- Fox Corp. reported revenue of $4.21 billion for the quarter, a 28% year-over-year increase and more than the $3.64 billion expected by analysts according to Yahoo Finance. Revenue for the 2026 fiscal year came in at $17.13 billion, a 5% increase from last year
- Earnings per share of $1.61 for the quarter compared to the $1.38 expected by analysts according to Yahoo Finance. EPS for the year came in at $3.84
- Tubi delivered its most streamed and highest revenue quarter ever
While the World Cup played a key role in the tail end of Fox Corp.’s stellar $17.13 billion fiscal year revenue, quietly powering the media company’s results has been its free ad-supported streaming service Tubi.
Ad revenue from the World Cup was a major reason for Fox’s strong year. But considering that the sporting event is a rarity, Tubi’s performance is a better indicator for the future of the company. That’s especially true as Fox prepares to acquire another free-to-watch streamer, Roku (executives stayed mum on pending deal).
During the fourth quarter of 2026, Tubi delivered its most streamed and highest revenue quarter ever. Revenue growth accelerated by 35%, and there was a 17% lift in total viewing time. The streamer ended the fiscal year with 110 million monthly active users.
During the 2026 fiscal year, distribution revenue for Fox increased by 4% due to a 5% growth at the cable network programming segment. Advertising revenue also rose by 7% during the year thanks to the World Cup and digital growth driven by Tubi. This partially offset the absence of the Super Bowl, which Fox had last year and went to NBC this year, as well as lower political advertising revenue. Content and other revenue increased 4% largely due to more revenue from sports sublicensing.
As for the quarter, Fox Corp. reported $4.21 billion in revenue during the fsical fourth quarter. This was a 28% increase compared to the same year-earlier period. The World Cup, cable news and Tubi were once again major drivers for that increase. Advertising revenue increased by a whopping 78% thanks to the World Cup and growth on Tubi. Distribution revenue increased by 5% during the quarter, led by a 7% increase in the cable network programming segment.
Tubi’s growth and the looming Roku acquisition
Though the World Cup contributed to much of Fox’s positive quarter, the growth that Tubi saw related to the World Cup was relatively small for the platform. That detail is a major reason why Fox is so gung-ho about the free-to-watch streamer that’s popular among millennial and Gen Z cord cutters.
Tubi’s World Cup coverage alone attracted 20 million viewers across the course of the tournament. The returns Fox has seen for Tubi are also a major reason why the company is so invested in acquiring Roku.
“We acquired Tubi in its early stages, and we have turned it into a leading streaming platform with 10 times the revenue from when we started. The addition of Roku to Fox will expand our digital footprint and offerings even further,” Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of Fox Corporation, said on the call. “I know I speak for Anthony [Wood, CEO of Roku] in saying that we are eager to get the transaction closed and for our teams to get started.”
The company is in the early approval process for the deal and is still on track to close is acquisition of Roku in the first half of 2027.
Fox One is seeing low turnover
The World Cup also gave its Fox One streaming service a major boost. The sporting event drove “incremental subscriber acquisition and strong retention rates,” Murdoch said, which surpassed the company’s expectations.
Fox didn’t share many concrete numbers about its streamer for cord cutters, which the company released last year. However, Fox did reveal that the streamer has led to minimal cannibalization of its traditional pay TV business, has delivered meaningful additional revenue to the company and that the streamer has a low churn rate.
“We are not churning any traditional vMVPD [virtual multichannel video programming distributor] customers, which are incredibly valuable to us. We are huge supporters of the vMVPD marketplace, and so these are new subscribers, incremental subscribers, that come from outside the traditional ecosystem. That’s very encouraging,” Murdoch said. “The second thing that’s encouraging is the churn has been well below our expectations and looks like it’s continuing that in the out first quarter.”
Political ad sales in 2027 may lead to a record cycle for ad revenue
Fox is expecting that advertising spend on political ads during the midterm will lead to a strong fiscal year 2027 for the company. Independent political ad tracking firms have estimated that over $11 billion will be spent on political ads during the 2026 U.S. midterms, and Murdoch was bullish on Fox’s ability to win its share of business.
“We believe this will be a record midterm cycle for us,” Murdoch said. During the 2024 presidential election, Fox Corporation saw $400 million of political revenue, and in 2022 — during another midterm cycle — the company saw $260 million dollars in revenue.
