Benzinga - by Zacks, Benzinga Contributor.
Fox (NASDAQ: FOXA) is set to report third-quarter fiscal 2024 results on May 8.
For the quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $1.16 per share, up 0.9% in the past 30 days. The figure indicates 23.4% growth from the year-ago reported figure.
The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $3.44 billion, implying a 15.78% decline from the year-ago quarter's reported figure.
The company's earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 71.08%.
Let's see how things have shaped up for this announcement.
Fox Corporation Price and EPS Surprise
Fox Corporation price-eps-surprise | Fox Corporation Quote
Factors to Consider Fox's third-quarter fiscal 2024 performance is expected to have been negatively impacted by continued weakness in the Cable Network Programming segment. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the segment's revenues is pegged at $1.474 billion, indicating a year-over-year decline of 6.1%.
Advertisers are contending with higher costs amid rising inflation, which has led to cutbacks in spending on advertising. This is expected to have reflected in the company's ad revenue growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for advertising revenues is pegged at $1.257 billion, indicating a year-over-year decline of 33%.
In the last reported quarter, advertising revenues (47.3% of the total) declined 20% year over year to $2 billion, primarily due to lower political advertising revenues at the FOX Television Stations because of the absence of the 2022 mid-term elections and the impact of elevated supply in the direct response marketplace at FOX News Media. The trend is expected to have continued in the to-be-reported quarter.
Strength in the Television segment, driven by increasing affiliate fee revenues, is likely to have aided the company's top-line growth.
In the last reported quarter, affiliate fees (42.2% of the total) rose 4.4% to $1.78 billion, driven by 10% growth in the Television segment. In the to-be-reported quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for affiliate fee revenues is pegged at $1.931 billion, indicating year-over-year growth of 4%.
Fox News Digital and FOXBusiness.com had a successful first-quarter fiscal 2024, outperforming some of the key competitors in terms of multiplatform views, minutes and engagement on social media.
FOX News Channel finished the fiscal first quarter as cable's most-watched network in total day and primetime, dominating primetime viewers in cable news for 89 consecutive quarters. In comparison, Warner Bros. Discovery-owned (NASDAQ: WBD) CNN saw quarter-over-quarter declines in total day and primetime averaged just 85,000 in total day 25-54 demo, which is an all-time low in the network's recorded history.
FOX Business Network ended the first quarter of fiscal 2024 notching the top two business programs for two straight years, according to Nielsen Media Research. Kudlow, hosted by Larry Kudlow, was once again the top business program with total viewers for the ninth consecutive quarter, while the network also delivered 10 of the top 20 business programs in total viewers.
Moreover, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company's focus on expanding its digital business segments through partnerships is likely to have boosted FOXA's prospects in the to-be-reported quarter.
Sinclair Broadcasting Group (NASDAQ: SBGI) and FOX Corporation announced that their broadcast divisions have reached an agreement for a multi-year renewal of all FOX affiliations in Sinclair markets. Sinclair's partners also renewed FOX affiliations in markets where SBGI provides sales and other services under a joint sales agreement or master service agreement. The 41 renewed markets serve approximately 19 million TV households.
Fox Nation also announced that it has expanded its distribution to EchoStar's (NASDAQ: SATS), DISH Network and SLING TV. Starting in mid-March, DISH Network's customers have been subscribing to FOX Nation for $5.99 per month. SLING TV users are also able to access FOX Nation for $5.99 per month. This includes both regular SLING TV and Sling Freestream users.
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