Fox beats third-quarter revenue estimates

A man walks past the News Corp. Building and Fox News Headquarters, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Fox Corp beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue on Monday, boosted by strong advertising sales in its sports and news divisions and strength in the media company’s Tubi streaming service.

Shares of the company rose about six per cent in premarket trading. Advertisers turn to the company, which owns brands such as Fox News, Fox Sports, to capture its viewership amid growing geopolitical uncertainty driven by the Middle East conflict.

The company reported revenue of US$3.99 billion, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $3.82 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Its adjusted profit per share of $1.32 exceeded estimates of 97 cents per share.

The company said advertising revenue for its cable network programming rose five per cent, primarily boosted by increased news pricing and the broadcast of the World Baseball Classic, despite being partially offset by lower ratings.

“This strong performance, led by robust core advertising trends, underscores FOX’s leadership in live programming, bolstered by continued strength at our leading free streaming service, Tubi,” CEO Lachlan Murdoch said in a statement.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)