Fox Corporation Class A ((FOXA)) has held its Q2 earnings call. Read on for the main highlights of the call.
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Fox Corporation Class A’s latest earnings call struck a cautiously optimistic tone, as management highlighted broad-based advertising strength, surging digital engagement, and profitable streaming momentum, even while acknowledging margin pressure and softer GAAP earnings. Investors heard a story of a legacy media group leaning into sports, news, and ad-supported streaming to offset rising costs and a shrinking pay-TV base.
Total Revenue Growth
Fox Corporation reported total revenue of $5.18 billion for the quarter, representing a 2% increase versus the prior year as advertising, distribution, and streaming all contributed. Management emphasized that this growth, while modest, shows the portfolio can still expand despite industry headwinds in traditional television.
Distribution Revenue Expansion
Distribution revenue rose 4% in the quarter, driven by healthy pricing on affiliate renewals and improving subscriber trends. The company noted that underlying pay‑TV subscribers still declined about 6.3% excluding Fox One, but the slower rate of erosion suggests some stabilization in the core footprint.
Cable Segment Outperformance
The cable segment stood out, with revenue climbing 5% to $2.28 billion and adjusted EBITDA also up 5% to $687 million. Cable advertising grew 7% as Fox leveraged stronger pricing in news and live sports, underscoring the value of premium content for advertisers.
Tubi: Audience and Revenue Momentum
Tubi delivered its most‑streamed quarter ever, with total viewer time up 27% year over year and revenue up 19%. Importantly for investors, the free ad‑supported streaming platform achieved EBITDA profitability for the second consecutive quarter, reinforcing its role as a key growth engine.
Record Sports and News Advertising
Fox’s sports and news franchises delivered record results, with the MLB postseason generating all‑time high ad revenue and NFL Sunday packages and college football regular season also hitting new highs. Fox News posted its highest second‑quarter advertising revenue ever and added roughly 200 new advertisers in the half, signaling continued demand for premium news inventory.
Digital and Engagement Strength
Digital engagement surged, particularly at Fox News Digital, where social media views were up about 170% year over year. Fox News and Fox Business ranked number one in YouTube video views among peers, and total minutes viewed across sports, news, entertainment, and Tubi climbed 15% in calendar 2025, highlighting the shift toward multi‑platform consumption.
Fox One Early Traction
Fox One, launched just five months ago, is off to a faster‑than‑expected start with meaningful direct sign‑ups and distribution partnerships. Management said there is no noticeable cannibalization of traditional subscribers, and news already accounts for about one‑third of viewing, with news users engaging about twice as many days and roughly three times as many minutes per week versus non‑news viewers.
Shareholder Returns and Balance Sheet Discipline
Fox continued to lean into capital returns, repurchasing an additional $1.8 billion of stock so far this fiscal year, bringing cumulative buybacks to $8.4 billion since 2019, or around 35% of shares outstanding. The company also declared a $0.28 per share semiannual dividend and ended the quarter with $2.0 billion in cash against $6.6 billion of debt, underscoring balance sheet flexibility.
Decline in Adjusted EBITDA
Despite revenue growth, adjusted EBITDA fell to $692 million from $781 million a year earlier, an 11% decline. Management attributed the drop to higher expenses, including investments in digital initiatives and increased sports programming and production costs, which weighed on margins.
Net Income and GAAP EPS Pressure
Net income attributable to stockholders declined to $229 million, or $0.52 per share, from $373 million and $0.81 per share previously. On an adjusted basis, net income was $360 million with adjusted EPS of $0.82, reflecting stronger underlying operations than GAAP metrics suggest but still highlighting earnings pressure.
Television Segment Weakness
The television segment delivered $2.94 billion in revenue, with advertising essentially flat and television content and other revenue down 19% due to timing of deliveries. Segment EBITDA fell sharply to $143 million from $205 million, roughly a 30% decline, showing that this business remains the key drag on profitability.
Increased Corporate Costs from Fox One
Corporate segment EBITDA losses widened to $138 million from $81 million, largely driven by Fox One platform costs and related investments. While affiliate fees from Fox One are booked in the network segments, the upfront infrastructure and operating spend are concentrated at the corporate level, temporarily inflating overhead.
Higher Sports Rights and Production Costs
Elevated sports rights and production costs were a central theme, as Fox continues to pay up to secure premium live events that underpin its advertising strategy. These higher expenses partially offset revenue gains across segments, compressing margins but also reinforcing the company’s long‑term positioning in live sports.
Free Cash Flow Seasonality Resulted in Deficit
Fox reported a free cash flow deficit of $71 million for the quarter, which management framed as seasonal rather than structural. The shortfall was linked to the timing of sports rights payments and a build in advertising receivables, with expectations that cash generation will normalize and turn positive in the second half.
Subscriber Base Still Declining
While subscriber churn has moderated, the company acknowledged that the underlying pay‑TV base continued to decline about 6.3% year over year excluding Fox One. This persistent cord‑cutting trend remains a structural headwind, reinforcing the strategic importance of streaming platforms and new distribution models.
Forward‑Looking Guidance and Outlook
Management guided to continued momentum into the second half of fiscal 2026, citing a robust political advertising cycle and expectations for a profitable FIFA World Cup. They also projected Fox One subscribers to reach the low‑to‑mid single‑digit millions over the next three to four years, anticipated a reversal of free cash flow seasonality, and signaled ongoing share repurchases supported by a solid balance sheet.
Fox Corporation’s earnings call painted a picture of a media company in transition, balancing the growth of cable, digital, and Tubi against rising costs and a weakening TV segment. For investors, the key takeaway is that advertising and streaming momentum, plus disciplined capital returns, are currently outweighing earnings volatility, but execution on cost control and digital scaling will remain in sharp focus.