Your Thanksgiving Playbook: 3 Stocks Set to Benefit From Football Fever
For millions of American families, the Thanksgiving holiday is defined by two traditions: a turkey feast and football. While the on-field rivalries capture the nation's attention, a different kind of competition is taking place on the balance sheets of the companies that broadcast, stream, and facilitate wagers on these games.
This annual tradition translates into a predictable surge in advertising revenue, streaming subscriptions, and gaming activity. For investors, this creates a clear window into the performance of key media and gaming giants, offering distinct opportunities to build a winning portfolio around America's favorite holiday pastime.
Fox: The Broadcast Booth’s Proven Champion
Fox (NASDAQ: FOXA) represents the fundamentally sound anchor of a Thanksgiving-themed entertainment sector portfolio. The company will broadcast the classic Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions matchup, a game that consistently delivers a large and engaged national audience. This is precisely the type of premium live content that fuels Fox’s impressive business model.
The company's ability to monetize these events is well-documented. For its full fiscal year that ended in June, Fox reported record results, including a 17% jump in revenue to $16.3 billion and a 26% increase in adjusted EBITDA. More recently, its first-quarter fiscal 2026 report continued this trend, delivering a powerful performance that beat expectations:
- Earnings Per Share (EPS): $1.51, decisively beating the consensus estimate of $1.10.
- Revenue: $3.74 billion, demonstrating healthy growth and strong advertising demand.
This strong execution is a key reason the stock is trading near its 52-week high. For investors, the Thanksgiving broadcast is more than just an advertising event; it's a strategic driver for Fox’s digital future. The game will be heavily promoted across Tubi, the streaming service, which generated over $1.1 billion in revenue and recently achieved profitability—a significant milestone. It also serves as a major draw for the newly launched direct-to-consumer platform (DTC), FOX One. This dual approach allows Fox to capture revenue from its legacy broadcast audience and the growing cord-cutting demographic, solidifying its position as a reliable investment in live sports monetization.
Paramount Skydance: A Turnaround Test for Thanksgiving Day
Representing the high-risk, high-reward play, the newly merged Paramount Skydance (NASDAQ: PSKY) has a prime opportunity to showcase its potential on Thanksgiving. Its CBS network will broadcast the day's premier matchup, the Kansas City Chiefs at the Dallas Cowboys, a contest between two of the NFL’s most popular teams that is poised to be one of the most-watched regular-season games of the year.
This broadcast serves as the first major public test for CEO David Ellison’s new leadership team following the merger with Skydance. In their first earnings call for the third quarter 2025 earnings report, management unveiled an ambitious strategic plan centered on three North Star priorities: investing in creative content, scaling the direct-to-consumer business, and driving enterprise-wide efficiency. Key targets from this plan include:
- Efficiency Target: An increased run-rate cost savings goal of at least $3 billion.
- Content Investment: A planned incremental programming investment of over $1.5 billion is scheduled for 2026.
- Future Guidance: A target of $30 billion in revenue and $3.5 billion in adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) for 2026.
While the company's third-quarter revenue slightly missed estimates, a reflection of its pre-merger challenges, investors responded with enthusiasm to the new forward-looking strategy. The stock jumped nearly 10% on Nov. 11, and several analysts, including those at Wells Fargo and Benchmark, subsequently raised their price targets. A flawless, high-viewership broadcast on Thanksgiving would provide tangible proof that the new leadership can effectively leverage its A-list assets and achieve its goal of making the DTC segment profitable in 2025. For investors, Paramount Skydance is a bet on execution, and this holiday game offers a timely and visible test of the turnaround story.
DraftKings: A Rebound Play Bullish Insider Signals
DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) offers a compelling contrarian opportunity for investors looking past recent headlines. The Thanksgiving holiday, with its slate of standalone, high-interest games, represents one of the biggest single-day events for sports betting, creating a powerful and predictable catalyst for user engagement and wagering volume.
This seasonal tailwind arrives at an opportune moment. The company’s recent third-quarter earnings report fell short of analyst expectations, with an earnings-per-share (EPS) loss of 26 cents, triggering a wave of lowered price targets from Wall Street and pressuring the stock. However, a closer examination of the fundamentals and recent corporate actions reveals a potentially bullish setup. While revenue growth was modest at 4.4% in the quarter, key metrics such as Monthly Unique Payers (3.6 million) and Average Revenue Per MUP ($106) continued to grow.
More importantly, management is signaling strong confidence. The company provided healthy full-year 2025 guidance, projecting revenue between $5.9 billion and $6.1 billion and, crucially, positive Adjusted EBITDA of between $450 million and $550 million. Two other recent actions speak volumes:
- Share Buyback: The Board of Directors doubled its share repurchase authorization to a substantial $2 billion, signaling that management believes the stock is undervalued.
- Insider Buying: SEC filings from Nov. 11 revealed two company directors purchased over $1 million worth of DraftKings stock on the open market, the ultimate sign of insider confidence.
These bullish actions suggest that the recent stock dip may be overdone. For investors with a higher risk tolerance, the setup is clear: a market leader with a path to profitability is trading at a discount, management is buying back stock, insiders are personally investing, and a major seasonal catalyst is just around the corner.
Assembling Your Thanksgiving Portfolio
The Thanksgiving Day games offer more than just entertainment; they provide a clear lens into the strategic priorities of three key industry players. Each company presents a distinct profile for a diversified portfolio: Fox for its stability and proven execution, Paramount for its high-growth turnaround potential, and DraftKings for a high-conviction contrarian play. As millions of Americans settle in to watch the on-field action, the real game for investors is happening on the balance sheets and strategy roadmaps of the companies bringing the tradition to life.
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