What CEOs Are Saying: Roku, Fox, Reddit

This week, we look at earnings calls from Fox, Roku, and Reddit.

What’s interesting to me is that these companies are making money from things that weren’t initially supposed to be the main business.

1. Fox spent decades building cable bundles. Now their fastest growing part is Tubi, a free streaming service they basically give away. As we’ll see below, Tubi just turned profitable.

2. Roku sells streaming devices, but 86% of their revenue comes from ads and subscriptions on the platform.

3. Reddit spent years as the place people went to avoid corporate BS. Now they’re doing $549M in quarterly ad revenue.

None of this was the original plan, but it’s working because each company controls something scarce: reach. Fox gets half of US TV households. Roku is in 50% of broadband homes. Reddit is the #3 most-visited site in America. At that scale, you can monetize things that look like giveaways.

Some other themes of these calls:

• Profitability is no longer optional: Investors want proof you can make money, not promises you’ll figure it out later

• Performance marketing is where the money’s going: If your advertising can’t prove ROI with hard numbers, you’re losing budget to platforms that can

• AI needs to reduce friction or improve outcomes: Translation, ad creation, content discovery—use cases that solve real problems, not features looking for a use case

• Bundles are back: Cord-cutting slowed way down. Consumers don’t want 15 separate subscriptions; they want flexibility within sensible bundles

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Fox Corporation (FOXA) Q1 2026 Earnings Call

• Revenue: $3.74B (+5% YoY)

• EBITDA Growth: +2% YoY

• Advertising Revenue: +6% YoY (despite no political revenue vs. prior year)

• Net Income: $599M ($1.32 per share)

Three Critical Developments

1. Tubi Achieves Profitability Ahead of Schedule

Fox’s free ad-supported streaming service (AVOD) hit quarterly profitability earlier than expected, with 27% revenue growth and 18% increase in total view time. The platform is now positioned for 20-25% long-term margins and will become a “meaningful EBITDA contributor” in the medium term.

Leadership Quote: