Genius Sports confident on long-term growth after cutting net loss in Q1

For the three months to 31 March, revenue at Genius hit $144 million. This surpasses the $119.7 million reported in Q1 last year, according to the supplier‘s earning report, released Tuesday.

Genius Sports co-founder and CEO Mark Locke said the supplier was well positioned for “sustainable” growth in the long term, after increases across two of its three core segments in Q1 led to an uptick in group revenue and a reduction in losses.

The betting technology, content and services segment, the primary source of revenue for Genius, reported the most growth. Genius also noted growth within its sports technology and services division, though media technology, content and services revenue was down.

This increase in revenue offset an increase in spending during the quarter and, after some help from foreign currency gain, allowed net loss to shrink 67.8%. On top of this, adjusted EBITDA rocketed 187% year-on-year.

Speaking about Q1, Locke was positive not only about the quarter but also prospects for Genius moving forward in terms of growth, profitability and cash flow across the business.

“This quarter demonstrates the strong execution of our strategic objectives, as we continue our technology distribution, product innovation and commercial momentum,” Locke said.

“Our largely fixed cost base, coupled with several durable growth drivers, reinforces our confidence in delivering sustainable growth, profitability and cash flow in 2025 and beyond.”

Media the only negative for Genius in Q1

Breaking down Q1, revenue from the betting business climbed 44.1% year-on-year to $106.5 million. Genius said this was mainly due to growth among its existing customers after price increases on contract renewals and renegotiations.

There was also double-digit growth within the sports business. Revenue increased by 12.6% to $11.6 million amid an increase in sales of products built on GeniusIQ technology.

However, for the media segment, revenue was down 27% to $25.9 million. Genius put this down to lower programmatic and social advertising services compared to Q1 last year.

Revenue gain offsets higher costs

In terms of spend, cost of revenue edged up 1.8%. However, such was the impact of revenue growth that gross profit jumped 177.3%.

Total operating expenses were also 49.9% higher but, again, this was offset by the revenue rise in Q1. As such, pre-tax loss was cut from $24.3 million to $20.4 million.

Genius reported $437,000 in interest income, in addition to a $12.2 million gain on foreign currency – in contrast to last year’s $1.1 million loss. This resulted in a pre-tax loss of $7.8 million, again an improvement on the $24.7 million loss in 2024.

The supplier paid $542,000 in tax and reported $94,000 in additional income from equity method investment. This meant it ended Q1 with a net loss of $8.2 million, a significant improvement on last year’s $25.5 million loss.

What can we expect from Genius in 2025?

The Q1 report also set out full-year targets for Genius. The supplier said it expects to post $620 million in revenue during FY25, which would surpass last year by 21.3%.

There is also an expectation that adjusted EBITDA will reach an estimated $125 million, which would be 46% higher than last year. In addition, Genius said it is likely to increase its positive annual cash flow in the full year.