FuboTV's Q3 2025 Earnings Call: Contradictions in Advertising, Subscriber Growth, Content Strategy, and Revenue Forecasts

Date of Call: November 3, 2025

Financials Results

• Revenue: $368.6M total revenue in North America (Q3), down 2.3% year-over-year (company also cited ~$369M total revenue across regions)
• EPS: $0.06 net loss per share (GAAP) vs $0.17 loss prior year; adjusted EPS $0.02 vs $(0.08) prior year
• Gross Margin: North of ~20% gross margin (management target 30%; stated need ~10 percentage points of improvement via programming efficiencies, ad uplift, G&A/tech savings)

Guidance:

• Disney will take over ad sales and fubo inventory will be integrated into Disney's ad ecosystem, with ad uplift expected after integration (targeting integration work in Q1).
• Management targets a 30% gross margin from current ~20% via programming efficiencies, advertising uplift and G&A/tech improvements.
• Advertising synergies expected in the short-to-mid term and content-cost savings are expected to be meaningful; path to sustained profitability and margin expansion emphasized.

Business Commentary:

• Business Combination and Growth:
• fuboTV Inc. recently completed a transformative combination with Hulu's live TV business, resulting in one of the largest live TV streaming services in America.
• This combination has created a combined nearly 6 million subscribers in North America, making fubo the sixth largest pay TV company.

• The growth was driven by the strategic combination that broadens consumer offerings and opportunities for programming efficiencies.

• Financial Performance and Profitability:

• fubo reported $369 million in total revenue and 1.63 million paid subscribers in North America for Q3, with a 1.1% year-over-year increase in subscribers.
• The company achieved positive adjusted EBITDA for the second consecutive quarter, marking a year-over-year improvement of over $34 million.

• Improvements in net loss and adjusted EBITDA were supported by reduced marketing spend and increased consumer engagement.

• Advertising and New Opportunities:

• fubo's advertising revenue totaled $25 million, down 7% year-over-year, primarily due to the absence of certain ad insertable content and one-time benefits in the prior year period.
• The company has initiated a new advertising relationship with Disney, which will oversee ad sales and deliver revenue net of ad sales commission.

• Collaboration with Disney's ad ecosystem is expected to enhance advertising performance and revenue growth.

• Product Innovation and Engagement:

• fubo introduced the fubo Sports skinny service and expanded pay-per-view offerings, contributing to record trial conversions and double-digit sales growth in October.
• Improvements in trial starts, conversions, and churn reduction indicate growing consumer demand and engagement.
• These innovations reflect fubo's commitment to increasing sports engagement through personalized features and content offerings.

Sentiment Analysis:

Overall Tone: Positive

• Management highlighted "second consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA" and improved net loss ($18.9M vs $54.7M prior year). CEO called the Hulu+ Live TV combination "transformative" and said the deal "solidly position[s] fubo for future success," signaling confidence in growth and margin improvement.

Q&A:

• Question from David Joyce (Seaport Research Partners): Can you detail what content was removed that impacted ad comps, and will Disney's ad-sales relationship apply across Hulu Live subscribers?
  Response: John: Normalizing for Univision removal, a residual Maximum Effort channel and a political comp, ad revenue would have been modestly up YoY. David: Disney will run ad sales for the combined inventory and management expects integration into Disney's ad ecosystem to drive meaningful ad/CPM uplift.

• Question from Patrick Sholl (Barrington Research Associates): After the transaction, why maintain both fubo and Hulu full-service offerings rather than consolidating?
  Response: fubo and Hulu address different customer sets and product identities (sports-first vs general entertainment); maintaining both preserves optionality across price points as part of a super-aggregation strategy.

• Question from Patrick Sholl (Barrington Research Associates): The big YoY reduction in sales & marketing — is that due to maintaining SAC at ~1x ARPU or other efficiencies?
  Response: Management: Lower S&M as % of revenue driven by a broader set of offers (channel store, skinny bundle, Pro/Elite), AI-driven creative/testing and channel optimization; SAC is well below the historical 1–1.5x ARPU target, improving efficiency while still growing net adds.

• Question from Alicia Reese (Wedbush Securities): For the skinny bundle (20% sequential subscriber growth), are these new subs or cannibalized from existing tiers; who is churning/retaining?
  Response: John: Early indications show virtually no cannibalization, expanded distribution (reach >80% now), and retention/churn metrics are better than Pro and Elite; it appears to expand addressable market.

• Question from Alicia Reese (Wedbush Securities): How was Q3 marketing budget allocated between the heavy sports calendar and promoting the skinny bundle?
  Response: David: Marketing is actively managed in near real time to balance packages and scale profitably; no specific spend split disclosed.

