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Jon Lafayette

Analyst Downgrades Fox Corp. as Fox News Viewership Falls

Fox building in New York

Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall downgraded Fox Corp. stock to “underweight” from “equal weight” as lower ratings at Fox News Channel and cord-cutting threaten to depress earnings.

Cahall lowered his target price for Fox stock to $31 a share from his previous $35 a share target and Friday’s close of $31.92.

According to Cahall, Fox News Channel accounts for about 80% of Fox Corp.’s earnings. The network’s viewership is down 19% for the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2021, he noted, because of a combination of programming and cord-cutting. FNC's share of primetime news viewership is down to 38% share of from 51% in January, before popular host Tucker Carlson was dismissed.

Fox News’s share of conservative news viewers is down to 84% from 94%. 

“While the new primetime lineup could drive a rebound, we think Fox News is a Show Me viewership story,” Cahall said.

Cahall also noted that Fox gets 50% of its revenue from affiliate fees. He sees cord-cutting as reducing pay TV subscribers by 7% to 8% this year. He adds that if ESPN goes direct-to-consumer, cord-cutting could accelerate.

The company also faces more litigation after settling a defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems for $787 million.

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