Earnings Night · Fox Q1 FY2027 · November 2, 2026
Fox reported its fiscal first quarter (July through September) before the market opened this morning and held its call at 8:30 AM ET.
The headline is "record revenue." The number I'd circle is smaller. Advertising brought in $2.081 billion. Distribution, the fees pay-TV providers and stations pay to carry Fox, brought in $2.084 billion. Ads came within $3 million of the fees. A year ago the gap was $503 million.
What's moving
Revenue rose 22% and profit rose more than half. Most of the growth came from the World Cup, the midterms and Tubi.
Broadcast did the lifting. Television segment ad revenue rose $641 million, or 60%, to $1.708 billion. That one segment produced 82% of Fox's ad dollars.
Tubi grew 35%. Revenue rose 35%, ahead of the roughly 25% UBS expected. Total view time rose 23%, and Lachlan Murdoch said the growth is continuing into this quarter.
Cable was steady, not hot. Cable ad revenue rose 8% on sports, with digital news ad revenue down. Cable fees rose 10% on renewal pricing and a net gain in subscribers.
Metric | Q1 FY2027 | vs. Q1 FY2026 |
|---|---|---|
Total revenue | $4.571B | +22% |
Advertising revenue | $2.081B | +47% |
Distribution revenue | $2.084B | +9% |
Ads as a share of revenue | 46% | Up from 38% |
Tubi revenue | Not broken out | +35% |
Adjusted EBITDA | $1.641B (36% margin) | +54% |
Television segment EBITDA | $934M | +134% |
Adjusted EPS | $2.54 | Up from $1.51 |
Free cash flow | $503M | Up from -$234M |
Against estimates: analysts expected about $4.32 billion in revenue and about $2.06 in adjusted EPS (Investing.com, MarketBeat). Fox beat by roughly $250 million on revenue and $0.48 a share.
The political money, broken down
Fox has taken in more than $350 million in political advertising this cycle, which it called a record for a midterm. On the call, Murdoch split it this way:
Where the political money went | Cycle to date |
|---|---|
Fox-owned local TV stations | $250M+ |
Tubi (targeted, sold like local) | ~$50M |
National (sports, news, entertainment) | $50M+ |
He also said what happens to everyone else. When local stations run out of commercial time, political ads push regular advertisers out of the schedule.
Why it matters
This is what a live-events company looks like in a big events quarter. The test is what's left when the events end.
The comp gets hard fast. There is no World Cup next year, and political money stops after tomorrow's election. This quarter (October through December) still has the final weeks of political spending, the World Series and the NFL. The quarters after that don't.
Tubi is the bridge between events. Fox expects Tubi to reach about a 20% margin as it matures, and Tubi's EBITDA grew again this quarter. Murdoch said Tubi's mostly cord-cutting audience is young, diverse and hard for advertisers to reach anywhere else.
FOX One is adding, not cannibalizing. Murdoch said about 97% of new FOX One subscribers don't have a cable subscription. Counting FOX One, Fox's subscriber base grew over the past 12 months. He cautioned that FOX One will rise and fall with sports seasons.
Fox News has a ratings problem it calls fatigue. Murdoch blamed tough comparisons with last year's news cycle and compared this year to the 2006 midterms. He said Fox News still has room to push its ad rates toward broadcast-network levels.
Roku is down to one approval. Fox has all the shareholder approvals and foreign regulatory approvals it needs. It is still working with the Justice Department for antitrust clearance and gave no closing date.
Buybacks paused, not stopped. Fox bought back no stock last quarter, compared with $250 million a year ago. The CFO said buybacks resume this quarter, and management said that isn't a signal about Roku timing.
The opportunity
Live events set the price at Fox. Here's what that means depending on your seat.
Local buyers: Political spending crowded regular advertisers out of Fox's local stations. After tomorrow, that inventory comes back. Ask for make-goods and post-election rates now.
CTV buyers: Campaigns put about $50 million into Tubi as targeted local media. If you need young, cord-cutting audiences by market, Tubi is selling them.
Sellers: Fox's growth is live sports and news. If you don't have either, pitch what you deliver between the big events.
Streaming teams: Once the Roku deal closes, Tubi and The Roku Channel sit under one owner. Ask your Fox contact how the two will be sold together.
Your call
Is Fox a live-events company that happens to stream, or a streaming company that happens to own the NFL? Drop one word in the comments: events or streaming.
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Sources: Fox Corporation Q1 fiscal 2027 earnings release and earnings call, November 2, 2026. Consensus estimates from Investing.com and MarketBeat. Ad share, margins, segment share and prior-year free cash flow are TWIM calculations from the release.