Breaking Down Formula One's Q2 2022 Financial Results
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Breaking Down Formula One's Q2 2022 Financial Results
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Hey Friends,
Formula One (Liberty Media) reported its second quarter 2022 earnings on Friday, and the results were extremely impressive. Here are the highlights:
F1 revenue increased 49% YOY for Q2 2022 to $744 million, up from $501 million in 2021.
F1 turned a profit of $65 million, up from a loss of $36 million in the same period last year.
F1 saw record attendance in the first half of the 2022 season, with four races recording over 300,000 fans in attendance.
F1’s debt decreased by $148 million in Q2 2022.
Formula One also announced that they have renewed several contracts across the organization. For example, the Australian Grand Prix was extended until 2035, Bandeirantes renewed its broadcast deal in Brazil through 2025, and Netflix has signed on for a fifth and sixth season of Drive to Survive.
“Formula One is making the most of our growing worldwide popularity as evidenced by race attendance, TV viewership, and engagement across platforms,” said Liberty Media President & CEO Greg Maffei.
Formula One Q2 2022 Year-Over-Year Revenue Figures
Formula One Q2 2022 Operating Results
And Formula One’s shareholders have a lot to be happy about too. F1’s equity FWONK 0.00%↑ is up ~40% over the last year and more than 200% since 2016 — compared to the S&P 500, which is down 6.5% in the last year and up ~70% over the last five years.
But this report shouldn’t be all that surprising. Sure, Formula 1 is expanding into new territories, attracting more fans than ever before, and its stock price is up more than 3x from its pandemic low.
That’s all great, of course. But these comparisons aren’t exactly fair — the first half of F1’s 2021 season (and all of 2020) had limited fan attendance due to COVID-19.
Still, that doesn’t mean the results aren’t impressive. In fact, this is probably one of the best quarters that Liberty Media and F1 have put together in their 6-year history as a publicly traded company.
The world’s top racing series is setting viewership records worldwide, especially in the lucrative US market. Next season will see the biggest F1 schedule in history, with 24 races running over 39 weeks from March to November. And in the first half of the 2022 season, F1 has seen record attendance figures for both the grandstands and Paddock Club—their high-end hospitality offering.
So the bottom line is clear: more fans worldwide are consuming more F1 content, attending more F1 races, and spending more money on F1.
Formula One Q2 Revenue Growth
2019: $620 million
2020: $24 million
2021: $501 million
2022: $744 million
Formula One’s 2022 Attendance Highlights
Four races in 2022 have had over 300,000 fans in attendance.
The Hungarian GP “was the largest ticketed sporting event in history in Hungary” with 290,000 people in attendance.
Paddock Club has now seen 35,000 people across 9 events this year, including a record-breaking 7,500 guests at Silverstone.
Formula One US Viewership Growth
2020: 608,000 average viewers per race
2021: 930,000 average viewers per race
2022: 1.3 million average viewers per race
And it’s not just the marquee races that US fans are watching—it feels like they have really bought into the sport. For example, races in Monaco, Miami, and Austin were always going to have solid US viewership, but the Hungarian Grand Prix averaged 1.23 viewers this year. And with Monza, Austin, Mexico City, and the finale in Abu Dhabi still left on the calendar, the 2022 F1 season viewership average will probably be even higher than 1.3 million — provided Max Verstappen doesn’t win by 150+ points, of course.
That has led to a new deal with ESPN for $75 million to $90 million annually (up from $5 million annually), and my guess is that this is only the beginning.
I hope everyone has a great day. We’ll talk tomorrow.
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