FOX (NASDAQ:FOX) executives highlighted continued operating momentum in fiscal 2026’s second quarter, pointing to broad-based strength across advertising, distribution, and streaming as the company lapped a prior-year period that benefited from heavy political advertising. Management also emphasized record audience engagement across sports and digital news, and provided updates on the early performance of Fox One and Tubi’s profitability.
Quarterly results and drivers
Chief Financial Officer Steve Tomsic said Fox reported fiscal second-quarter total revenue of $5.18 billion, up 2% from the prior-year quarter. Distribution revenue increased 4%, while advertising revenue grew 1% despite what the company described as a difficult comparison to last year’s record political cycle. Content and other revenue was flat year over year, as higher sports sublicensing revenue was offset by lower entertainment content revenue.
Net income attributable to stockholders was $229 million, or $0.52 per share, compared to $373 million, or $0.81 per share, in the prior-year period. Excluding non-core items, the company reported adjusted net income of $360 million and adjusted EPS of $0.82.
Segment performance: Cable strong; Television mixed
Fox’s Cable segment posted revenue of $2.28 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $687 million, with both metrics up 5% from the prior year. Cable advertising revenue rose 7%, which management attributed to higher pricing in news and sports. Cable distribution revenue increased 5% as affiliate renewal pricing gains more than offset subscriber declines, which the company said continued to improve. Cable content and other revenue grew 4%, primarily due to higher sports sublicensing revenue, offset by corresponding sports rights expenses.
The Television segment reported revenue of $2.94 billion. Television advertising revenue was unchanged, as growth at Tubi, additional MLB postseason games, and pricing strength across sports were offset mainly by the absence of prior-year political advertising. Television distribution revenue increased 1% on healthy growth in fees across Fox-owned and affiliated stations, while television content and other revenue declined 19% due to lower entertainment production studio revenue tied to the timing of deliveries. Segment EBITDA was $143 million, compared to $205 million a year earlier.
Advertising: Robust demand across news, sports, and streaming
Executive Chair and CEO Lachlan Murdoch said Fox continued to see “unabated, healthy trends” in advertising across the portfolio. He cited record-breaking ad revenue for the MLB postseason, with the quarter capped by a seven-game World Series, along with record advertising performance for both the NFL and college football regular seasons.
In news, Murdoch said Fox grew advertising revenue despite comparisons to a heavy political news cycle in the prior year, and delivered its highest second-quarter advertising revenue ever for the news business, citing demographic expansion and pricing growth in both direct response and national advertising.
On the Q&A, management provided additional detail on Fox News advertising momentum. Murdoch said the company added about 200 new advertisers in the first half of the fiscal year, on top of 350 new advertisers added last year. He also said scatter pricing in news was up 46% to 47% year over year, and described direct response pricing as strong.
Discussing category trends across national advertising, Murdoch said eight of the top 10 categories the company tracks were “significantly up,” led by financial advertising, “really led by the insurance companies.” He said entertainment (such as movie premieres) and some government/corporate political spending were modestly down, with political spending expected to increase as the cycle progresses.
Fox One traction, distribution trends, and skinny bundles
Murdoch said distribution revenue rose 4% in the quarter and that subscriber declines “notably” improved sequentially, even excluding Fox One. In response to an analyst question, he said the company’s subscriber decline rate was 6.3% (which management described as “sub-6.5%”) and that figure excludes Fox One; he added that including Fox One subscribers would improve the number, but Fox chose not to include them “out of an abundance of caution.”
Murdoch said Fox One, launched five months ago, continues to exceed expectations, driven by direct sign-ups and partnerships, and that the company has not observed noticeable cannibalization of traditional subscribers due to targeted marketing at cord-cutters and cord-nevers. He also provided engagement detail, noting that while live sports drive most engagement, news accounts for about one-third of total minutes viewed on Fox One, and that news viewers engage more frequently and for longer periods than non-news viewers.
Murdoch said Fox remains “a fan of the bundle,” but described skinny bundles as a net positive for the company because Fox sells its channels to distributors as a package and is paid for all of its channels, while distributors have flexibility in how they market them to consumers. He suggested the emergence of skinny bundles could be a factor in moderating subscriber declines over time, though he said it was early to draw firm conclusions.
Tubi records, profitability, and capital returns
Murdoch said Tubi delivered its most-streamed quarter ever, with total view time up 27% year over year, driven primarily by on-demand viewing, which he said accounts for more than 95% of consumption. He also said Tubi posted record quarterly revenue, up 19%, and achieved EBITDA profitability for the second consecutive quarter.
Management attributed Tubi’s revenue growth to view-time gains and a strong upfront, along with healthy direct response and partner trends. Murdoch also emphasized the platform’s audience composition, saying 70% of Tubi’s user base are cord cutters or cord nevers.
Tomsic said free cash flow was a deficit of $791 million for the quarter, consistent with working-capital seasonality tied to sports rights payments and a buildup in advertising receivables that typically reverses in the second half of the fiscal year.
On capital returns, Fox said it repurchased $1.8 billion of shares fiscal year-to-date, bringing cumulative repurchases since 2019 to $8.4 billion, or about 35% of total shares outstanding. The company also announced a $0.28 per share semiannual dividend. Fox ended the quarter with about $2 billion in cash and $6.6 billion in debt.
About FOX (NASDAQ:FOX)
Fox Corporation (NASDAQ:FOX) is a U.S.-based media company that operates television broadcast, news and sports businesses. The company traces its contemporary structure to the 2019 reorganization that followed the sale of certain entertainment assets to The Walt Disney Company; Fox Corporation retained a portfolio centered on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Television Stations, Fox News Media and Fox Sports. Over time the company has expanded its digital footprint through acquisitions and direct-to-consumer services, building a mix of linear and streaming distribution.
FOX’s core activities include the creation, aggregation and distribution of television programming and live sports, the operation of national cable news and business networks, and the ownership and operation of local broadcast stations.
