Your Thanksgiving Playbook: 3 Stocks Set to Benefit From Football Fever

Thanksgiving football games offer key insights into media and gaming investments, highlighting Fox (FOXA) as a stable play with record results and strong Q1 FY26 performance driven by live sports and streaming growth. Paramount Skydance (PSKY) is presented as a high-risk, high-reward turnaround story, with its holiday broadcast serving as a critical test for new leadership's ambitious strategic plan for cost savings and content investment, despite a recent revenue miss. DraftKings (DKNG) offers a contrarian opportunity, leveraging the holiday as a major sports betting catalyst, where strong FY25 guidance, a $2 billion share buyback, and insider purchases signal management confidence despite a recent earnings miss.

Analysis

Fox (FOXA) demonstrates robust financial health, reporting a 17% year-over-year revenue increase to $16.3 billion and a 26% rise in adjusted EBITDA for its last fiscal year. The company continued this positive trend in Q1 FY26, with EPS of $1.51 significantly beating consensus estimates of $1.10 and revenue reaching $3.74 billion, driven by premium live content like the upcoming Thanksgiving NFL broadcast. This strong execution, coupled with the strategic monetization of its Tubi streaming service, which recently achieved profitability with over $1.1 billion in revenue, positions FOXA as a stable investment near its 52-week high.

Paramount Skydance (PSKY) presents a high-risk, high-reward turnaround narrative following its merger, with the Thanksgiving NFL broadcast serving as a critical test for new leadership. Despite a Q3 2025 revenue miss reflecting pre-merger challenges, the company's stock surged nearly 10% on November 11 after unveiling an ambitious strategic plan. Key targets include $3 billion in run-rate cost savings, $1.5 billion in incremental content investment for 2026, and a goal of $30 billion in revenue and $3.5 billion in adjusted OIBDA for 2026, alongside a 2025 DTC profitability target.

DraftKings (DKNG) offers a contrarian investment opportunity, leveraging the significant seasonal catalyst of Thanksgiving sports betting despite a Q3 EPS loss of 26 cents that missed analyst expectations. Management's confidence is evident through healthy full-year 2025 guidance, projecting revenue between $5.9 billion and $6.1 billion and positive Adjusted EBITDA of $450 million to $550 million. Further bullish signals include the board doubling its share repurchase authorization to $2 billion and two directors purchasing over $1 million in stock on the open market, suggesting the recent stock dip may be overdone.

Each company offers a distinct profile within the media and gaming sectors, with Fox representing stability, Paramount Skydance a growth-oriented turnaround, and DraftKings a high-conviction rebound play. The Thanksgiving holiday provides a unique lens into their strategic execution and future potential.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Investors seeking stability should consider Fox (FOXA) given its consistent financial performance, strong Q1 FY26 results, and successful digital monetization strategy.
• For high-risk, high-reward exposure, closely monitor Paramount Skydance (PSKY)'s execution on its post-merger strategic plan and its ability to leverage the Thanksgiving broadcast as a proof point for its ambitious financial targets.
• Evaluate DraftKings (DKNG) as a contrarian opportunity, weighing its strong 2025 guidance, significant share buyback authorization, and insider buying against recent earnings misses, particularly with the upcoming seasonal catalyst.
• Consider a diversified approach across these distinct profiles to capture varying risk/reward dynamics within the media and gaming sectors.