Fox Corporation Reports Impressive Q3 Fiscal 2025 Earnings Results
Fox Corporation (FOXA) announced adjusted earnings per share of $1.10 for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 18.28%. This reflects a 0.9% increase compared to the same period last year.
Revenues and Affiliated Growth
The company’s revenues climbed 26.8% year over year to reach $4.37 billion, exceeding expectations by 5.3%. Affiliate fees, accounting for 45.9% of total revenues, rose 3.5% to $2 billion, bolstered by 4% growth in the Television segment and a 3% increase in Cable Network Programming.
Advertising revenues, which made up 46.6% of total revenues, soared 64.9% year over year to $2.03 billion. This growth was largely driven by Super Bowl LIX, ongoing digital expansion through the Tubi AVOD service, and improved news ratings and pricing.
Additionally, other revenues, which comprise 7.5% of total revenues, surged 20.4% to $330 million year over year.
Market Response
Following the robust earnings report, FOXA shares increased by 6.33% in pre-market trading. Year-to-date, shares have grown 3.5%, outpacing the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector’s 0.2% increase.
Detailed Revenue Breakdown
Revenues in the Cable Network Programming segment, which account for 37.4% of total revenues, rose 11.1% to $1.63 billion. Within this category, advertising revenues grew by 25.7%, and affiliate fees increased by 2.8%. Notably, other revenues experienced a significant increase of 79.2% due to higher sports sublicensing revenues.
In the Television segment, which comprises 61.9% of overall revenues, earnings rose 39.5% year over year to $2.70 billion. Advertising revenues increased by 77.2%, while affiliate fees saw a growth of 4.3%, driven by higher fees at owned and operated stations and third-party FOX affiliates.
Operating Expenses Insights
For the third quarter of fiscal 2025, operating expenses jumped 44.6% year over year to $2.96 billion. This represented an 840 basis-point increase to 67.8% of revenues, primarily due to higher costs for sports programming rights and production, along with rising digital expenses.
Selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses saw an 8% year-over-year rise to $551 million, though they made up 12.6% of revenues—down 220 basis points.
Meanwhile, adjusted EBITDA declined by 3.9% year over year to $856 million, resulting in a 630 basis-point contraction in the adjusted EBITDA margin to 19.6%. Cable Network Programming’s EBITDA increased by 7.2% to $878 million, while Television’s adjusted EBITDA fell to $60 million from $145 million a year earlier.
Financial Position
As of March 31, 2025, Fox held $4.81 billion in cash and cash equivalents, an increase from $3.32 billion as of December 31, 2024. The company’s long-term debt stood at $600 million at that same date.
Earnings Estimate and Forecast
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FOXA’s earnings in 2025 is currently $4.45 per share, reflecting a decrease of 0.6% over the last month, but signaling a year-over-year growth of 29.74%. The projected revenue for 2025 stands at $15.88 billion, indicating a year-over-year growth of 13.56%.
Stock Ranking and Industry Outlook
Fox currently holds a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy). Other strong candidates in the sector include Advance Auto Parts (AAP), Alibaba (BABA), and Canada Goose (GOOS), with AAP rated #1 (Strong Buy) and both BABA and GOOS rated #2.
Year-to-date, Advance Auto Parts shares have declined by 29.7% and are expected to report its first-quarter 2025 results on May 22. In contrast, Alibaba shares have increased by 57.6% and will announce their fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results on May 15. Canada Goose shares have fallen by 9% year-to-date, with fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results coming on May 21.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
