Genius Sports beats revenue guidance in Q1 as EBITDA slips 14.5%
New York-listed supplier records 23% YOY revenue increase and upgrades full-year guidance as it cites NFL deal structure as reason behind EBITDA decline
Genius Sports has posted adjusted EBITDA of $6.9m in Q1 2024, representing a 14.5% decrease from Q1 2023’s total of $8m, despite a 23% year-on-year (YOY) rise in revenue.
While that figure exceeds first quarter guidance of $6m slightly, the near 15% drop has been attributed to the cost of NFL domestic streaming rights as Genius Sports looks to expand its product offering.
Bosses said these rights, which the supplier has acquired to power its BetVision product, are expensed equally each month during the NFL season.
In turn, this means the rights were “uniquely affecting Q1 2024 profitability, due to the fewer number of NFL games to generate revenue in the quarter,” according to the group.
The supplier also recorded $119.7m in revenue for Q1 2024, marking a 23% YOY increase from $97.2m in Q1 2023.
The figure also exceeds Q1 guidance by nearly $3m, with the firm raising its full-year 2024 guidance as a result.
Revenue is now expected to land at $500m, up from previous guidance of $480m, while adjusted EBITDA should amount to $82m, up from a previous forecast of $75m.
Genius Sports’ revenue can be broken down into three different arms, with the betting technology vertical delivering $73.9m of the total $119.7m.
The company noted this was a 14.1% YOY jump from the segment’s $64.7m in revenue in Q1 2023, with the growth driven by an improvement in new customer acquisitions.
While the betting arm of the firm delivered the highest portion of the revenue, it was the media technology division that showed the largest YOY revenue rise with 63%, up from $21.8m to $35.5m.
The sports technology arm saw a 3.5% YOY revenue decrease to $10.3m, down from $10.7m in the same period 12 months prior.
The New York-listed supplier’s net losses remained flat YOY, landing at $25.2m compared to $25.5m in the same period a year prior.
The supplier’s standout business highlight from the first three months of 2024 came in March, when Genius Sports was chosen as the successful bidder for exclusive Football DataCo betting rights through to the 2028-29 season.
The firm has been Football DataCo’s exclusive data supplier for the Premier League, English Football League, and the Scottish Professional Football League since 2019.
Genius Sports co-founder and CEO Mark Locke expressed optimism for the rest of the year ahead while reflecting on Q1’s results.
He said: “Following a strong year of execution in 2023, we are pleased to continue our momentum to start the new year, with the first quarter of 2024 marking another period of outperformance relative to expectations.
“As we expand our technology footprint and work to extend one of our most important data partnerships with Football DataCo, we feel an enhanced sense of excitement and confidence in our outlook for 2024 and beyond.”
Elsewhere, Genius Sports is expected to boast increased financial flexibility for the remainder of the year as a result of entering a $90m committed revolving credit facility with both Citibank and Deutsche Bank.
At the close of trading on yesterday, May 8, the group’s stock was down 0.74% to $5.38.