Quick Summary
- Fox Corporation reported Q1 CY2026 revenue of $3.99 billion, declining 8.6% year-over-year but exceeding analyst forecasts by 4.7%
- Adjusted earnings per share reached $1.32, crushing Wall Street’s $0.97 projection by 36.4%
- Adjusted EBITDA totaled $954 million, surpassing the Street’s $741.9 million target by 28.6%
- Operating margin expanded to 23.9% from 17.4% in the prior-year quarter
- FOXA shares rallied 4.3% to $65.64 in immediate post-earnings trading
Fox Corporation delivered first-quarter CY2026 financial results that significantly exceeded Wall Street projections across nearly all key performance indicators. Shares surged 4.3% to $65.64 in the immediate aftermath of the earnings release.
Quarterly revenue totaled $3.99 billion, representing a 4.7% outperformance versus the Street’s $3.81 billion consensus estimate. Despite the beat, topline results reflected an 8.6% year-over-year decline.
The more impressive performance came from bottom-line metrics. Adjusted earnings per share registered at $1.32, substantially exceeding the $0.97 consensus forecast — representing a remarkable 36.4% upside surprise.
Adjusted EBITDA printed at $954 million compared to analyst projections of $741.9 million, delivering a substantial 28.6% beat. This represents a considerable margin of outperformance by conventional standards.
The company’s operating margin expanded to 23.9% during the quarter, representing a 6.5 percentage point improvement from the 17.4% margin recorded in the comparable prior-year period. This margin expansion is particularly impressive considering the simultaneous revenue contraction — Fox achieved this through disciplined expense management.
Revenue Breakdown: Advertising and Affiliate Streams
Fox generates revenue primarily through two channels: Advertising, representing 39% of total revenue, and Affiliate revenue (encompassing licensing agreements and retransmission fees), which contributes 52.8%.
Looking at the trailing two-year period, Advertising revenue has demonstrated robust performance with an average 14% annual growth rate. Meanwhile, Affiliate revenue has remained relatively stagnant over this timeframe.
The quarterly beat was primarily driven by robust advertising demand stemming from sports broadcasting and news programming. Additionally, Tubi, the company’s ad-supported streaming platform, generated positive investor sentiment around the stock.
Profitability Metrics and Forward Guidance
Adjusted earnings per share of $1.32 represented growth from $1.10 reported in the comparable quarter last year, marking solid annual improvement.
Analyzing the five-year trajectory, Fox’s EPS has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 11.6%. This profitability expansion has notably outpaced the company’s revenue growth rate over the identical timeframe.
Analyst consensus now projects full-year EPS of $4.92, implying 11% growth over the coming twelve-month period.
Regarding topline expectations, the Street anticipates 5.5% revenue growth over the next year. This represents a modest deceleration compared to the 7.9% annualized growth rate Fox has delivered over the past two years.
Free cash flow margin remained stable at 44.2%, essentially matching the metric from the same quarter in the previous year.
Prior to this earnings release, Fox’s year-to-date stock performance stood at -12.36%. The company’s current market capitalization sits at $25.35 billion.
In light of these stronger-than-anticipated results, Wall Street analysts are likely to revise their price targets upward to reflect the company’s improved operational performance.
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