | 2,050 |
| Segment EBITDA | 934 | 399 |
Source: Fox Corporation first quarter fiscal 2027 results release, Television segment table.
How Fox's ad sales moved after past World Cups and elections
Fox's ad sales for July to September jumped 47%, far more than in any year since 2019. The biggest rise before this was 17%, in 2021, the year live sports came back after the pandemic.
Show the data
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| 2019 | $1.04B |
| 2020 | $0.97B |
| 2021 | $1.13B |
| 2022 | $1.22B |
| 2023 | $1.20B |
| 2024 | $1.33B |
| 2025 | $1.41B |
| 2026 | $2.08B |
Fox's results releases explain each of those years. Fox put the 2021 jump down to a full schedule of live sports after the pandemic, and to Tubi. In 2022 and 2024, both election years, Fox named political ads among the reasons its ad sales rose. In 2023, with no national vote, ad sales for July to September fell 2%. Fox said political ads dropped and FOX News faced a crowded market for direct response ads, the kind that ask viewers to phone in an order.
The 2026 World Cup fell into two of Fox's quarters. In April to June, Fox's ad sales had already jumped 78%, which Fox also put down mainly to the World Cup.
Across both quarters, Fox took in $1.5 billion more in ad money than a year earlier. On Fox's August 6 earnings call, finance chief Steve Tomsic said more of the tournament's revenue would fall in April to June than in July to September.
On the same call, Murdoch said Fox took in over $260 million of political revenue in the 2022 midterm cycle and over $400 million in the 2024 presidential cycle. He said he expected this midterm cycle to be a record for Fox.
The closest match in Fox's history is late 2022. Fox showed the men's World Cup from Qatar in the October to December quarter, during the midterm election season. Its ad sales rose 4% that quarter, to $2,503 million.
A year later, the same quarter's ad sales fell 20% to $2,002 million. Fox named the missing World Cup and the missing midterm ads as the main reasons.
Show the data
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| 2021 | $2.41B |
| 2022 | $2.50B |
| 2023 | $2.00B |
| 2024 | $2.42B |
| 2025 | $2.46B |
The 2024 presidential election, with no World Cup beside it, went differently. A year later, Fox's ad sales still grew, by 6% in July to September 2025 and 1% in October to December 2025. Fox said Tubi and higher prices for sports and news ads more than offset the lost political money.
So in Fox's own history, ad sales fell a year after the quarter with both a World Cup and an election. They held up after the year with only an election. This year's midterm elections take place on November 3, 2026, inside Fox's October to December quarter.
Profit, earnings per share and cash
Fox earned $2.20 a share, up from $1.32 a year earlier. The bigger costs of the World Cup ate into the extra sales, but profit still rose sharply.
Net income was $957 million, up from $609 million. The part that belongs to Fox shareholders was $943 million.
Adjusted earnings per share leave out some items, mainly losses outside the main business and restructuring costs. They were $2.54, up from $1.51. The average share count behind these figures fell to 428 million from 455 million a year earlier.
Adjusted EBITDA is profit before interest, tax, depreciation and a few other items. It rose 54% to $1.64 billion.
Fox said higher costs offset part of the revenue gain. Most of them came from sports rights and production for the World Cup, plus higher digital content costs. In Television, lower NFL costs from the timing of games softened that.
Television carried the profit jump. Its segment EBITDA, a profit measure before interest, tax and some other costs, rose $535 million, most of the $576 million rise in adjusted EBITDA for the whole company.
The business brought in $616 million in cash, after using $130 million a year earlier. In August, Tomsic said the World Cup rights were paid in the year to June, while the ad money from the tournament would be collected early in this fiscal year.
Fox ended September with $4.54 billion in cash and $6.61 billion of borrowings, about the same debt as in June.
It paid $131 million in dividends and distributions. It bought back no shares this time, after spending $250 million on buybacks a year earlier.
That zero differs from what Fox said before. When it announced the Roku deal in June, Fox said its buybacks and dividends would continue uninterrupted. On the August 6 call, Tomsic said buybacks would continue "unabated" while the deal is pending.
| Profit and cash ($ millions, except per share) | Q1 fiscal 2027 | Q1 fiscal 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Net income | 957 | 609 |
| Net income attributable to Fox stockholders | 943 | 599 |
| Earnings per share | $2.20 | $1.32 |
| Adjusted earnings per share (non-GAAP) | $2.54 | $1.51 |
| Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) | 1,641 | 1,065 |
| Net cash from operating activities | 616 | (130) |
| Repurchase of shares | 0 | 250 |
| Dividends paid and distributions | 131 | 138 |
Source: Fox Corporation first quarter fiscal 2027 results release, statements of operations and cash flows, and Notes 1 and 2. Cash and cash equivalents were $4,536 million on September 30, 2026.
The cable channels grew more slowly
Fox's cable channels, its news and sports networks, grew sales by 8%. Most of that came from the fees TV providers pay, not from ads.
The cable business, which Fox calls Cable Network Programming, had revenue of $1.80 billion. Distribution fees rose $110 million, or 10%.
Fox said that came from price increases written into its contracts and more subscribers on average. Content and other revenue rose $3 million, or 1%.
