Fox Corporation (NASDAQ:FOXA) Q4 Earnings: World Cup Drives 28% Revenue Jump, EPS Beats by 23%

Fox Corporation (NASDAQ: FOXA) closed fiscal 2026 with a fourth quarter defined by the FIFA Men's World Cup broadcast, delivering Q4 revenue of $4.21 billion, up 28.1% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $1.79 against a consensus estimate of $1.45, a 23.4% positive surprise. Shares gained 3.63% on Friday, August 7, while the S&P 500 rose 0.61%.

Q4 Fiscal 2026 Results

• Revenue: $4.21 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, up from $3.29 billion in the prior year quarter, a 28.1% year-over-year increase.
• Advertising revenue: $1.92 billion, up 78% year over year, driven by the FIFA Men's World Cup broadcast and continued digital growth through the Tubi AVOD service.
• Distribution revenue: $2.03 billion, up 5% year over year, with Cable Network Programming distribution growing 7% on contractual price increases partially offset by net subscriber declines.
• Adjusted EBITDA: $1.20 billion, up 27% from $939 million in the prior year quarter.
• GAAP net income: $696 million ($1.61 GAAP EPS), compared to $719 million ($1.57 GAAP EPS) in the prior year quarter, a 3.2% year-over-year decline in GAAP net income.
• Full year revenue: $17.13 billion, up 5% from $16.30 billion in fiscal 2025, with full year adjusted EBITDA of $3.91 billion, up 8%.

What Drove the Results

Adjusted EPS of $1.79 beat the $1.45 consensus by $0.34, or 23.4%. Television segment EBITDA more than doubled to $705 million from $308 million in the prior year quarter, reflecting the operating leverage generated by the World Cup broadcast rights. The World Cup delivered a record U.S. audience of nearly 63 million viewers, per figures cited in available reports, and drove the 78% advertising revenue surge in the quarter.

The divergence between GAAP and adjusted results is notable. GAAP net income fell 3.2% year over year to $696 million, while adjusted net income rose 31.7% to $765 million. The gap reflects restructuring, impairment, and other corporate matters excluded from the adjusted figure, as well as costs associated with the launch of FOX One, the company's new direct-to-consumer streaming service.

Cable Network Programming posted quarterly segment EBITDA of $728 million, slightly below the $747 million in the prior year quarter, as a 9% revenue increase to $1.67 billion was more than offset by higher sports programming rights amortization and production costs tied to the World Cup. On a full year basis, Cable Network Programming EBITDA grew to $3.10 billion from $3.03 billion.

Wall Street View

Seaport Research Partners downgraded Fox's stock rating to neutral following the World Cup results, according to available reports, reflecting a view that the near-term sports rights catalyst has now been realized. The Google News headlines also note that the firm assigned a neutral rating, though no specific new price target was disclosed in the available source data. The analyst consensus as of August 1, 2026 included 15 Buy or Strong Buy ratings and 11 Hold ratings, with one Sell.

Investor Takeaway

Fox's fiscal 2026 results confirm that the World Cup was a genuine financial catalyst, not merely a branding event, with Television segment EBITDA more than doubling in the quarter and advertising revenue nearly doubling across the company. The key forward question is whether the announced acquisition of Roku, which CEO Lachlan Murdoch described as a deal that will "transform the scope and growth profile" of the company, can sustain the advertising and streaming momentum now that the World Cup cycle has ended. Investors watching the fiscal 2027 setup should note that the prior year comparison base will include the Super Bowl LIX broadcast, which management cited as a factor that reduced full year advertising growth, making the year-over-year advertising comparison in coming quarters structurally more favorable for Fox.