Communication Services
Entertainment
$22.53B
10.2K
Fox Corporation is a news, sports, and entertainment company that operates through Cable Network Programming and Television segments. It produces and licenses news and sports content, distributes programming through broadcast networks and digital platforms, and has a significant presence in major U.S. markets. The company differentiates itself through its iconic brands, live content focus, and broad distribution across traditional and digital platforms.
Key insights and themes extracted from this filing
Total revenues increased to $3.564 billion, up from $3.207 billion in the same period last year. This was primarily driven by a $103 million increase in affiliate fee revenue and a $129 million increase in advertising revenue, indicating strong performance in key revenue streams.
Net income increased by $417 million to $832 million, compared to $415 million in the prior year. This was largely attributed to an unrealized gain recognized on the change in fair value of the Company's investment in Flutter Entertainment plc and higher Segment EBITDA.
Operating expenses increased by $156 million to $2.018 billion, primarily due to higher sports programming rights amortization driven by higher college football costs and higher NFL costs. This indicates increased investment in sports content.
Advertising revenue in the Television segment increased due to continued growth at Tubi. This highlights the success of the company's AVOD strategy.
The increase of $125 million or 47% in other revenues was primarily due to higher sports sublicensing revenue at the national sports networks. This indicates a successful strategy of leveraging sports content.
The U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York granted a preliminary injunction to temporarily block the joint venture from launching, which is currently pending appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. This creates uncertainty for the company's digital sports strategy.
As of September 30, 2024, the Company was in compliance with all of the covenants under the revolving credit facility, and it does not anticipate any noncompliance with such covenants. This shows effective financial management.
The Company's Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the end of such period, the Company's disclosure controls and procedures were effective in recording, processing, summarizing and reporting on a timely basis, information required to be disclosed.
The company repurchased approximately 6 million shares of Class A Common Stock for approximately $250 million during the three months ended September 30, 2024, indicating a continued commitment to returning capital to shareholders.
There have been no material changes to the risk factors described in the section titled 'Risk Factors' in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024. This suggests a stable risk environment.
The Company continues to believe the Smartmatic and other pending lawsuits alleging defamation or disparagement are without merit and intends to defend against them vigorously. The Company is unable to predict the final outcome of these matters and has determined that a loss in the Smartmatic case is neither probable nor reasonably estimable.
The Company and its subsidiaries, including Tubi, Inc. ('Tubi'), are from time to time parties to actions and arbitration claims arising from their alleged misuse of personal information. The Company intends to vigorously defend against any other actions and arbitration claims arising from the alleged misuse of personal information that have not been settled or resolved by the Gregory settlement.
Cable Network Programming Segment EBITDA increased $141 million or 23% for the three months ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the corresponding period of fiscal 2024, primarily due to the revenue increases noted above, partially offset by higher expenses.
Revenues at the Television segment increased $173 million or 10% for the three months ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the corresponding period of fiscal 2024, due to higher advertising, affiliate fee and other revenues. The increase of $98 million or 11% in advertising revenue was primarily due to higher political advertising revenue at the FOX Television Stations due to the 2024 presidential and congressional elections and continued growth at Tubi.
The increase of $103 million or 6% in affiliate fee revenue was primarily due to the impact of higher average rates per subscriber and higher fees received from television stations that are affiliated with the FOX Network of approximately $210 million, partially offset by the approximately $110 million impact of a lower average number of subscribers across almost all networks.
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $22 million or 5% for the three months ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the corresponding period of fiscal 2024, primarily due to higher legal costs at FOX News Media and higher employee costs at Tubi.
Cable Network Programming Segment EBITDA increased $141 million or 23% for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and Television Segment EBITDA increased $21 million or 6% for the three months ended September 30, 2024.
Operating expenses increased $156 million or 8% for the three months ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the corresponding period of fiscal 2024, primarily due to the approximately $100 million impact of higher sports programming rights amortization driven by higher college football costs at the national sports networks, higher National Football League ('NFL') costs, led by the timing of NFL games, and the mix of fiscal
The company is seeing continued growth at Tubi, which is an advertising-supported video-on-demand ('AVOD') service. This is driving advertising revenue growth in the Television segment.
The company is subject to evolving technologies and distribution platforms and changes in consumer behavior as consumers seek more control over when, where and how they consume content, and related impacts on advertisers and MVPDs.
The company is subject to declines in advertising expenditures due to various factors such as the economic prospects of advertisers or the economy, major sports events and election cycles, evolving technologies and distribution platforms and related changes in consumer behavior and shifts in advertisers' expenditures, the evolving market for AVOD advertising campaigns, and audience measurement methodologies' ability to accurately reflect actual viewership levels.
As of September 30, 2024, the Company's remaining stock repurchase authorization was approximately $1.15 billion. Subsequent to September 30, 2024, the Company repurchased approximately 1.2 million shares of Class A Common Stock for approximately $50 million.
The Company declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.27 per share on both the Class A Common Stock and the Class B Common Stock during the three months ended September 30, 2024, which was paid on September 25, 2024 to stockholders of record on September 4, 2024.
Operating expenses increased $156 million or 8% for the three months ended September 30, 2024, as compared to the corresponding period of fiscal 2024, primarily due to the approximately $100 million impact of higher sports programming rights amortization driven by higher college football costs at the national sports networks, higher National Football League ('NFL') costs, led by the timing of NFL games, and the mix of fiscal
There is no mention of specific environmental, social, or governance initiatives or targets within the provided 10-Q filing. This suggests ESG is not a primary focus of this report.
The Company is involved in legal proceedings related to defamation and misuse of personal information. These proceedings may impact the company's reputation.
There is no mention of board diversity in the filing.
The increase of $98 million or 11% in advertising revenue was primarily due to higher political advertising revenue at the FOX Television Stations due to the 2024 presidential and congressional elections.
The increase of $103 million or 6% in affiliate fee revenue was primarily due to the impact of higher average rates per subscriber and higher fees received from television stations that are affiliated with the FOX Network of approximately $210 million, partially offset by the approximately $110 million impact of a lower average number of subscribers across almost all networks.
The company is subject to evolving technologies and distribution platforms and changes in consumer behavior as consumers seek more control over when, where and how they consume content, and related impacts on advertisers and MVPDs.