Genius Sports is storming towards its 2024 revenue targets according to its Q1 trading results, although progress has slowed on chipping away at its net loss.
The sportstech and data firm announced Q1 revenue of $119.7m, a 23.1% year-on-year increase on $97.2m recorded the year prior. This group-wide success was seen across two of its three core business divisions.
Recording the sharpest percentage increase was the Media, Technology, Content and Services division. Revenue rose 63% from $21.7m in Q1 2023 to $35.5m last quarter, attributed by the firm to its programmatic advertising services and with the Americas singled out as the standout division.
Meanwhile, the Betting, Technology, Content and Services division recorded a 14% YoY revenue increase from $64.7m to $73.9m. Genius cited customer acquisitions and business growth with existing customers as a result of price increases on renewals and renegotiations.
Q1 saw Genius clinch renewals to several prominent contracts and onboarding of new partners. This included its arrangement with Football DataCo covering Premier League data and a deal with HBA Media to launch the ‘Crown Jewels Racing Fantasy’ (CJRFantasy) platform.
Mark Locke, Genius Sports Co-Founder and CEO, 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.”
Some hurdles were encountered during the quarter too, however. The notable standout to revenue growth was its Sports Technology and Services division, which saw revenue drop slightly by 4% YoY from $10.7m to $10.3m.
Additionally, the group’s net loss widened for the first time in several quarters, increasing marginally by 1.5% from $25.2m to $25.5m. Group adjusted EBITDA, meanwhile, dropped 14.% from $8m to $6.8m, with EBITDA margin also declining from 8.3% to 5.7%.
Regardless, the firm’s progress in cutting losses over the past two years has been notable. In its full year accounts for 2023, the NYSE-listed firm reported a halving of corporate losses YoY from $183m in 2022 to $83m.
Looking ahead to the close of 2024, Genius expects full year revenue to reach $500m alongside adjusted EBITDA of around $82m. This corresponds to growth of between 21%-54%, and despite losses increasing slightly in Q1, the firm predicts positive cash flow by the end of the year.
