Fox bucks ad weakness to top profit expectations

(Reuters) -Broadcaster Fox Corp beat estimates for third-quarter revenue and adjusted profit on Tuesday, as recession-wary companies continued to advertise on its network even as they cut their spending on other marketing channels.

Shares of the company rose more than 4% in premarket trading.

Total revenue rose 18% to $4.08 billion, inching past analysts’ estimates of $4.03 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

Fox’s ad revenue also surged 43% to $1.88 billion, well past the expectation of $1.67 billion.

Chief Executive Officer Lachlan Murdoch said the results were supported by higher viewership for FOX Sports’ broadcast of Super Bowl LVII and growth at its streaming service Tubi.

The upbeat results from Fox, which operates Fox News and a range of sports channels, underscore the cautious approach by advertisers who are mostly buying ad slots on dominant networks given their reach.

On an adjusted basis, it earned 94 cents per share, above estimates of 87 cents.

The company, however, posted a net loss of $50 million due to charges associated with costs related to its news operations’ legal settlement.

Fox had a tumultuous April, during which it agreed to pay nearly $800 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems and ousted popular but controversial television personality Tucker Carlson.