Genius Sports Reports Financial Result

One of the more aggressive, yet underlying names within the US and global legal sports betting industry, Genius Sports Limited is out with their financial results for its fiscal 2020 fourth quarter and full year that ended December 31, 2020, and they revealed great promise for the data provider. The numbers show not only success for the past year but breed a sense of optimism that Genius has just scratched the surface of their potential within the US legal sports betting space in particular.

“2020 was a landmark year for Genius, with outstanding performance amidst the challenges presented by the global pandemic,” said Mark Locke, Genius Sports Co-Founder and CEO. “We have entered 2021 with great momentum, bolstered by our recently-completed merger with dMY II and NYSE listing, as well as our exclusive partnership with the NFL. I am more confident than ever about the opportunities ahead as we continue to leverage our unique technology and scale to grow alongside the rapidly expanding global sports, betting and media ecosystem.”

What is Genius Sports

For casual followers of the US and global legal sports betting industries, Genius Sports may not be the most recognizable name. That's because they are the name behind the big names in the industry. Genius Sports, "a global leader in digital sports content, technology and integrity services” is the industry leading provider of real-time data necessary for sportsbooks to set odds and for bettors to educate themselves ahead of an impending wager.

Their goal is to get accurate statistics in the hands of bettors and sportsbooks quickly and effectively for enhancement of the overall wagering experience. The company also provides important integrity services which is seen as critical in the growth, viability and credibility of betting platforms globally.

Company Highlights Over the Last Year

The last 12 months, particularly the last quarter have been very good for Genius Group. Their most important announcement came last month when they made public a multi-year partnership with the NFL. The six-year pact makes Genius Sports the NFL’s exclusive distributor of real-time official play-by-play statistics, proprietary Next Gen Stats data, and the NFL’s official sports betting data feed to media companies and sports betting operators globally. It is said that the deal could be valued at $1 billion over the life of the contract.

Along with the NFL, Genius Sports over the last year forged similar relationships to provide data for the NBA, WNBA and Major League Rugby. They have also become the official data provider of one of the two major DFS behemoths in the US market.

Genius Sports during the last 12 months secured the right to operate in its 13th and 14th states after Michigan and Virginia went live with their services.

A Peek at the Q4 2020 Financials

Group revenues for Genius Group increased 27.6% year-over-year to $47.0 million. On a constant currency basis, revenue increased $9.3 million, or 24.8% year-over-year.

The betting technology, content & services wing of the company saw increases of 23.4% year-over-year to $35.3 million, thanks in large part to growth in customer utilization of Genius’ event content and new customer acquisitions. New services and a price hike for those services also helped drive the profits.

Media, technology, content and services showed and even bigger spike in revenues due in large part to the acquisition of new customers in the Americas and Europe for advertising in their increasingly relevant platforms. Revenue increased 90.5% year-over-year to $7.5 million.

The only Q4 metric that showed declines was in Genius's sports’ technology & services. The report revealed a 1.7% or $4.3 million drop in revenues.

How About the Full Year 2020 Financials?

Genius Group is reporting strong year-over-year growth across all of its product lines. The financial report released last week showed 30.6% year-over-year profits to $149.7 million. On a constant currency basis, revenue increased $34.5 million, or 30% year-over-year.

Betting technology, content & services, just like in its Q4 figures showed a marked year-over-year rise. Revenues from that sector increased 25.2% to $110.6 million thanks to its aggressive expansion plans in terms of their official data products, their addition of services and their ability to get those services in the hands of providers.

Sports Technology & Services bucked the Q4 trend and showed profits year-over-year. Revenues from that sector increased 11.8% year-over-year to $16.1 million due in large part to the company's focus on expanding services to existing sports league and federation customers.

Media, technology, content and services revenues spiked 94.0% year-over-year to $23.1 million.

Heading Deeper Into 2021

Genius Sports seems to have just touched to tip of the iceberg especially in the exploding US market. Their exclusive deal with the NFL alone should propel the company into the next tier of data providers.

Genius Sports’s influence cannot be understated and their expertise within the legal sports betting realm should, in theory, keep them the preeminent provider in their space going forward. All eyes will be on the next quarter and next fiscal year to seen just how much their hard work has paid off.