Fox Profit Surges on Strong 2024 Political Advertising

Fox’s holiday quarter sales jumped 20% to surpass $5 billion, the media giant reported on Tuesday morning, thanks in large part to a surge in political advertising tied to the 2024 presidential election.

The growth was primarily driven by a 21% increase in advertising revenue to $2.4 billion, primarily due to higher political advertising, the impact of MLB postseason ratings and NFL pricing, continued digital growth led by the Tubi AVOD service, and stronger news ratings and pricing. Affiliate fees also grew 6% to $1.9 billion, driven by 9% growth in the television segment and 4% growth in the cable network programming segment.

Overall, Fox’s quarterly profit more than tripled — increasing 238% year-over-year — to $388 million.

“A compelling fall sports schedule combined with a record-breaking presidential election news cycle resulted in second quarter results that reflect the strength and breadth of FOX,” Chief Executive Officer Lachlan Murdoch said in a statement. “Whether measured in terms of engagement, monetization or profitability, our focused strategy of live news and sports programming, coupled with our growing
digital initiatives, continues to deliver. We remain committed to sustained long-term value creation for our shareholders through our thoughtful and disciplined strategy for growth.”

Here are the key results:

Revenue: $5.08 billion, up 20% year-over-year. Sales at Fox’s cable networks increased 30% from the quarter prior, accounting for $2.17 billion in Q2 revenue

Net Income: $388 million, which more than tripled from the same quarter a year earlier, when Fox reported net income of $115 million. Net income attributable to Fox shareholders was $373 million, compared to $109 million a year ago. On an adjusted basis, net income was $442 million, compared to $165 million a year ago.

Revenue: $5.8 billion, up 20% from $4.23 billion a year ago. Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research were expecting revenue of $4.89 billion.

Earnings Per Share: 81 cents per diluted share, compared to 23 cents per share. On an adjusted basis, EPS was 96 cents per share, up from 34 cents per share a year ago and the 65 cents per share expected by analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research. 

Adjusted EBITDA: $781 million, up 123% from $351 million a year ago.

More to come…

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