• Question from Laura Martin (Needham & Company): With Hulu having more subs, won't Hulu's strategy eclipse fubo; who will drive the combined company's direction over the next 6–9 months?
  Response: David: fubo expects to remain a major growth engine—leveraging ESPN's large funnel, Disney ad capabilities, programming efficiencies and international expansion—while executing fubo's product and monetization roadmap within the combined company.

• Question from Laura Martin (Needham & Company): Are you using generative AI to personalize recommendations or drive product updates?
  Response: David: Yes—AI is used for personalized recommendations and automated sports highlights; despite removing channels, ad availabilities grew ~30% YoY, and AI-driven personalization is part of the path to higher margins.

• Question from Sebastiano Petti (JPMorgan): Is Rest of World still core and are there cross-bundling synergies with Disney internationally; any benefit from the YouTube TV-Disney blackout?
  Response: David: Rest of World remains strategic—Molotov will be migrated to fubo and 3–4 initial markets targeted over 18–24 months with Disney partnership potential; regarding YouTube blackout, they noted occasional bumps but no material opportunistic strategy.

• Question from William Lampen (BTIG): Early October reads—are the Q3 subscription trends and LatAm strength persisting across packages?
  Response: John: Strength from August/September continued into October and performance is exceeding plan across packaging (Latino, Canada, skinny bundle, RSNs, English).

• Question from William Lampen (BTIG): Can you update on expected revenue/expense synergies and timing to sustainable EBITDA/net earnings?
  Response: John: Key synergies are in advertising and content expense; ad team is already working with Disney and ad synergies should appear in the short-to-mid term, while content savings are expected to be meaningful—both supporting the path to sustained profitability.

Contradiction Point 1

Advertising Revenue and Strategy

It involves changes in advertising strategy and revenue expectations, which are critical for understanding the company's financial performance and growth strategy.

Can you explain the content removed that affected the comparability? Also, discuss the new advertising relationship with Disney and its impact on the subscriber base? - David Joyce (Seaport Research Partners)

2025Q3: Ad revenue would have been up modestly year-over-year if normalized. - John Jenadis(CFO)

What are ad booking trends and how is the Fubo Sports Network FAST channel contributing to ad growth? - Alicia Spring Reese (Wedbush Securities)

2025Q2: Ad revenue faces minor drags from foreign auto softness, but other major categories like retail e-com and tech are growing strongly. - John Janedis(CFO)

Contradiction Point 2

Subscriber Growth and Retention

It involves changes in subscriber growth expectations and retention strategies, which are crucial for assessing the company's market position and financial performance.

Can you elaborate on the skinny bundle's key factors and how it affects subscriber growth and churn? - Alicia Reese (Wedbush Securities Inc., Research Division)

2025Q3: Subscriber performance exceeded expectations due to strong interest in Latino products post-Uivision, and better retention trends across the portfolio. - John Janedis(CFO) & David Gandler(Co-Founder, President, CEO)

What are subscriber expectations for Q3, considering competitor product launches and the anticipated launch of a skinnier product? How should marketing efforts be adjusted given the competitive environment? - Patrick William Sholl (Barrington Research)

2025Q2: The third quarter is expected to benefit from the typical seasonal uptick in subscribers with the start of the fall sports season and reactivations. Marketing efforts will remain efficient and focused on effective spending, with an eye on market competition in terms of subscriber acquisition costs (SAC) conversion and churn. - John Janedis(CFO)

Contradiction Point 3

Content and Programming Strategy

It involves changes in the company's strategy regarding content and programming, which directly impacts the product offerings and consumer experience.

Can you elaborate on the content that was removed to make comparisons more challenging? - David Joyce (Seaport Research Partners)

2025Q3: John Jenadis: Content removed included Univision, Maximum Effort Channel revenue, and a political comp...Ad revenue would have been up modestly year-over-year if normalized. - John Jenadis(CFO)

Can you update us on content developments, specifically TelevisaUnivision's interest in future discussions and progress on programming contract alignment for skinnier packages ahead of the football season? - David Joyce (Seaport Research Partners)

2025Q1: David Gandler: Focused on releasing skinny bundles with standalone services showing promising growth opportunities. Content deals with non-Disney partners are in progress, with a focus on fair market prices and flexibility. - David Gandler(CEO)

Contradiction Point 4

Advertising and Revenue Growth

It involves changes in the company's advertising strategy and revenue expectations, which are critical for investor and market confidence.

How will the new advertising partnership with Disney impact the subscriber base? - David Joyce (Seaport Research Partners)

2025Q3: David Gandler: Disney will handle advertising sales, and integration into Disney's ecosystem should improve results. - David Gandler(Co-Founder, President, CEO)

How is the ROW business performing currently, and are Gen AI tools being integrated into creative or advertising? - Laura Martin (Needham)

2025Q1: John Janedis: Normalizing ad revenue for lost insertable hours, Q1 ad revenue was up year-over-year, and 2Q looks slightly better. - John Janedis(CFO)