Fox: Dominion Settlement Will Not Instigate Any Significant Changes at Fox News

Fox FOXA agreed to a settlement with Dominion Voting Systems concerning the defamation suit brought against Fox News. Dominion sued Fox News for $1.6 billion in damages over the repeated false claims made on-air that Dominion’s electronic voting machine were hacked to switch votes in the 2020 presidential election from President Donald Trump. While less than half of the claimed amount, the $787.5 million settlement payment is one of the largest payouts ever in a defamation suit. However, given the information already released, the pretrial setback, and the potential further embarrassment from chairman Rupert Murdoch, other Fox executives, and a number of high-profile hosts taking the stand, we believe that Fox views the settlement as a win and possibly just the cost of doing business. We are maintaining our $43 fair value estimate as the settlement amounts to only about $1 per share. The firm has plenty of resources to cover the payout, with over $4 billion in cash as of December 2022. We don’t expect the settlement to significantly affect the business model at Fox News.