Earnings Call Insights: fuboTV Inc. (FUBO) Q3 2025
Management View
- CEO David Gandler opened the call emphasizing the significance of the completed combination with Hulu + Live TV, calling it “a defining moment for our team and our shareholders and the culmination of years of innovation and execution.” He described the combined entity as “one of the largest live TV streaming services in America” with nearly 6 million subscribers in North America, positioning fubo as the sixth largest pay TV company per UBS estimates.
- Gandler detailed strong stand-alone results, highlighting 1,630,000 paid subscribers in North America, $369 million in total revenue, and “meaningful improvements in both net loss and adjusted EBITDA with the third quarter representing our second consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA.”
- He noted, “Trial starts increased and conversions from trial to paid meaningfully improved year-over-year, while churn declined nearly 50% versus last year.”
- Strategic product initiatives included expansion of the fubo channel store (offering third-party services), the launch of the fubo Sports skinny service with “record trial conversions,” and double-digit sales growth in pay-per-view for October. Gandler stated, “These initiatives demonstrate fubo’s ability to innovate, scale engagement and strengthen our live platform.”
- On the integration with Hulu + Live TV, Gandler highlighted a focus on “programming efficiencies, ad tech uplift and marketing at scale, including through ESPN’s ecosystem as well as deeper personalization.”
- CFO John Jenadis stated, “Our third quarter results reflect continued progress in both execution and profitability capped by a historic milestone, the completion of our business combination with Hulu + Live TV.” He cited operating expense efficiency, saying “total operating expenses now approaching parity with revenue, our best ever third quarter performance.”
Outlook
- No formal forward guidance was issued, but management outlined four focus areas post-merger: “programming efficiencies, ad tech uplift, marketing at scale (including through ESPN’s ecosystem), and deeper personalization.”
- Gandler said, “We believe our third quarter stand-alone performance, coupled with the opportunities unlocked by our business combination with Disney’s Hulu+ Live TV, solidly position fubo for future success.”
- Jenadis cited “continued improvement in expense efficiency” and “ongoing focus on scalable growth.”
- The company indicated expectations for advertising revenue improvement as Disney takes over ad sales, with Gandler saying, “We expect that as we collaborate and integrate our inventory into Disney’s ecosystem and ad server, we should see pretty strong results relative to where we are today.”
Financial Results
- North America revenue was $368.6 million, with 1.63 million paid subscribers, described as “our highest ever third quarter subscriber count.”
- Rest of World revenue was $8.6 million, with 342,000 paid subscribers.
- North America advertising revenue totaled $25 million, down 7% year-over-year, attributed to “the absence of certain ad insertable content and onetime benefits in the prior year period.”
- Net loss was $18.9 million or $0.06 per share compared to a loss of $54.7 million or $0.17 per share in the prior year period. Adjusted EPS improved to $0.02 compared to a loss of $0.08 in the prior year period. Adjusted EBITDA was $6.9 million, an improvement of more than $34 million year-over-year.
- Net cash used in operating activities was $6.5 million, and free cash flow was negative $9.4 million. Liquidity included “over $280 million in cash.”
Q&A
- David Joyce, Seaport Research Partners, inquired about advertising changes post-merger. Jenadis responded, “We dropped Univision effectively at the end of last year. So that had an impact…there was also a political comp in there. If I were to kind of normalize for the 3 of those, I would say ad revenue would have been up modestly year-over-year for the quarter.” Gandler added, “Disney will be taking over advertising sales, and we expect that…we should see pretty strong results relative to where we are today.”
- Patrick Sholl, Barrington Research, asked about maintaining both fubo and Hulu offerings. Gandler explained, “Hulu Live does not overlap with fubo…We’ve been very focused on driving our sports identity branding…Hulu has been more of a general entertainment bundle that has sports.”
- Sholl also asked about marketing cost reductions. Gandler stated, “We had a 68% increase in net adds on a year-over-year basis while decreasing our marketing spend…by 21%.” He attributed this to more offers, adoption of AI in channel optimizations and creative testing, and disciplined marketing strategy.
- Alicia Reese, Wedbush, probed the skinny bundle’s performance. Jenadis said, “At launch, the reach was about 1/3 of the country. Now it’s north of 80% heading to full distribution by the end of the year…we see virtually no cannibalization, and we think it’s really expanding our addressable market.”
- Laura Martin, Needham, questioned fubo’s role post-merger. Gandler responded, “fubo will continue to drive significant growth…Our ambitions have not changed. We want to be the world’s largest live TV provider, and we’re using streaming to make a smarter, cheaper and more profitable TV product.”
- Sebastiano Petti, JPMorgan, asked about international strategy. Gandler said, “I’m very bullish on rest of the world…We’ll look to partner with Disney internationally.”
- William Lampen, BTIG, asked about subscriber trends and synergies. Jenadis replied, “The strength we saw through the third quarter…has continued through October. We’re exceeding, I would say, on — across all packaging.”
Sentiment Analysis
- Analysts demonstrated a positive to slightly positive tone, congratulating management on the merger and probing for details about post-merger advertising, international strategy, and product differentiation. Questions focused on sustainable growth, margin expansion, and post-merger competitive positioning.
- Management maintained a confident and optimistic tone throughout, emphasizing past achievements and future opportunities. Gandler frequently referenced historical milestones and asserted, “Our investors should be very excited about this, and I’m hoping Disney is excited about this as we are.”
- Compared to the previous quarter, analyst questions were more focused on post-merger integration and synergies, with less skepticism and more curiosity about strategy. Management tone showed increased confidence, building on two consecutive quarters of positive adjusted EBITDA and the strategic benefits of the Hulu + Live TV combination.
Quarter-over-Quarter Comparison
- The current quarter featured the completed Hulu + Live TV combination, in contrast to the previous quarter where the deal was pending. This drove a shift in management’s focus from standalone execution to integration and synergy realization.
- Guidance language shifted from broad optimism to more specific operational focus on “programming efficiencies, ad tech uplift, marketing at scale, and deeper personalization.”
- Analysts in Q3 focused more on advertising changes, cost efficiencies, and product strategy post-merger, while in Q2 they asked about standalone product launches, marketing, and operational metrics.
- Management’s tone in Q3 was more confident and forward-looking, frequently referencing the scale and strategic advantages from the merger, compared to Q2’s focus on reaching standalone profitability milestones.
- Key metrics such as adjusted EBITDA and net loss improved quarter-over-quarter, and management highlighted continued cost discipline and margin expansion.
Risks and Concerns
- Management cited the removal of Univision and absence of political ad revenue as factors impacting advertising revenue, but indicated normalization going forward.
- Jenadis mentioned, “Advertising revenue totaled $25 million, down 7% year-over-year, primarily reflecting the absence of certain ad insertable content and onetime benefits in the prior year period.”
- Management acknowledged integration risks but emphasized urgency in moving ad sales and content teams to Disney for synergy capture.
- Analysts raised concerns about cannibalization from the skinny bundle, but management reported “virtually no cannibalization.”
Final Takeaway
Management signaled that the completed merger with Hulu + Live TV fundamentally transforms fuboTV’s scale, product offering, and path to profitability. With record subscriber growth, improved margins, and a focus on operational synergies, the company positions itself as a major player in live TV streaming. The leadership team expressed confidence in leveraging Disney’s advertising and international platforms to drive growth and shareholder value, while maintaining disciplined cost control and innovation in product offerings.