Fox Corporation FOXA reported first-quarter fiscal 2025 adjusted earnings per share of $1.45, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 29.5%. The figure increased 33.02% year over year.
Revenues increased 11.13% year over year to $3.5 billion, beating the consensus mark by 5.6%.
Affiliate fees (51.71% of total revenues) rose 5.92% to $1.84 billion, driven primarily by 10% growth in the Television segment and 3% growth in the Cable Network Programming segment.
Advertising revenues (37.29% of total revenues) increased 10.75% year over year to $1.33 billion, primarily due to higher political advertising revenues at the FOX Television Stations, strong performance of Tubi, higher ratings as well as pricing in the direct response marketplace at FOX News Media, along with the impact of the Summer of Soccer at FOX Sports, including the broadcasts of the UEFA European Championship and CONMEBOL Copa América but partially offset by absence of FIFA Women's World Cup broadcast.
Other revenues (11% of total revenues) increased 47% year over year to $392 million.
Fox Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Fox Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Fox Corporation Quote
Top-Line Details
Cable Network Programming revenues (44.81% of total revenues) increased 15.14% year over year to $1.59 billion. Advertising revenues increased 10.69%, whereas revenues from Affiliate fees rose 3.18% year over year. Other revenues increased 159.78% on a year-over-year basis, primarily due to the timing of sports sublicensing revenues at the national sports networks.
Television revenues (54.8% of total revenues) increased 9.72% from the year-ago quarter's figure to $1.95 billion. Advertising revenues increased 10.77% year over year. Affiliate fees increased 9.66% year over year, led by higher rates at both the company's owned and operated stations, as well as third-party FOX affiliates. Other revenues increased 3% year over year, driven by higher third-party content revenues at FOX Entertainment studios.
Operating Details
In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, operating expenses increased 8.38% year over year to $2.02 billion. As a percentage of revenues, operating expenses contracted 1295 basis points (bps) to 58.54%. The increase in expenses was primarily due to higher programming rights amortization at FOX Sports and higher costs at Tubi.
Selling, general & administrative (SG&A) expenses increased 4.58% year over year to $502 million. As a percentage of revenues, SG&A expenses contracted 88 bps to 14.09%.
Total adjusted EBITDA increased 20.60% year over year to $1.05 billion. Adjusted EBITDA margin expanded 231 bps to 29.41%.
Cable Network Programming EBITDA rose 23.23% year over year to $748 million. Television reported an adjusted EBITDA of $372 million, up 5.98% year over year.
Balance Sheet
As of Sept. 30, 2024, Fox had $4.05 billion in cash and cash equivalents compared with $4.31 billion as of June 30, 2024. Long-term debt, as of Sept. 30, 2024, was $600 million.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Fox currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Shares of FOXA have gained 41.2% year to date against the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector's increase of 5.3%.
Some better-ranked stocks from the broader sector that investors can consider are Flutter Entertainment PLC FLUT, Funko FNKO and Liberty Media Corporation - Liberty Formula One Series A FWONA, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Shares of FLUT have increased 20.7% year to date. FLUT is slated to report its third-quarter 2024 results on Nov. 12.
Shares of FNKO have jumped 46.2% year to date. FNKO is set to report its third-quarter 2024 results on Nov. 7.
Shares of FWONA have climbed 29% year to date. Liberty Media Corporation is slated to report its third-quarter 2024 results on Nov. 7.
Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 5 Stocks Set to Double. Click to get this free report
Fox Corporation (FOXA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Liberty Media Corporation - Liberty Formula One Series A (FWONA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Funko, Inc. (FNKO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Flutter Entertainment PLC (FLUT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.