Fox Corporation’s Television segment turned $535 million of a $663 million rise in revenue into segment EBITDA in the quarter to 30 September, or 81% by our arithmetic, according to the earnings release Fox filed with the SEC on 2 November. Its cable networks kept 42% of their smaller gain.
Television produced 93% of the company’s $576 million rise in Adjusted EBITDA, by our arithmetic. Total revenue rose 22% to $4.57 billion and advertising revenue 47% to $2.08 billion, which Fox puts down primarily to its broadcast of the FIFA Men’s World Cup, higher political advertising and digital growth led by Tubi.
Executive Chair and Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch said in the release that the quarter set “first-quarter records for revenue and Adjusted EBITDA”.
Business Pill · Gross Margin
An evergreen Business Engineer explainer on gross margin: how much of each sales dollar a business keeps after direct costs. It teaches the general idea only and does not discuss Fox’s results.
The key insight: As we read the release, this was an event quarter: the World Cup and the midterm campaigns lifted Television advertising by $641 million, while Television costs rose $128 million by our arithmetic, helped by the timing of NFL games.
Advertising revenue was $2,081 million, against $1,412 million a year earlier. Distribution revenue rose 9% to $2,084 million. Content and other revenue was $406 million, against $411 million.
By our arithmetic, advertising came within $3 million of distribution in the quarter, against a gap of $503 million a year earlier. Advertising supplied $669 million of the $833 million rise in total revenue, or 80%.
Adjusted EBITDA was $1.64 billion, up 54%. Net income was $957 million, against $609 million, and earnings per share attributable to Fox stockholders were $2.20, against $1.32. Adjusted earnings per share were $2.54, against $1.51.
Year-on-year change in segment revenue and segment EBITDA at Fox Corporation’s Television and Cable Network Programming segments, quarter to 30 September 2026, from its Q1 fiscal 2027 earnings release. The 81% and 42% shares are our arithmetic.
Key Updates: ๐น World Cup: Current-year broadcast supported advertising revenue ๐น Tubi: Continued digital growth led by the Tubi AVOD service ๐น Political Advertising: Higher political advertising revenue
Comments: ๐ธ โFOX has had an outstanding start to fiscal 2027 with first-quarter records for revenue and Adjusted EBITDA underpinned by robust growth in both advertising and distributionrevenue. We commenced the year with the stellar performance of the FIFA Men’s World Cup, the kickoff of the college football and NFL seasons, and an active election cycle at the national and local levels.โ
Wall St Engine (@wallstengine) posted Fox Corporation’s first-quarter fiscal 2027 highlights at 13:04 UTC on 2 November. Per the post: revenue of $4.57 billion against an estimate of $4.31 billion, adjusted EPS of $2.54 against $2.09, advertising of $2.08 billion against $1.76 billion, Television segment revenue of $2.71 billion and Television EBITDA of $934 million, up 134%. The piece checks each figure against Fox’s release; the estimates are the post’s own, with no named source.
Television: 81 Cents of Each New Dollar
Television revenue rose 32% to $2.71 billion. Advertising inside the segment rose $641 million, or 60%, to $1,708 million. The 10-Q attributes that to the World Cup broadcast and higher pricing, partly offset by the timing of NFL games and lower ratings, and to political advertising “principally due to the November 2026 U.S. midterm elections”.
Segment costs grew far less. Operating expenses rose to $1,496 million from $1,385 million, and selling, general and administrative costs to $283 million from $266 million, a combined rise of $128 million by our arithmetic. Segment EBITDA rose 134% to $934 million.
The release says the higher sports rights and production costs of the World Cup were “partially offset by lower NFL costs driven by the timing of games”. It does not say how large that offset was. By our arithmetic, Television’s EBITDA margin was 34.4%, against 19.5% a year earlier.
Cable: Steadier and Thinner
Cable Network Programming grew revenue 8% to $1.80 billion. Distribution revenue rose $110 million, or 10%, which the release attributes primarily to “contractual price increases and an increase in the average number of subscribers”.
Cable advertising rose $28 million, helped by World Cup sports advertising and partly offset by lower digital news advertising. Segment EBITDA rose 7% to $859 million, as sports rights, production and news programming costs rose. That is $59 million kept from $141 million of new revenue, 42% by our arithmetic.
