Fox Corporation Class B (NASDAQ:FOX) shares are soaring 5.04% in pre-market trading on Thursday, following the company's impressive fiscal first-quarter earnings report that significantly exceeded analyst expectations. The media giant reported quarterly earnings of $1.51 per share, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by a whopping 40.07%, and marking a 4.14% increase from the same period last year.

The company's strong performance was underpinned by robust revenue growth across its portfolio. Fox reported quarterly sales of $3.738 billion, surpassing the analyst consensus estimate of $3.570 billion by 4.70%. This represents a 4.88% increase compared to the same period last year. The cable-network business, which includes Fox Sports 1, Fox Business, and Fox News, saw revenue rise 4.1% to $1.66 billion, while the television segment experienced a 5% gain, reaching $2.05 billion.

Adding to the positive sentiment, Fox unveiled a $1.5 billion accelerated share-repurchase program, further boosting investor confidence. CEO Lachlan Murdoch attributed the strong results to increased audience engagement and robust advertising demand across sports, news, entertainment, and the Tubi streaming service. The company noted that higher prices and ratings helped offset lower political advertising revenues, with overall advertising revenues increasing by 6%.