FUBO Q3 Deep Dive: Disney Hulu+ Live TV Merger Marks New Strategic Phase

Live sports and TV streaming service fuboTV (NYSE:FUBO) reported Q3 CY2025 results beating Wall Street’s revenue expectations, but sales fell by 2.3% year on year to $377.2 million. Its non-GAAP profit of $0.02 per share was significantly above analysts’ consensus estimates.

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StockStory’s Take

fuboTV’s third quarter results came amid major corporate transformation, with the company finalizing its merger with Hulu + Live TV. Despite surpassing Wall Street’s revenue and profit expectations, the market reacted negatively, reflecting investor caution. Management attributed the quarter’s performance to improved subscriber metrics, disciplined cost control, and operational efficiency, while noting advertising revenue softness from content removals. CEO David Gandler cited, “Trial starts increased and conversions from trial to paid meaningfully improved year-over-year, while churn declined nearly 50% versus last year.”

Looking ahead, fuboTV’s management emphasized that future performance will hinge on integrating with Disney’s advertising infrastructure, realizing programming cost synergies, and expanding international reach. CEO David Gandler stated, “In the near term, we’ll focus on programming efficiencies, ad tech uplift and marketing at scale, including through ESPN’s ecosystem as well as deeper personalization.” The company is particularly focused on leveraging Disney’s scale for advertising and content, and on deploying AI-driven personalization to drive user engagement. Management believes these efforts will support subscriber growth and margin improvement as the integration advances.

Key Insights from Management’s Remarks

Management credited the quarter’s results to improved subscriber retention and trial conversion, prudent marketing spend, and product innovations, but highlighted advertising revenue as a weak spot due to lost content partnerships and political ad comps.

• Subscriber base expansion: The company achieved its highest-ever third quarter subscriber count, driven by increased trial starts, improved conversion rates, and lower churn. Management highlighted that the introduction of new packages, such as the sports-focused skinny bundle, helped broaden appeal without cannibalizing existing tiers.
• Advertising revenue headwinds: Advertising sales declined due to the absence of Univision, reduced political advertising compared to last year, and the loss of certain ad-insertable content. CFO John Janedis noted that normalizing for these factors, ad revenue would have grown modestly. The company expects the Disney partnership to help improve ad monetization.
• Disciplined marketing spend: Management reduced sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue by 21%, aided by AI-driven channel optimization and creative testing. This focus on efficiency was achieved even during a competitive sports calendar, contributing to positive adjusted EBITDA.
• Product and content innovation: The launch of the fubo channel store and continued expansion of pay-per-view offerings led to increased engagement and higher trial-to-paid conversion. The skinny bundle, now available to over 80% of the U.S. population, showed early signs of strong retention and low churn.
• Cost management and margin gains: Operating margins improved meaningfully, with expense efficiency approaching parity with revenue. Management attributed this to disciplined content spending, ongoing marketing optimization, and scalable growth initiatives.

Drivers of Future Performance

Management’s outlook centers on leveraging Disney’s advertising platform, programming cost savings, and international expansion to drive subscriber and margin growth.

• Advertising and programming synergies: Integrating with Disney’s ad sales infrastructure and achieving programming cost efficiencies are expected to drive both revenue growth and margin expansion. Management sees the potential for higher advertising rates and better content deals as a scaled player.
• AI-driven personalization and engagement: The company plans to further develop AI-powered recommendations and personalized features, aiming to increase engagement, reduce churn, and maximize user lifetime value. CEO David Gandler said AI is already being used to tailor highlights and content suggestions for users.
• International strategy and platform unification: fuboTV is focused on migrating its international Molotov platform and forging partnerships with Disney abroad. Management believes international markets offer significant long-term growth, with plans to launch in additional countries and leverage Disney’s global reach.

Catalysts in Upcoming Quarters

Looking ahead, the StockStory team will be monitoring (1) the pace of integration with Disney’s advertising and technology platforms, (2) execution on programming cost synergies and margin improvement, and (3) subscriber growth across both core and international markets. Progress in AI-driven personalization and the scaling of the skinny bundle will also be important indicators of sustained momentum.

fuboTV currently trades at $3.45, down from $3.79 just before the earnings. In the wake of this quarter, is it a buy or sell? See for yourself in our full research report (it’s free for active Edge members).

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