The Roku Deal on Fox’s Books
The 10-Q says Fox will pay $96.00 in cash and 0.9693 of a FOX Class A share for each Roku share, that both companies’ stockholders approved the deal in October, and that it remains subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.
Fox had about $4.5 billion of cash at 30 September, an unused $1.0 billion revolving credit facility, and a $1.0 billion term loan facility with no borrowings outstanding. The 10-Q says Fox can draw on the term loan and on commitments under a bridge facility to fund the cash portion of the price.
The 10-Q puts the termination fee either side may owe at about $866 million, and the fee Fox would pay Roku in certain regulatory or antitrust circumstances at about $1.2 billion. Roku reported Adjusted EBITDA of $248.8 million for the same quarter. Fox’s $1.64 billion is 6.6 times that, by our arithmetic.
Fox’s release and 10-Q do not mention artificial intelligence. Roku’s letter, filed the same day, says it is “leveraging AI to improve how our Home Screen and Live TV destination determine shows and movies to feature for the viewer”.
How the Figures Compare With Estimates
Wall St Engine, posting on X at 13:04 UTC on 2 November, put estimates at $4.31 billion for revenue, $2.09 for adjusted earnings per share and $1.76 billion for advertising revenue, and segment estimates at $1.72 billion for Cable Network Programming and $2.40 billion for Television. It did not name the source of those estimates. All five reported figures came in above them.
What the Risk Factors Say
Fox’s 10-Q says there have been no material changes to the risk factors in its annual report for the fiscal year ended 30 June 2026.
As we read the segment tables, Fox’s two businesses grew in different ways: Television on advertising tied to events, Cable on distributionrevenue, which rose 10% on contractual price increases and more subscribers.
As we read the revenue mix, advertising drawing level with distribution reflects this quarter’s calendar; a year earlier, distribution revenue was $503 million larger, by our arithmetic.
As we read the 10-Q, Fox goes into the Roku clearance period with about $4.5 billion of cash, an unused revolving facility, and term loan and bridge commitments it can draw on for the cash portion of the price.
Lachlan Murdoch, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Fox Corporation, earnings release, 2 November 2026
“FOX has had an outstanding start to fiscal 2027 with first-quarter records for revenue and Adjusted EBITDA underpinned by robust growth in both advertising and distribution revenue”
Three Implications
FOR ADVERTISERS Television advertising rose 60% in a quarter that the release says combined the World Cup, the start of the college football and NFL seasons, and an active election cycle.
FOR ROKU SHAREHOLDERS The 10-Q says they are to receive $96.00 in cash and 0.9693 of a FOX Class A share per Roku share, and that the deal still needs Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance.
FOR FOX SHAREHOLDERS Adjusted earnings per share were $2.54, against $1.51, and the 10-Q reports no material changes to Fox’s risk factors since its annual report.
The Business Engineer Lens
This story maps onto the Business Engineer framework The AI Supercycle.
The framework describes the current phase this way: “Phase 1 — Linear Expansion. AI as a layer on top of every internet-era industry.”
As we read it, Fox’s quarter sits outside that layer: its release and 10-Q do not mention AI, while Roku, the platform it has agreed to buy, describes AI-driven recommendations in its own letter. The framework does not discuss Fox or Roku.
What Is Not Established
Fox does not split the advertising rise between the World Cup, political spending and Tubi, and the release gives no Tubi revenue or viewing figures. It does not quantify the NFL timing offset, which lowered Television’s costs in the quarter and is included in the 81% figure. We did not review the earnings call.
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Fox’s World Cup quarter ran through its Television segment: $535 million of new segment EBITDA from $663 million of new revenue, 81% by our arithmetic, and 93% of the group’s EBITDA gain. Advertising drew level with distribution revenue, while Fox holds $4.5 billion of cash as the Roku deal awaits antitrust clearance.
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A note on sourcing. Company figures come from Fox Corporation’s Q1 fiscal 2027 earnings release (8-K Exhibit 99.1) and its 10-Q, both filed with the SEC on 2 November 2026 and read on EDGAR, and Roku’s Q3 2026 shareholder letter. Estimates are Wall St Engine’s. The 81%, 42% and 93% shares (segment EBITDA gain divided by revenue gain, and Television’s share of the group EBITDA gain), the margins, the $128 million cost rise and the 6.6 times ratio are our arithmetic. We did not contact Fox or Roku.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
