Genius Sports reports strong Q4 results and 75% annual revenue growth in 2021
Genius Sports announced financial results for its fiscal 2021 fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021.
Press release.- Genius Sports, the official data, technology and commercial partner that powers the global ecosystem connecting sports, betting and media, today announced financial results for its fiscal 2021 fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021.
“2021 was a transformational year that saw Genius form innovative new relationships with leagues, sportsbooks and brands alike, which allowed us to deliver record group revenue in the fourth quarter,” said Mark Locke, GSL Co-Founder and CEO. “We are confident that 2022 will be another strong and profitable year as we capitalize on the growth opportunities ahead and continue to expand our services around the world.”
Q4 2021 financial highlights
- Group Revenue: Group revenue increased 78.7% year-over-year to $84.0m. On a constant currency basis, revenue increased $7m, or 74.1% year-over-year.
- Betting Technology, Content & Services: Revenue increased 52.9% year-over-year to $53.9m, driven by growth in customer utilization of Genius’ event content and new customer acquisitions. Growth was also supported by price increases powered by Genius’ official data rights strategy, expansion of value-add services, and new service offerings
- Media Technology, Content & Services: Revenue more than doubled year-over-year to $17.1m, driven by the acquisition of new customers in the Americas and Europe, primarily for programmatic advertising services, and the inclusion of revenues from recent acquisitions
- Sports Technology & Services: Revenue more than tripled year-over-year to $13.0m, driven by the inclusion of revenues derived from recent acquisitions, Sportzcast and Second Spectrum
- Group Adjusted EBITDA: Group adjusted (non-GAAP) EBITDA decreased to ($12.5)m, driven by accelerated investment in the business
Full year 2021 financial highlights
- Group Revenue: Group revenue increased 75.5% year-over-year to $262.7m, with strong growth across all product lines. On a constant currency basis, revenue increased $102.5m, or 64.0% year-over-year
- Betting Technology, Content & Services: Revenue increased 60.2% year-over-year to $177.2m, primarily driven by growth in business with existing customers resulting from Genius’ official data rights strategy, expansion of value-add services, and new service offerings. Growth was also supported by new customer acquisitions and increased utilization of Genius’ available event content
- Media Technology, Content & Services: Revenue increased 109.6% year-over-year to $48.3m, driven by the acquisition of new customers in the Americas and Europe, primarily for programmatic advertising services, and the inclusion of revenues from recent acquisitions
- Sports Technology & Services: Revenue increased 131.7% year-over-year to $37.2m, driven by the inclusion of revenues derived from recent acquisitions, Sportzcast and Second Spectrum, and supported by expanded services provided to existing sports league and federation customers across all tiers of sport
- Group Adjusted EBITDA: Group adjusted (non-GAAP) EBITDA decreased to $1.6m, driven by accelerated investment in Q3 and Q4 to fund growth initiatives, particularly in the high-growth US business
Q4 2021 business highlights
- Agreed to transformative sports data and global technology partnership with the Canadian Football League (“CFL”) to grow fan engagement and extend media reach
- Launched new ‘RomoVision’ technology for CBS broadcasts of the NFL and supported Nickelodeon’s broadcast of the NFL playoffs using Second Spectrum’s player tracking and video augmentation capabilities
- After the reporting period, Genius announced expansion of partnerships with bet365 and Betway to include official data, streaming and fan engagement solutions
- After the reporting period, Genius hosted its first virtual Investor Day, including a deep dive on the business and expectations for Group Adjusted EBITDA profitability in 2022 and 2023
Financial Outlook
As part of the Company’s Investor Day, held on January 27th, Genius announced its expectation to generate Group Revenue of approximately $340m and Group Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $15m in 2022. In 2023, it expects Group Revenue in the range of $430 to $440m and Group Adjusted EBITDA of $40 to $50m.
