FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Fox Posts Surprise Quarterly Earnings Growth Amid Distribution Revenue Strength

By
Fox Posts Surprise Quarterly Earnings Growth Amid Distribution Revenue Strength

Fox (FOX, FOXA) reported a surprise increase in quarterly earnings on Monday, while the media company's revenue topped estimates amid distribution growth.

Adjusted per-share earnings for the fiscal third quarter ended March 31 quarter rose to $1.32 from $1.10 a year earlier. Analysts in a FactSet survey expected a drop to $1. Revenue fell $3.99 billion from $4.37 billion, but exceeded the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion.

Fox's class A and B shares were up 3.6% each in Monday trade.

Distribution revenue grew 3% to $2.11 billion amid gains in the cable network programming segment.

The results reflected "strong core top-line delivery from ongoing advertising trends and distribution revenue growth," Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch said during an earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript.

Advertising revenue fell to $1.56 billion from last year's $2.04 billion, which included the Super Bowl broadcast. However, an additional National Football League Wild Card game and growth in streaming platform Tubi helped buoy ad sales.

"Excluding the Super Bowl impact, advertising revenue would have grown double digits driven by strength across the company," Murdoch said. "And that momentum continues into our fiscal fourth quarter. The strength of these trends is most evident at Fox News, which achieved its highest third-quarter advertising revenue ever."

By segment, cable network programming revenue increased to $1.74 billion from $1.64 billion. Television revenue fell to $2.2 billion from $2.7 billion.

"Television distribution revenue was down 1%, which continues to be in-line with our expectation for TV distribution revenue to be about flat for the full year before returning to growth in fiscal 2027," Chief Financial Officer Steve Tomsic said on the call.

Price: $58.94, Change: $+2.34, Percent Change: +4.13%

Related Articles

April Existing-Home Sales Rise Less Than Expected, NAR Data Show
US Markets

April Existing-Home Sales Rise Less Than Expected, NAR Data Show

US existing home sales increased less than projected in April even as affordability continued to improve, data from the National Association of Realtors showed Monday.Sales edged up 0.2% sequentially to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.02 million units last month. The consensus was for a 2% increase in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Sales grew in the Midwest and South, but were unchanged in the Northeast. The West saw a decline."Despite mixed macroeconomic signals -- including a record-high stock market and historically low consumer confidence -- home sales were modestly boosted by the continued improvement in housing affordability," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said.Last week, a survey by the University of Michigan showed that US consumer sentiment continued to fall in May as cost pressures tied to the Middle East conflict sent the measure tumbling to all-time lows.The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage increased to 6.33% last month from 6.18% in March, but was down from 6.73% a year earlier, the NAR said Monday, citing Freddie Mac data. "Mortgage rates are lower from a year ago, and average income growth is outpacing home price gains," Yun said.Single-family home sales were unchanged month over month at 3.64 million units in April, while condominium and co-op sales increased 2.7% to 380,000 units, NAR data showed."Inventory still remains tight," Yun said. "At the same time, days on market are lengthening on average, implying that consumers are taking their time before making decisions."The median sales price of existing homes increased 0.9% year over year to $417,700 in April, marking the 34th straight month of annual gains, according to the report.The increase in prices last month was in line with seasonal patterns, with the rise expected to continue in May and June, Jefferies Chief US Economist Thomas Simons said in a note e-mailed to. Although recent efforts by the Trump administration to lower rates through purchases of mortgages may help improve buying conditions later in 2026, "it will take time for this to meaningfully impact the market," Simons wrote.

AI Chipmaker Cerebras Could Raise Up To $5.52 Billion in Upsized IPO
US Markets

AI Chipmaker Cerebras Could Raise Up To $5.52 Billion in Upsized IPO

Cerebras Systems increased the size and expected price range of its initial public offering, which now could raise as much as $5.52 billion for the artificial intelligence chipmaker.The company is looking to offer 30 million class A common shares at between $150 and $160 per share, according to a preliminary prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. Prior paperwork showed the company was looking to offer 28 million shares at between $115 and $125 per share.The underwriters will now have an option to purchase up to an additional 4.5 million shares, compared with 4.2 million additional shares previously on the table.Based on the top end of the new price range and the increased share count, the IPO could yield up to $5.52 billion' calculations showed, assuming that underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full.Cerebras, which has applied to list its class A shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "CBRS," is expected to launch its IPO on Thursday, according to a Nasdaq IPO calendar.The IPO has drawn orders for more than 20 times the number of shares available ahead of its May 13 pricing, Reuters reported Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company in October 2025 dropped plans to go public.Cerebras, which competes with companies including Nvidia (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in the hardware category, reported 2025 net income of $1.38 per share on revenue of $510 million. That compares with a loss of $9.90 per share and revenue of $290.3 million in 2024.It also competes with cloud service providers such as Amazon (AMZN) Web Services and Microsoft's (MSFT) Azure.The company said in April it had raised $2.85 billion in capital over a period of eight months, including a new credit facility for up to $850 million.Earlier this year, Cerebras agreed to deploy 750 megawatts of its wafer-scale systems for OpenAI's customers. The deal was valued at more than $20 billion, according to Cerebras' latest IPO filing.Price: $221.31, Change: $+6.09, Percent Change: +2.83%

$AMD$AMZN$MSFT$NVDA
Oil Rises as Trump's Iran Rebuff Extends Supply Uncertainty
US Markets

Oil Rises as Trump's Iran Rebuff Extends Supply Uncertainty

Crude oil prices rose Monday as US President Donald Trump rejected Iran's counteroffer to end the war, extending uncertainty around oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.Brent advanced 2.3% to $103.65 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures were last up 1.9% at $97.25.Trump on Sunday described Iran's response to Washington's peace proposal as "totally unacceptable."The apparent US-Iran stalemate prolongs the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important chokepoint for crude flows.Iran's proposal, delivered via mediator Pakistan, sought an immediate end to hostilities, the lifting of the US naval blockade of its ports and assurances against further aggression, BBC News reported, citing Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency."Despite earlier optimism, an agreement between the US and Iran has yet to be reached," Stifel Chief Economist Lindsey Piegza said in a note Monday. "With hopes of a resolution to the 10-week conflict again undermined, oil prices reversed course."Oil prices fell last week as markets hoped that a deal would be reached.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Iran war was "not over," he told CBS News in an interview that aired on Sunday."There's still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled," Netanyahu reportedly said. "There's still proxies that Iran supports."Netanyahu said that Iran also wants to continue producing ballistic missiles."Now, we have degraded a lot of it, but all of that is still there," he said. "And there is work to be done."Trump is scheduled to arrive in China on Wednesday for a high-stakes state visit, with talks set to take place Thursday and Friday. This will be his first trip to China since 2017, Reuters reported."While optimism for an imminent deal is fading, there remains a glimmer of hope that talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi (Jinping) later this week could yield positive results on Iran," ING Head of Commodities Strategy Warren Patterson said in a note Monday."The hope is that China can use its influence over Iran to push it closer towards a peace deal," Patterson said. "Clearly, this is easier said than done."