Fubo’s Stock Drops Despite Record Revenues, Caesars Sports Betting Deal

Posted on: March 6, 2021, 10:49h. 

Last updated on: March 7, 2021, 11:40h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More

Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

Sports-focused streaming service fuboTV started the week strong, with a record quarterly revenue report and news about its sports betting expansion. Yet, the company’s stock saw its value drop by more than 28 percent in recent days, thanks to concerns over its revenue projections, as well as potential competition.

On Friday, fuboTV’s stock (NYSE: FUBO) closed at $29.96, down $2.15 for the day. It’s been a mostly downhill ride for the company this week on Wall Street, especially since Tuesday, when shares closed at $41.92.

Investment community website Seeking Alpha noted the fuboTV decline started as DraftKings announced a deal Wednesday with DISH Network. DISH offers its own streaming service, Sling TV.

On Tuesday, fuboTV executives announced fourth-quarter revenues of $105.1 million. It marked the first time the service’s revenues ever reached nine figures for a quarter. However, CFO Simone Nardi told analysts on the earnings call that the company expects revenues for the first quarter of 2021 to fall between $101 million and $103 million.

The company also expects paid subscribers at the end of the first quarter to run between 520,000 and 530,000.

“Historically, Q1 has been softer than Q4, when viewed sequentially on revenues, as well as contribution margin,” Nardi said on the call.

The first quarter coincides with the end of the pro and college football season. Those two typically generate the highest ratings among sports broadcasts.

Losses Increase, But Executive Optimistic

While revenues went up for fuboTV, so, too, did losses. The company reported a net loss of $167.8 million for the fourth quarter and $570.5 million for the year.

Still, company executives found many positives from the past year, including a 73 percent increase in subscribers. Not only did that base grow, but people watched more, too. Viewers watched nearly 545 million hours in 2020, up 82 percent from 2019. The average viewer streamed 7.2 hours daily, up nearly 12 percent.

In a letter to shareholders, Cofounder and CEO David Gandler and Executive Chairman Edgar Bronfman Jr. said the company exceeded expectations on revenue, revenue per user, advertising revenue per customer, and paid subscribers.

They told investors there’s “so much more to come” from the company in 2021.

We believe our sports-focused differentiated position will allow us to continue to grow our business across (key performance indicators), including advertising,” Gandler and Bronfman wrote. “Our goal is to develop fuboTV into a new kind of media company that combines streaming video and interactive sports wagering.”

While the company has several key indicators, investors and analysts seem fixated on one issue.

Seeking Alpha shared this line from Evercore ISI’s analysis of fuboTV: ?“At this point, FUBO’s value is largely predicated on investors’ outlook on their potential success in sports betting.”

Caesars Gives FuboTV Sports Betting Access

The day after the financial report, the company announced it secured market access agreements with Caesars Entertainment to operate the fuboTV Sportsbook in Indiana and New Jersey.

That agreement comes on the heels of securing access in Iowa thanks to an agreement with the Casino Queen. In addition, fuboTV has already inked deals with NBA and MLB to serve as authorized gaming operators for both leagues. Those deals will give the sportsbook the ability to use league marks and logos. More importantly, it provides access to official league data.

FuboTV started making its moves toward establishing a sports betting operation in December, when it bought Balto Sports to establish free-to-play games. A month later, it acquired Vigtory, a web-based sportsbook.

The past few months have been a roller coaster for the company and its investors. It launched its IPO in October, and made its sports betting announcement. However, some have targeted the company as a short-sell, believing the stock – once as high as $62.29 – is overpriced. Some investors have also filed a lawsuit saying the company misled them.