Segment EBITDA, the cable business's profit before interest, tax and some other costs, rose 7% to $859 million. Costs rose too, from sports rights including the World Cup and from higher news programming costs.
| Cable Network Programming ($ millions) | Q1 fiscal 2027 | Q1 fiscal 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Distribution | 1,200 | 1,090 |
| Advertising | 373 | 345 |
| Content and other | 230 | 227 |
| Total revenues | 1,803 | 1,662 |
| Segment EBITDA | 859 | 800 |
Source: Fox Corporation first quarter fiscal 2027 results release, Cable Network Programming segment table.
Where Fox's Roku deal stands
Fox agreed in June to buy Roku, the TV streaming platform, in a cash and stock deal valued then at $160 a share. Fox's Class B holders and Roku's stockholders have approved it. The U.S. Department of Justice is still reviewing it.
Roku makes the software and devices many people use to stream on their TVs, reaching over 100 million homes. It also runs The Roku Channel, a streaming service with free and premium shows.
Under the deal Fox announced on June 15, 2026, each Roku share gets $96 in cash plus 0.9693 of a Fox Class A share. Fox valued Roku at about $22 billion, a figure that also counts its debt and cash.
Fox's current shareholders would own about 73% of the combined company. Fox lined up $12 billion of committed bridge financing, loans banks have promised to provide, to help pay the cash part.
On October 14, both votes passed. Fox's Class B holders backed the share issue with 99.9% of votes cast. Roku holders of 81.5% of its voting shares approved the merger.
What remains is approval from regulators, including the U.S. antitrust review. On September 8, the Justice Department asked both companies for more information, which extends its review. Fox expects the deal to close in the first half of 2027.
If it does, Fox would own both Tubi and The Roku Channel. In June, Fox said the combined company would have one of the largest streaming businesses in the U.S.
Show the data
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Jun 15, 2026 | Fox announces a cash and stock deal for Roku, valued then at $160 a share |
| Sep 1, 2026 | The joint proxy statement goes to shareholders |
| Sep 8, 2026 | The Justice Department asks both companies for more information |
| Oct 14, 2026 | Fox Class B holders and Roku holders approve the deal |
| Jan to Jun 2027 | Closing Fox expects, once regulators approve |
What to watch
- How much political ad money reached Fox around the November 3 midterm vote: Fox's October to December results, due in early 2027
- Whether the Justice Department clears the Roku deal: Fox and Roku filings, with closing expected in the first half of 2027
- Whether Fox resumes buybacks: the cash flow statement in Fox's next results
- Whether ad sales hold up without the World Cup: Fox's July to September 2027 results
Our numbers
These figures are our calculations from the sources linked in this article. Fox does not split its ad growth among the World Cup, political ads and other sales. Late 2022 is the only earlier quarter since 2019 with both a men's World Cup and a national election.
- About 96% of the ad rise from Television: its $641 million rise divided by the $669 million rise in total ad revenue
- $1.5 billion more ad money across the two World Cup quarters: $1,916 million plus $2,081 million in 2026, against $1,078 million plus $1,412 million a year earlier
- The largest July to September ad rise since 2019: the yearly changes Fox reported for 2020 to 2025 ranged from a 7% fall to a 17% rise
Frequently asked questions
When did Fox report earnings, and when was the earnings call?
Fox released its first quarter fiscal 2027 results at 8:00 a.m. Eastern time on November 2, 2026. It filed them with the SEC in a Form 8-K at 8:03 a.m. Its earnings call, a live audio webcast, began at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time the same day. The quarter covers July 1 to September 30, 2026.
Why did Fox's ad revenue rise 47%?
Fox said the main reasons were its broadcast of the FIFA Men's World Cup, higher political advertising and continued digital growth led by Tubi.
What were Fox's earnings per share?
Earnings per share were $2.20, up from $1.32 a year earlier. Adjusted earnings per share were $2.54, up from $1.51.
Is Fox buying Roku?
Yes. Fox agreed on June 14, 2026, and announced on June 15, to buy Roku for $96 in cash plus 0.9693 of a Fox Class A share for each Roku share. The deal was valued then at $160 a share. Fox's Class B holders and Roku's stockholders approved it on October 14, 2026. The deal still needs regulatory approvals, including the end of the Justice Department's antitrust review, and Fox expects it to close in the first half of 2027.
Do these Fox earnings cover both FOXA and FOX stock?
Yes. Both are shares of Fox Corporation listed on Nasdaq. FOXA is the Class A common stock and FOX is the Class B common stock, so these results cover both.
Did Fox give a forecast for the rest of fiscal 2027?
The results release gives no revenue or profit forecast for the rest of the year.
Sources
- Fox Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2027 Results, StockTitan
- Fox Corporation to Acquire Roku, StockTitan
- Fox Reports Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results, StockTitan
- Fox Reports Second Quarter Fiscal 2024 Results, StockTitan
- Fox Corporation first quarter fiscal 2027 results release, PR Newswire
- Fox Corporation fiscal 2026 fourth quarter earnings call transcript, August 6, 2026
- Fox Corporation Form 8-K with the results release, November 2, 2026, SEC
- Fox Corporation Form 8-K on the Justice Department's Second Request, SEC
- Fox Corporation Form 8-K with the October 14 vote results, SEC
- Roku Form 8-K with the October 14 vote results, SEC
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